Aug 27, 2019

California berries at China’s first Costco opening

When China’s first Costco warehouse club opened this week in Shanghai, fresh strawberries from California Giant Berry Farms were among the offerings displayed.

Costco opened the doors to its first-ever warehouse location in China on Monday, according to a press release from California Giant. The company had about a week’s notice to prepare various inspections, phytosanitary certificates, logistical processes and documentation with the Santa Maria Ag Commission and USDA before exporting 90 crates of fresh California Giant strawberries to Shanghai.

“Today marks a banner day in which our partner California Giant assisted Costco Wholesale in navigating through the rigors of testing protocol to successfully launch the opening of Costco’s first warehouse club in China,” said Frank Padilla, Vice President, General Merchandising Manager Produce and Meat, at Costco Wholesale.

The berry company harvested, packed and shipped their latest Santa Maria fall crop to Shanghai over the weekend with the combined effort from various members of the sales, operations and field teams, it said in the release.

“It takes a village,” said Juanita Delgado, Office Coordinator and Southern Region Food Safety Coordinator for California Giant. “Communication was key, and both the California Giant and Costco teams worked seamlessly together, despite some logistical hurdles, to ensure berries arrived in Shanghai with quality and flavor reflective of our standards.”