About SunWest Fruit Company
Over 50 Years of Commitment to Agriculture
Sunwest Fruit Company is part of the Britz family of businesses. The Britz family understands California agriculture, having successful businesses in a wide range of specialties from finance to fertilizer, cotton to cold storage, ice to insurance. All with one thing in common: the Britz family’s rock-solid commitment to quality and customer satisfaction
Family-Grown for Superior Quality
Sunwest Fruit Company is a privately owned, vertically integrated farming operation that controls all aspects of production. This model of ownership and operation enables us to strictly control our fruit quality from the tree to the produce aisle, and offer fruit of unparalleled flavor and consistency. Most fruit companies source fruit from outside growers, each with their own quality control standards. The result? Inconsistent appearance, size, ripeness and flavor. At Sunwest Fruit Company, we farm over 9,000 acres, and pick, pack and ship every piece of fruit ourselves. It's unusual. But our customers agree, it makes all the difference in the world.
Raising Quality Control to a Science
Operating from a state-of-the-art food certified packing facility, Sunwest Fruit Company earned a “superior” rating from AIB International – the highest food safety rating available, and the most difficult to attain. When our fruit is picked, it is placed in plastic bins which are sanitized after each use. All citrus fruit is “floated” to our packing facility in a bicarbonate bath to avoid spreading decay and spores. In our facility, every piece of fruit is computer-graded at double the accuracy of hand-grading, then washed, waxed, hand-packed and inspected before entering our cold room. Prior to shipment, our fruit is inspected once again to ensure optimum quality.
Growing Stronger Every Season
At a time when many fruit companies are struggling, Sunwest is thriving, thanks to our family commitment to quality and consistency. Our volume of Navel and Clementine oranges and tree fruit – peaches, plums nectarines and pluots - is increasing at an average of 15% per year, and we’re currently planting over 800 additional acres of these varieties. Sunwest is also one of the owners of the Ripe ‘n Ready organization – the leader in the “premium tree fruit” category. It all adds up to make Sunwest Fruit Company an industry leader you can trust for unparalleled quality, bite after bite, fruit after fruit.