Country Life
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Wednesday, June 12, 2019 • lyndentribune.com • ferndalerecord.com
Whatcom Red smoothie launches
Darigold ramps up marketing in Mexico Team of four hired; powder products from Lynden in mix
David Lukens holds a bottle of Whatcom Red, the new smoothie available from Grace Harbor Farms. (Brent Lindquist/Ferndale Record)
New local raspberry item is produced, labeled at Grace Harbor Farms By Brent Lindquist brent@lyndentribune.com
WHATCOM — Even though the county is Amer-
ica’s capital of red raspberry production, finding those berries in local stores can be next to impossible. Grace Harbor Farms of Custer and the Washington Red Raspberry Commission are changing that with their new Whatcom Red smoothie product that rolled out in late May. Whatcom Red has just three ingredients: red raspberry puree, pear syrup and
carbon-filtered glacier water. The raspberries come de-seeded from Maberry Packing, nearly next-door to Grace Harbor. The pear concentrate is for tartness, and the water thins the smoothie out and makes it drinkable. The smoothie does not contain cane sugar, sweeteners, artificial flavors or — as Grace Harbor’s own fact sheet puts it — “ingredients you can’t
pronounce.” Initially, Grace Harbor experimented with actual sugar to sweeten the smoothie. “We did a batch with cane sugar. It tasted very similar, but a lot of people are trying to avoid cane sugar these days,” said David Lukens, Grace Harbor co-owner. See Whatcom Red on CL2
SEATTLE — Darigold Inc. in May announced an expansion of operations in Mexico through the addition of in-market sales and logistics leaders. The new team will enhance customer service and integration in Mexico, the company says. Darigold sees its move as helping to address the increasing worldwide demand for healthy sources of protein for infants, adults and aging populations. In 2018, Mexico imported $1.784 billion of dairy products including skim milk powder/nonfat dry milk, cheese and curd, and whey and modified whey products. Mexico is an important export destination for Darigold and the U.S. dairy industry. Unlike other trading partners of Darigold, Mexico is accessible from the U.S. by rail, truck and maritime vessels. This provides an opportunity to better serve member farms of the
Northwest Dairy Association cooperative, including about 85 producers in Whatcom County. A milk powder production plant is in Lynden. The farmers of NDA operate under a rigorous and comprehensive program to ensure leadingedge dairy stewardship and sustainable farm practices, Darigold says. Good labor standards are verified as being practiced across the cooperative, with a commitment to continuously improve. Key hires for Darigold include Eugenio Massieu, director for Latin America; Mariana Lezama C., director for Mexico; Alma Leticia Casillas Torres, trade execution manager; and Sophie Gonzalez Revilla, senior execution coordinator. “We’re excited to grow our team in Mexico to deliver services through the addition of these talented individuals,” said Jonathan Spurway, leader of Darigold’s Ingredients business. “Given their experience, we are confident the team in Mexico will be able to help Darigold create and foster direct relationships See Darigold on CL3
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