FiveStar Gourmet Foods Expands to East Coast With New Manufacturing/Distribution Facility
NAPLES, FLORIDA (PRWEB) DECEMBER 11, 2015: FiveStar Gourmet Foods, an Ontario, California-based provider of fresh and frozen prepared foods, is expanding to the East Coast with a $20 million investment in a food manufacturing and distribution operation near Naples, Fla.
The state-of-the-art, 85,000-square-foot plant will allow FiveStar to expand its robust retail, private label and school-nutrition businesses to the Eastern Seaboard. FiveStar currently distributes its healthy fresh and frozen foods to all Western states from its two manufacturing facilities in California.
Among major retailers that sell FiveStar products – including its gourmet prepared salads – is Costco. The company also is a leading provider of fresh and nutritious meals to schools throughout the nation. “Our move into Florida opens up bold new opportunities for us at a time when demand for our nutritious meals is at an all-time high,” said Tal Shoshan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FiveStar. “We’re a culinary driven company, and that starts with access to the freshest ingredients. To successfully do this in a new market, we need to be located as close as possible to growers and be able to deliver overnight.”
To that end, the new plant is located near the heart of Florida’s Immokalee region, known as “America’s Tomato Capital” and the source of fresh produce for much of the Southeastern United States. The plant, expected to open in January, will employ about 250 people.
“We are thrilled that Five Star Gourmet Foods has chosen Collier County to expand its operations,” said Board of County Commissioners Chairman Tim Nance. “This project will bring quality jobs in an industry very much aligned with our agricultural food production tradition in Collier County and one that will continue to be important for our economic development.”
Shoshan said the new facility will allow FiveStar to add to its product base. In 2014, the company launched two new gourmet salad lines: Simply Fresh Organic and Simply Fresh Salads – both available at Costco. “Our team of culinary professionals collaborate closely with our customers – on the retail side and in the public sector – to provide them with food that is nutritious, tastes great and offers the best dining experiences possible,” said Shoshan, himself a classically trained chef. “The fact that we have a culinary background makes a difference. Some other companies focus on pure good marketing. For us it’s very different – and very simple: We start in the fields with fresh, clean ingredients, capture that freshness, and deliver it overnight to stores. It’s not rocket science.
“We don’t rest with just great food. When you are buying FiveStar’s products, you are assured that they come from the safest and most state-of-the-art food processing facilities. Our dedicated team of food safety experts work around the clock to ensure the safety of our food products.”
About FiveStar Gourmet Foods: FiveStar Gourmet Foods has more than 20 years of success in the prepared fresh and frozen food industry. An innovator in providing healthy products, using recycled packaging material and exceeding industry standards for food safety, FiveStar has achieved both organic certification and the highest quality and food safety certification of SQF Level 3. Learn more at: FiveStarGourmetFoods.com
