Thoughts

As of July 2023, Gillette Citrus is no longer a packer with Sunkist Growers Inc.  "Because of lackluster sales, and no faith in the current Sunkist management team, we have decided to make a move and consolidate our fruit with Cobblestone Packing in Sanger California", said Mark Gillette, President of Gillette Citrus Inc. and Chairman Emeritus of Sunkist Growers Inc.

" Sunkist was once the premier shipper of fresh citrus but I believe that they have been passed up by compeitors over the past years", said Mark. "As Sunkist needed to manage the fruit from multiple packinghouses where they have little control of the quality or consistency and Sunkist has based sales on a prorated basis amongst the packers, there was no longer a place for a packer that put an emphasis on quality and customer service. The Sunkist brand use to be well known but now it is mainly known as a soda brand through their licensing of their name for Sunkist soda. Sunkist has also lost much of their luster in the export market".

Cobblestone Packing is building a state of the art citrus Packing facility and their fruit will be sold through Kings River Sales, a leader in citrus sales and an 8 generation farming family. Kings River recognizes the need for consistent quality and amazing customer service.  

Gillette Citrus Inc., with fruit farmed by brothers Jay and Mark look forward to a long and successful relationship with Cobblestone Packing