DOS GRINGOS AT 20:
Still Crazy After All These Years!

Its signature product is the sunflower, its name brings a smile to your face and its 130 employees are given wide latitude under the theory, “a plant in a tight pot won’t grow. ” Telephone callers don’t listen to elevator music while on hold, they hear an incredulous voice exclaim, “I can’t believe you’re still holding!” Dos Gringos, 20 years old this month, is “still loco after all these years.”

“Different by design,” the firm’s slogan, is the way Jason Levin would put it. He’s chief gringo/president and a 16-year veteran with the firm. Dos Gringos in Vista, CA, is a contract grower, hand-made bouquet assembler and shipper of fresh-cut flowers, foliage and botanicals.

Thinking ahead, or “planeando el futuro” is important at Dos Gringos. So is patience. In 1994, Mr. Levin sketched out a design for the firm’s headquarters facility on a piece of paper. Ten years later, Dos Gringos moved into its new 64,000 square-foot facility in northern San Diego County. Office space is roomy and airy. No cubicles here – desks are clustered in open areas to encourage team-work. Temperature-controlled production and storage facilities and direct cold loading are tight links in the cold chain.

“Ideas are cheap – teams get it done,” is Mr. Levin’s motto. “You can hire smart or you can mange tough,” he explains. “We hire top people and give them freedom to do their best. We want this to be a fun place to work.”

In January he began monthly companywide “town meetings” to share ideas and information and field questions. An office and a plant worker are chosen each month for a “Gringo Gold” award for outstanding performance. They receive $100.00, a giant sombrero, and framed photo with the “chief gringo” and a chance to be selected Gringo of the Year and win $2,000. The firm was ranked among the top 37 “best places to work” in a 2007 Wall Street Journal survey.

One popular new offering, “Just Add Flowers,” is greenery ready for the retailer to add focus flowers. It is the brain-child of national sales manager Charlotte Ruffeth, who got the idea from talking to supermarket buyers. Creative Director Rene van Rems came up with a bouquet line featuring sunflowers and roses, which Mr. Levin promptly titled, “Suns N’ Roses,” after the hard rock band Guns ‘N’ Roses. It’s been a popular addition.

Mr. Levin has been known to sidle up to customers in a grocery store and ask them why they bought the flowers they’re holding. “Our teams listen to our clients,” he said. “We help them solve their problems.”

The firm has also been thinking ahead in “going green.” It is in the process of becoming certified by Veriflora and for U.S. Department of Agriculture organic products. The plant has an underground green waste removal system that recycles almost 2,000 tons of plant clippings a year. A new compressor delivers target temperatures in the coolers while using less energy, and a “smart control” lighting system turns lights off when it detects there are no people around. The Dos Gringos name came about because the firm was importing a lot of flowers from Mexico and the slang term helped it stand out among the competition. “That’s part of our culture – our name, like our product, brings a smile to your face, “said Mr. Levin.

It was thinking ahead that chose the firm’s brand product. When South American roses began to dominate the U.S. market, Dos Gringos team members asked themselves: What is easy to grow here in California; big, heavy and hard for our competitors to ship from South America; and offers good value to the consumer: Their answer – the sunflower. Perfecto.

Joan Saunders, manager of executive services, is also unofficial director of thinking ahead, doing research on product development ideas, handling marketing and public relations, conducting tours and preparing product offering sheets.

“We monitor quality tightly, Ms. Saunders said. “We have a master grower and staff in the fields, a designated quality control supervisor and two inspectors on each production line. We help our customers maintain quality by giving them care and handling sheets with most shipments.”

Sunflowers were in short supply for Valentine’s Day due to a cold spring, but the firm allocated what it had among its major customers. “You dance with the one what brung you,” Mr. Levin said. Strike up the mariachi band.

Eufloria Flowers Announces New Team Member
Eufloria Flowers, Nipomo, CA, the premier boutique grower of Hybrid Tea roses and spray roses in North America, is pleased to announce the addition of Shane Leeth to its team. Shane brings over 20 years of industry experience to Eufloria. Shane will be working in sales, marketing and new business development. “Shane brings a wealth of knowledge, creativeness and customer service expertise that will benefit our customers and company” says Chad Nelson, sales manager for Eufloria Flowers. His past experience includes 13 years in the wholesale segment and most recently over 7 years with Equiflor/Rio Roses. Shane has given over 70 presentations around the country on floral marketing, proper care and handling, and successful selling. He currently sits on SAF’s Consumer Marketing Committee.

Eufloria Flowers is recognized as the premier domestic boutique grower of Hybrid Tea roses and spray roses of unmatched quality and performance for everyday use as well as special events and weddings. Eufloria Flowers has been awarded 141 prestigious ribbons from the renowned Society of American Florists Outstanding Varieties Competition since 1999.

Wholesalers Name Best New Products At WF&FSA Floral EXPO 2008

The Wholesale Florist and Florist Supplier Association (WF&FSA) helps identify and promote new or improved products and services that add excitement and valuable benefits to the industry. The annual WF&FSA Best New Products Contest was held at the WF&FSA Convention & Floral EXPO held in Tampa, FL, March 5-7, 2008. Perishable, non-perishable, and service products all contribute to the success of the florist industry. New and improved products stimulate trends and increase sales for everyone in the industry. The purpose of the Best New Products contest is to recognize the full spectrum of benefits that come from creating new products or services and improving existing ones. These benefits include time savers, cost cutters, new trends, and most importantly-increased consumer purchases. One of his years contest winners were: Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers www.resendizbrothers.com Maui Sunset is a hybrid of L.Laureolum and L. Salignum and was raised in Hawaii as its name suggests in the early 1980’s. This Leucadendron has medium sized bracts that are a soft greenish white over the late winter and early spring, becoming suffused with soft pink shades as summer approaches.