Wonderful Citrus Celebrates 75 Years as a World Leader in Fresh Citrus

/EIN News/ -- LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wonderful Citrus proudly celebrates 75 years as a world-leading, full-service citrus company, delivering exceptional quality from growing and shipping to packing and marketing. With a diverse portfolio, Wonderful Citrus offers more than 10 varieties including mandarins, seedless lemons, lemons, navels, valencias, cara caras, grapefruit, limes, key limes, and minneolas. Additionally, Wonderful Citrus is a trailblazer in branded produce with its iconic brands consumers know and love: Wonderful Halos mandarins and Wonderful Seedless Lemons.

Wonderful Citrus pioneered the produce industry with consumer marketing and innovation. Originally founded in 1950 as Paramount Citrus, the company marketed and sold citrus for independent California citrus growers who were underserved by packing consolidators and brokers. In 1981, Lynda and Stewart Resnick acquired Paramount Citrus, bringing their marketing prowess and financial acumen to the citrus industry. The acquisition paved the way for what is now one of the largest agricultural portfolios in the world, with The Wonderful Company establishing itself as the leader in branding and marketing of pistachios, almonds, pomegranates, mandarins, and seedless lemons.

“We are proud to celebrate a legacy built on deep expertise, boundless passion, and an unwavering commitment to putting our people and partners first,” said Zak Laffite, president, Wonderful Citrus. “As we celebrate 75 years, Wonderful Citrus is excited to continue leading the citrus category forward through innovation, quality, marketing, and sustainability — because no one knows and grows citrus like us.”

In celebration of this anniversary milestone, Wonderful Citrus is bringing back its original namesake brand, Paramount Citrus, as a primary label within its portfolio, representing its heritage as a citrus grower. Consumers can find the new Paramount Citrus label, including both packaged and stickered loose fruit, in produce departments across the country. Additionally, Wonderful Citrus relaunched a newly revamped website focused on its expertise and capabilities, featuring an enhanced user experience and a dedicated online grower portal to streamline communication and support collaboration.

Wonderful Citrus’ leadership and success are built around three pillars:

• Cultivating our people and partners – With hundreds of growing partners around the world, imports from seven countries, and nearly 7,500 employees, Wonderful Citrus believes in investing in its people and partners. It operates 10 packing house locations in various regions across the country, including its main operations in California, Texas, New Jersey, and Mexico. As pioneers in produce marketing, Wonderful Citrus’ team of more than 200 in-store merchandisers – the largest in produce – work closely with retailers to leverage eye-catching branded packaging and high-graphic in-store point-of-sale displays in strategic locations throughout grocery stores to ensure continued growth and success. Similarly, Wonderful Citrus has expanded its impact in the food service sector by collaborating with key distributors to offer fresh, high-quality citrus that enhances menu offerings.

• Best-in-class brands and fruit – From seed to shelf and root to fruit, Wonderful Citrus offers comprehensive nursery services, expert farming guidance, and state-of-the-art packing and juicing facilities, while delivering best-in-class sales and merchandising capabilities. Wonderful Citrus cultivates and harvests over 74,000 acres of fresh citrus and ships it around the world each year to ensure a year-round supply. By adhering to strict taste and quality standards, Wonderful Citrus maintains optimal quality for its varieties at every point of the season. This unwavering commitment to consistent quality helps set Wonderful Citrus apart from generic produce options, as consumers want brands they know and trust. Additionally, leveraging the innovation and best practices from its success with Wonderful Halos and tapping into consumers’ growing preference for seedless varieties, Wonderful Seedless Lemons is poised to disrupt the produce category. These non-GMO Project Verified, 100% naturally seedless lemons are driving substantial gains for the lemon category, accounting for 100% of bagged lemon category growth for three consecutive years.

• Value beyond our products – Wonderful Citrus is committed to protecting the environment through sustainable farming practices, not only for the future of its business but for many communities it’s a part of. Its acreage and scale allow Wonderful Citrus to be at the forefront of progressive agricultural techniques, helping to set the bar in quality control, water conservation efforts, specialized nurseries, and integrated pest management systems. To strive for a healthier planet, Wonderful Citrus has taken measurable actions toward waste reduction, water stewardship, and carbon emissions tracking. In fact, 100% of Wonderful Citrus’ operations will be powered by renewable energy by the end of 2025. Additionally, Wonderful Citrus is a strong pillar in the community that supports unique philanthropic efforts where its employees live and work. Wonderful Citrus’ parent company, The Wonderful Company, and its owners, Lynda and Stewart Resnick, have invested more than $2.5 billion in philanthropy and corporate social responsibility initiatives globally, including $1.3 billion in environmental sustainability efforts to help fight climate change.
  

As Wonderful Citrus looks ahead, it will focus on long-term growth and expansion, along with supply chain diversification. This will be achieved by continuing to strengthen relationships with growers and suppliers worldwide to ensure a premium-quality and reliable year-round supply, while also expanding into new international markets for exports. Wonderful Citrus is also investing in farming and cultivation activities to introduce and enhance the availability of high-demand varieties throughout the year.

For more information about Wonderful Citrus and its industry leadership, visit wonderfulcitrus.com

About Wonderful Citrus

Wonderful Citrus is the world's leading vertically integrated citrus company that grows, ships, and packs fresh citrus, including clementine/mandarin, navel, and Valencia oranges; lemons; limes; grapefruits; and other citrus varieties. Wonderful Citrus cultivates and harvests over 74,000 acres of fresh citrus and ships it around the world each year to ensure a year-round supply. Its citrus can be found in the produce department of grocery stores across America under the flagship consumer brands of Wonderful Halos mandarins and Wonderful Seedless Lemons.

Wonderful Citrus is part of The Wonderful Company, a privately held $6 billion global company, which also has other No. 1 brands such as Wonderful Pistachios, FIJI Water, POM Wonderful, JUSTIN Wine, and Teleflora. To learn more about The Wonderful Company, its products, and its core values, please visit wonderful.com, or follow The Wonderful Company on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. To learn more about The Wonderful Company’s corporate social responsibility impact, visit csr.wonderful.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1c6addc2-dbdb-4edd-93c9-a978cdf29e88

Contact
                    
                    Lauren Berle
                    lauren.berle@wonderful.com