Golden Sun Marketing Celebrates 10 Years In Fresh Produce

Minnetrista, Minn. – Golden Sun Marketing, a consultancy serving the fresh produce industry, is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this November.  Founded by Don Goodwin in 2004, the firm has provided its unique combination of services to the industry for a decade.

“Our company is unique in that we provide strategy, marketing and business development services to the fresh produce supply chain from seed to retail,”  stated Goodwin.  “We are very fortunate to work with some of the most progressive companies in the fresh produce supply chain. A common goal among our clients is their deep desire to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables.”

Goodwin has decades of past experience in procurement, wholesale, marketing and merchandising-affording him unique insights across the fresh produce supply chain. Ten years ago, Goodwin saw a need for a firm that could consult with smaller grower/shippers on business development and strategic planning while providing marketing strategy and services for the products to garner interest with both retailers and the end consumer.

The approach has been successful over the past decade, and Golden Sun Marketing has built a niche around spotting innovative and premium products and helping seed breeders and distributors and grower/shippers elevate these products into brands, while keeping profitability and grower return as a priority. Marketing campaigns bring the products to life at retail and through consumer channels including public relations and social media. “We have experienced significant growth in the last 3 years.  I am blessed to have such a talented team. We share a passion for the industry and a common vision of creating results oriented marketing programs for our clients.”

Prior to launching Golden Sun Marketing, Don worked for Target Corporation, where he led the development and launch of fresh produce within SuperTarget. He later served as the COO of Green Giant Fresh where he built retail and grower partnerships to expand the Green Giant brand. An expert in licensing, Don also helped found Imagination Farms, a fresh produce marketing company focused on increasing children's consumption of fruits and vegetables, and negotiated a partnership with Disney Consumer Products’ food, health and beauty division to include fresh produce under the Disney Garden brand.

Today the company has expanded to include a robust four-person marketing team in addition to Goodwin, who is also well known as an industry speaker and for his work with mergers and acquisitions, most recently with Verdant Partners. Clients have ranged from seed breeders and distributors, to grower/shippers and retailers—and the roster continues to expand.  Golden Sun Marketing also does pro-bono work with Katie’s Krops, a national movement that empowers youth to grow a healthy end to hunger, one vegetable garden at a time A cause that is near and dear to the entire team, they have helped match the organization with client sponsors and have been instrumental in growing the non-profit to 80 gardens in 29 states.

“I am very bullish on the future of our industry and our company.  The next 10 years should be very exciting as we work closely with our clients to build winning strategies.” says Goodwin.

Source: Golden Sun Marketing