Kingston & Associates Marketing Expands Its "Sugar Pine" Brand Golden Pineapple Program

IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO — Kingston & Associates Marketing LLC, one of the largest distributors and marketers of fresh produce to the restaurant and cruise line industries, announced its plan for the expansion of its MD2 variety golden pineapple program – the Kingston “Sugar Pine”. Initially launching the program with grower partners in 2000, Kingston was one of the first companies to successfully initiate a direct import Golden Pineapple program through local operations in Costa Rica. For the past eleven years the Company has solidified its position as a premier marketer of high quality pineapple in the United States. Kingston Marketing President, Ken Nabal, explained, “The strength of our pineapple program, coupled with our long-standing grower relationships, makes this the right time for the expansion. Keeping Kingston’s “Sugar Pine” brand the standard for quality in the industry is the driving motivation behind this expansion. Our team is excited!”

Building on the recent integration of Kingston Cross Dock & Cold Storage, its Southeast Florida warehouse facility located in Pompano Beach, and the expansion of Kingston’s pineapple volumes is a perfect fit with the operational abilities and close proximity to South Florida Ports. “Most people know us for our 38 years of produce sales experience. However, not many realize we also own the trucks, warehousing, experienced QA personnel, and in-region procurement specialists to make this a fully-integrated operation”, noted Dave Kingston, CEO and majority owner of the business of Kingston Companies. Kingston concludes, “By owning and controlling each link in the supply chain, we are able to improve our customer service, control our logistics, maintain strict QA/Food Safety programs and aggressively price our family of products.”

With the pineapple program being the flagship import product for Kingston & Associates Marketing, this expansion also opens the door to other import programs. Mike Anderson, Imports Procurement Manager for Kingston, commented, “With this change, our team is better positioned for future growth in new and exciting directions. We have excellent relationships in these countries and our grower partners are excited to discuss new opportunities to grow with us at Kingston.”

Ken Nabal, concluded, “With this change, we will be better positioned for future growth with new programs. The key, as usual, will be to maintain the highest in customer service while identifying new opportunities that are customer-driven. To ultimately be successful, any expansion concept must be rooted in ‘adding value’ to our customers. This clearly fits those criteria.”

About Kingston Companies

• Kingston & Associates Marketing is one of the largest distributors and marketers of produce products including fresh potatoes, onions, lettuce, broccoli, sweet pineapples, and much more (http://www.kingstonmarketing.com).
• Kingston Cross Dock and Cold Storage is a state-of-the-art produce storage and shipping facility in Pompano Beach, FL. Learn more at http://www.kingstoncrossdock.com
• Associated Trucking provides refrigerated, non-refrigerated, and flatbed transportation to all 48 states in the continental USA. We provide transportation services to the fresh produce, nursery, furniture and other industries.

Source: Kingston Companies