• Surinder and Mohinder moved to Oliver from India in 1987. Mohinder was 19 when she moved to Canada, and started working for the Demelo Family, another trusted Thrifty Foods partner.
• The couple started selling peppers, tomatoes and fruits in 1997 on property they bought that same year. They now own 150 acres of farm land. Initially, they got their start by selling produce a few hours’ drive away in Calgary. Now their focus is on selling cherries, which have a short growing period, enabling them to plant other crops such as green peppers, cantaloupe and hot peppers.
• The couple invested in an optical cherry sorting machine that has an ‘electronic eye’ able to take images inside of the cherry. Any flawed fruit is kicked out of the sorting line, ensuring the best possible fruit for customers. What used to take 18 hours of labour a day is now done in 6 by this machine.