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I love everything about summer. I hope you are wringing as much enjoyment out of yours as I am from mine. Morning runs before the temps rise, flowers, hikes in the mountains, flowers, weekends near water, flowers, corn on the cob, flowers, and a quick run for frozen yogurt as a nightcap. My son Jack recently learned that it’s “legal” to put more than one topping from the do-it-yourself bar on this confection of choice. The folks on counter clean-up hate us, but I still love summer – and flowers.
Out my window and along the road, the flowers still are decidedly summer. Open any of the DG coolers and you’ll still get a wonderful whiff of clover, asters, and strawflower. But the buzz is building about fall, and the fall shipping season begins in earnest at the end of this month.
I say it every year, and it continues to be true. The autumn months are an ideal showcase for Dos Gringos’ quality and expertise. We’ve got the product, the design and the drive to make this season shine. To that end, we’re putting the finishing touches on fall crops and harvest schedules to ensure we can meet all of our commitments. And we’re buying seed and making final planting decisions about Thanksgiving. We expect Sunflowers in all varieties and colors to be fantastic. Pumpkin Tree, Millet, Broomcorn, and Chili Pepperswill be available starting in September. Do we know what you need for Thanksgiving? Reach out to the DG sales team so we can help your business hum at this spectacular time of year.
I’m just back from a trip to northern California to check in and catch up with our Sunflower seed hybridizer. Growing never-before-seen varieties of Sunflowers is a fascinating lesson in patience and perseverance – and biotechnology. So many things must come together and work “just so” before we can put a natural red or white Sunflower on our order form. It could take a crossing of almost 200 different lines to yield ONE commercial-grade product! It turns out that bees, whose procreation and pollination are critical to Sunflower production, aren’t a bit interested in Dos Gringos’ growth goals or production schedule. Who knew?
The dream is very much alive, and we continue to test several colors both with our genius hybridizer and at our test farms near our corporate office. You’ll see some at our pack trials this fall, and some are almost ready for semi-commercial trials. We’re also learning more about Sunflower strength and longer vase life. Much more to come on that…
I’m on the road again in August to visit customers in the East this month to learn as much as I can about what’s driving business right now and how Dos Gringos can help. Several DG Business Development Managers will be moving about the country as well to participate in various client shows and show off our current product lines.
I’ll end with a quick shout-out to all the wholesalers I had a chance to catch up with at Fun ‘n Sun in July. I thoroughly enjoyed being back in touch with old friends and being on the floor to hear what’s going on in that market. “Faster and fresher to final destination” is a big priority of The California Flower Association, and of course, ours too. We see lots of opportunity for getting Dos Gringos bouquets into smaller, regional markets of the country, and we know some of our wholesalers can help. We’re working on it!
From Fukushima to all over Japan. They have now sent seeds to 13,000 locations in Japan and people are growing them all over.
Garden club volunteers from all over San Diego gathered at Dos Gringos and, combined with a group from South County made 700 bouquets which were distributed to military hospitals and care homes from the donated flowers from the show.
Picture is of Charlotte Fan, North County Manager for MOW.
We donated all the tabletoppers and bouquets for their gala last month!
Enjoy this last month before school starts – and start thinking fall flowers!
Jason Levin
President & Chief Gringo
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A belated “Happy Independence Day” to all! We hope everyone enjoyed a nice, relaxing long weekend with family and friends.
As summer heats up – looks like Mother Nature finally found that “On” switch -- it’s time for some serious Fun ‘N Sun, and we look forward to seeing many of you at the semi- annual California floral convention running July 20-23 in the La Costa Resort in Carlsbad. I’ll be in the Dos Gringos booth with Marco Rivera and Rich Fruman on Friday the 22nd. We’ll have plenty of California-grown items to show, and we’ll be happy to discuss the latest and greatest innovations meant to keep us Number One in freshness. Grower Bunches and our Just Add collections are great florist items; check them out as well. Because we’re Dos Gringos, we like to think the “Sun” in Fun ‘N Sun is all about Sunflowers, so we’ll be showing off at least some of the most impressive varieties this summer.See a Promo Video of Rene van Rems at IFE last month! (from
flowersandcents.com)
http://www.flowersandcents.org/index.php?topic=4117.msg43570#msg43570
While you’re in town for the show, don’t miss a guided tour of our operations in Vista. Joan Saunders will be meeting and greeting clients throughout the four-day show; if you’d like to set something up ahead of time please reach out to her at joan.saunders@dosgringos.net.
Can't make it? Take a Virtual Tour on our site! (Click here)
This month features more work with our Total Quality Management (TQM) initiative. Many of you know that we’ve rolled out the program company-wide with the immediate goal of elevating customer service at every level of the organization. Our primary objectives are to:
• Fully understand and then satisfy our customers’ requirements;
• Establish a culture of “zero defects” and a passion for continuous improvement;
• Dissect critical processes to improve workflow;
• Use customer satisfaction as the ultimate measurement of quality.
We’ve created a Quality Council to steer our TQM work, and we’ve built eight Quality Improvement Teams to do a deep dive into key business processes, including raw material intake, grower standards, the cold chain process and sales forecasting. We’ve had some breakthroughs related to better-defined standards on our receiving docks and throughout the plant. Much more to report in the coming months…
On the family front, our own Gabe Gill (Plant Manager) will be married this month at the San Diego Botanical Gardens. Congratulations and best wishes, Gabe and India. I’m also getting a chance to recharge the batteries a little this month. A week off with the family included a 15-year anniversary celebration for Melissa and me. Fun fun!
Jason Levin
President & Chief Gringo
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The excitement is building around here as we put the final touches on our displays for this month’s International Floriculture Expo in Miami Beach. I’ll be in Booth #1933 with Creative Director Rene’ van Rems, AIFD, Director of Sales Marco Rivera and National Account Manager Charlotte Russeth as we show and tell how Dos Gringos is Different by Design™.
Unfortunately it’s a quick trip to Miami for me and I will only be on the show floor on Wednesday. For some crazy reason I was selected as a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition and need to be back in San Diego Thursday night for this ceremony and announcement.
Rene’ and Dos Gringos have a great new DVD available with hands-on instruction and detail about Sunflower care and handling, merchandising and design. Don’t miss your free copy!
The Half Pallet Program, a patented merchandising system we introduced in 1999, is updated with a variety of seasonally goof-proof bouquets. Please come and see some of the newest varieties of Sunflowers currently on trial for mass production and check out our enhanced grower bunch line up.
Last but not least, the new edition of “Cup of Sunshine,” the very handy ranch-to-retail promotion, is available in many varieties.
Back at headquarters in Vista, the team is working on a number of summer projects meant to fill the potholes that winter so often leaves behind. We’ll conduct annual maintenance on all of our equipment to keep it in tip-top shape. Line leaders and assemblers will be trained on new techniques for keeping our bouquet making as efficient as possible. We’ll get familiar with a new software package for streamlining shipping. And Rene’ and Marco will work with the sales team on our Summer 2012 line. This always includes conversations with 
clients about what they’re working on, where the market is headed, etc. Thank you in advance for your invaluable input on this project!
Constant improvement is a mantra around here, and this summer is no exception. Under Mark Young’s direction, each department will undergo an audit of all its processes with an eye toward how we can make everything better. Because fresh eyes and a different perspective are always a good idea, we’ll form cross-functional teams to evaluate areas they don’t typically work in and to ask questions and offer insight that push us all to the next level.
Weekly - 17 Vases for Scripps Health Ctr. Meals on Wheels Bouquets Petals for Patriots Bouquets
1/24 - Scripps Health Center Flowers 2/5 - 480 Wristlet Corsages for YMCA
2/11 - 5 Bunches of Suns in Box - Donation
2/22- Bouquets to Alzheimer patient group visiting DG
2/24 - SamLive 12 Suns shipped to Salvation Army Kroc Ctr
2/26 - Education Foundation Scholarship Circle 13 arrangements
3/2 - 15 Bouquets 10 Arrangements 3500 stems Chelsea King Project
3/2 - 100 Stems of Suns with SFG Tags for Nobleza Tequila
3/9 - 20 bunches Suns & 4 bunches Greens Christina's Scholarship
3/12 - Women's Hall of Fame $1000.00 in product
3/12 - Jason Patrick Funeral Flowers 35 Agmt, 8 vase, 2 large sprays
3/25 - 12 Agmts, 150 St. Sun - Soul Sharing Sister (leukemia fund)
4/8 - Bouquet - San Marcos Garden Club
4/13 - Bouquets - Point Loma Garden Club
4/14 - 210 Bouquets for Meals on Wheels Volunteer Luncheon
4/30 - 72 Sunshine Cups, 2 Long Centerpieces Volunteer Teacher Brunch
5/4 - Carehouse Fund Raiser 260 Bouquets
5/10 - Vista Woman's Club donated 11 Bunch of Suns 6 Bunches Solidago
5/10 - Meals on Wheels 11 arrangements 15 Bouquets Board Meeting
5/10 - 5 Bouquets for Santana High La Cross Team in Oceanside L.Garcia
5/16 - 14 Bqts. for Vista Flor- School Athletic Banquet Donation
5/20 - 20 Tropical Centerpieces Naturvet Foundation Fundraiser
5/22 - 100 Bqts for American Cancer Soc. Donation 
• IFE Show (June 13th- 17th), Miami Beach, FL - DG Booth #1933
In May flowers were used for two really cool things that may surprise you. The Japanese government decided to plant Sunflowers around Fukushima Prefecture to see if they can absorb radioactive materials in the soil that came from the recent nuclear plant disaster there. Go, Sunflowers!
More locally, Melissa and I sponsored a fundraiser to save the volunteer art program at our daughter Annie’s school. Each grade was assigned a flower for each child in that grade to paint. We provided frames and the corresponding flower, parents purchased the masterpieces, and the art program lives on! Gosh I love being in the flower business!Jason LevinPresident & Chief Gringo-
As Mother’s Day mania hits us all this week (and the last three,) I want to thank all Dos Gringos clients for your business and support throughout April. Farming and assembly operations have gone quite smoothly, and I hope your bouquets and grower bunches have all arrived in great shape. If not, I want to hear about it personally!
I especially love this time of year and all the spring “stuff” that always brings smiles to so many: Purple Pride Waxflower, Spring Ranunculus, and gorgeous Yellow Sunflowers, to name a few. Spring seasonal items will have their final harvest this week and we’ll be sad to see them finished. 
• Fun & Sun (July 20th- 22nd)
• IFE (June 13th- 17th)
• African Marigold (May 23rd )
• French Marigolds (May 23rd )
• Sunflowers for Aug. 28th- Oct. 30 period (Booking deadline is May 23rd)
I’m proud to share with you that we just broke our own record for highest sales volume in a single day. We shipped 127,720 bouquets, but who’s counting. April 29th was the big day and, as always, it was a huge team effort. What’s behind the big numbers? There are two things Dos Gringos does well, and in over 20 years in this business it hasn’t changed. We are freaks about design and freshness. Those are two key elements of the many ingredients in our bouquets that continue to drive us forward. Everyone who works at Dos Gringos played a part in this New Record.
23 year historical record... Beat. I am proud to be here! 
When it comes to design and freshness, our philosophy begins and ends with keeping it local. Almost every element in every Dos Gringos bouquet comes from no further than a 15-hour radius of our bouquet assembly and quality control center in North San Diego County. These flowers and greens are always cold and always fresh, and by cutting down on transportation we reduce the impact on the environment. That’s not all. Once they arrive here, your flowers and foliage are in the best hands possible – those of our creative director, Rene’ van Rems, AIFD. His knowledge, expertise and unparalleled experience come together to ensure that every bouquet, every arrangement, every time brings smiles and a “Wow!” factor you won’t receive from any other company. We are truly Different by Design™.
And then there’s our Quality Control/Quality Assurance Team. Led by Gabe Gill, this group of ten team members works tirelessly to remain on the cutting edge of equipment, technology and process management to ensure the freshest product with the longest possible vase life on a consistent basis. In addition, our own Raul Meza (aka “Blue”) has put in yeoman’s hours coordinating production so your bouquets arrive fresh, beautiful and on time. This month the Quality Team welcomes Mary Luz Rodriguez. Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Mary Luz developed a great passion for working with flowers and eventually decided to pursue an agricultural engineering degree in the United States. An enthusiastic trainer and teacher, she’s excited to get all of us up to speed on the latest quality control innovations and advanced tools. With these applications in place we’ll be able to recognize problems faster and address them more efficiently for the benefit of our clients. Mary Luz’s determination and discipline are great assets for Dos Gringos and for the new team she’ll be building over the next several months. We want your flowers to be fresher and last longer than ever before.
- Our very own Chief Gringo, Jason Levin, is a Semi Finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition!
- We donated Sunflowers for “Finish Chelsea’s Run" and raised nearly $2,800.00 all of which goes to the foundation.
A very Happy Mother’s Day to all! Thanks for everything you do to make this world a better place. After adding an eight-week-old black lab mix to our brood in April, I know my wife Melissa deserves more than a day of R&R. Hope yours is special -- and free of dog duty!Jason LevinChief Gringo
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