September 2013 - The Dirt

School is back in session, and Dos Gringos is back on the hustle and bustle that is our fall season. Our travel-heavy schedules have eased a bit as we adopt an “All hands on deck” approach for this last quarter of the year. We’re welcoming several new Team Members – and ensuring they learn and embrace “the DG way” of getting things done -- as we plan and prepare for the heavy production that always arrives with school bells and cooler temperatures. The beautiful, well-tended soil of several farms is giving us Sunflowers in all kinds of interesting, autumnal colors, but that’s just the beginning of our impressive selection. Protea, Marigolds, Pumpkin Tree, Broomcorn, and Silver Sage are filling the coolers at Dos Gringos, and the team is assembling stunning bouquets that you won’t want to miss. Now more than any other time of year, we stand apart from the crowd with selection and service. Thank you for all your efforts in getting this message – and our flowers – to consumers. Like many of you, we’re prepping for the Produce Marketing Association show in New Orleans in October. Marco Rivera and his team will put our best foot forward in Booth #736, and we look forward to catching up with you there. We’re hitting on a “California Dreaming/Born in the USA”  theme, which is perfect for us as we tackle the localization aspect of the business. The closer we can get to our clients’ distribution centers, the better. Product freshness and quality improve, and we’re able to get items to you in the most economical way possible. I’m proud that we’re beginning our second growing season in Pennsylvania and our first in Wisconsin and Florida. Getting off the ground (or should I say “out of the ground?”) in different geographies has been a learning experience, to say the least. It’s hard to teach best practices and quality assurance standards that work across climates, but we’re committed to this , and we’ve had some significant wins. Mother Nature is a tough competitor, but we love a challenge.  The wizard behind this work is our very own Master Grower Todd Thornton. We’ll feature Todd and some of his greatest insights in the next issue of The Dirt. From now through the end of 2013, expect more extended work shifts and top-notch service from our teams in San Diego and Miami as we expand production and shine, shine, shine! What can we do to make your job easier? I hope you’ll let me know: jason.levin@dosgringos.net. _____________________ ______________________

Dos Gringos Dirt - Summertime Work & Play!

Client visits to our Vista offices in July were fantastic. We had a great time connecting one on one, and we really took advantage of the opportunity to brainstorm without boundaries. I trust that our partners got as much out of these sessions as we did, and I’m thrilled that we have additional visits scheduled this month. The Design Center is proving to be a great working environment to collaborate with clients. We love coming up with different and unique items that help make our client’s successful. Keep visiting! I mixed work and pleasure and spent a great week on the East Coast in late July with the family. Annie (11) and Jack (6) loved the Freedom Trail and Martha’s Vineyard, and we spent a beautiful evening taking in a Red Sox game. August brings more business travel for me. I’m excited to share that I’ll spend some time in Lincoln, NE, touring a company known for its commitment to building and nurturing a great culture and its focus on Team Member wellness. Dos Gringos has enjoyed some really nice growth and expansion as a company. Regardless of size, I want to make sure this is a place where people want to work and build a career. August is always a time for us to look closely at this topic, and I plan to bring back some best practices around culture and wellness initiatives as well as smart growth. Our internal “Biggest Loser” contest wrapped up last week. Many of our Team Members stepped up to shed a few pounds and shore up some energy over the past 12weeks. It’s been fun to see the satisfaction with results and the friendly competition among teams and individuals. This determined bunch shed a total of 112.4 pounds! This month’s Team Member profile introduces Raul Meza, our Production Supervisor. He’s a great member of the DG family, and he represents the “go for it” approach we are lucky to have. We’ll be sending kids back to school before we know it. Grab every opportunity to make the most of summer while it’s here – and don’t forget the flowers! _____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  As he approaches his seven-year anniversary with the Dos Gringos family, Raul Meza knows the plant as well as anyone. If you’ve placed an order with us, he’s had a hand in seeing it through to completion. He likes the details, and he knows how to multi-task. Still, one of his favorite parts of the job is that he learns something new every day! Raul is responsible for day-to-day operations on the production floor. He hires Team Members and makes sure their role is a good fit for them and for the company; he handles all of our scheduling; and he works in sync with our warehouse as well as our shipping and receiving teams and our packing and assembly lines. It’s not really a desk job. A typical day begins with a walk around the floor to ensure we’re staffed and ready to go. He checks out the order distribution list and examines multiple assembly lines for product. He asks and answers questions. And he partners with Quality Control to ensure that every client will be happy with the end result. All of this while keeping an eye on the clock. Strict start and stop times help ensure we fulfill all orders. When he’s not doing any of this work? Meetings. Raul is a critical link between Production and Sales. He listens well and watches for gaps between what’s coming in and what’s going out. As part of our Operations Board, he identifies problems, offers solutions, and measures results. Best Lesson Learned: Everyone is here to help. To a person, we do whatever it takes to get orders out accurately and in accordance with our high standards! It’s all about our clients. Most Challenging: When we simply don’t have the products we need to meet demand. That’s when communication kicks in and you step up with solutions. What’s Next?  We’ll see what pops up. I started here in Accounts Payable. There’s all kinds of opportunity for growth and development. I enjoy being able to lead by example and show teammates the right way – and I love having visibility to every dept. I’m still challenged and intrigued by Production, but there are always new paths to consider. On a personal note:  In his spare time, Raul enjoys spending time with his wife Adela, his baby girl Giselle and watching his beloved Dodgers play.  Hence is nickname “Blue.”

The Dirt - Happy Independence Day!

Hola! A belated “Happy Independence Day” to all. The first week in July is always a great time to enjoy the sights and sounds of summer and stay up way too late too many nights in a row. I hope all of you were able to do whatever you wanted over the long weekend. It’s no surprise that the Dos Gringos Team loves getting out to visit our clients and to see their facilities and operations firsthand. There simply is no substitute for seeing for ourselves how you receive, handle and distribute the items you purchase from us. Unless we live it with you, even if it’s just for a very brief time, we can’t truly partner with you to develop the best possible relationship and end-to-end experience. We typically fill our summers with road – and air – trips, and 2013 is no exception. I’ve got at least one visit to the East Coast on my calendar for Late July and I never miss a chance to see our flowers in stores. If you’re one of the clients we had the privilege of interacting with in May or June, thank you for your hospitality and friendship.  Thank you for giving so generously of your time and talent. We are waayyyyy better when we work together! In July we welcome the chance to do some hosting ourselves. Several visits to Vista are on the calendar, and I can’t wait. There’s a bit of an updated look to Dos Gringos that I think you’ll appreciate. I like to think of it as “productive down time:” a chance to catch your breath a little, to pay close attention to your imagination, and to figure out – together – what’s next. Last summer I told you how hard Robin Mooney, Gabe Gill, and our architectural experts were working on the “Idea Lab.” That dream has largely come to life, and the Design Center is a unique space dedicated to innovation. The brainstorming area is a highlight of course – there truly is no such thing as a bad idea or a dumb question -- but we’ve also made sure to include everything else you’ll need to see your big ideas through: bouquets, vases, sleeves, every raw material we could think of.  And we don’t stop there...You want to know how all of this is going to look and perform on display, right?  No worries. We’ll send you home with a high-resolution photo that will continue to inspire you and your team and encourage you to brainstorm further.   When your tour takes you to the production floor, you’ll see a redesign meant to eliminate bottlenecks in product handling and to keep productivity at its highest levels.  The Operations Team has led the charge to install new racks that are helping decrease mechanical damage as well as a higher-speed, automated wet pack machine. My hat is most definitely off to all the Team Members in Operations.   Mason jar arrangements and our summer-themed mugs filled with the best of the season continue to exceed our expectations, but we'll bug you about that later. For now, check some of these out above! _____________________

The Dirt - Summer Greetings!

Hola! Warm summer greetings to all! A number of client trade shows are getting our time and attention in June.  These are ideal opportunities for us to get one-on-one, face-to-face time with important partners.  We put a lot of thought, preparation and hardwork into these opportunities. Members of the team are headed to Idaho, New Jersey, Florida, and Ohio this month.  We’ve opted out of SuperFloral again this summer, preferring to spend time and resources on established, strategic partnerships with agreed-upon goals and objectives. We’ve learned that this works better for clients, and we’re happy to be able to accommodate them.  Heads Up, though: we are making plans to be at the Produce Marketing Association show in New Orleans in October. Robin has so much to share and display in Autumn, and we can’t wait to catch up with many of you there. I’m confident you’ll find that we’ve continued to improve and change in ways that benefit you. In the meantime, we are bursting at the seams with all the greatest flowers of the summer. The crops I’ve seen look outstanding, and Sunflowers are in ample supply. Sunbeams, Sun Splash, GreenBurst, and all the varieties with gorgeous dark centers are filling our coolers. Might be time to think about a Sunflower Category vs a Sunflower Sku!? Dos Gringos has spread its wings a bit in recent months. I’m pleased to let you know that we’ve successfully purchased a 25 year old company, with over 5,000 clients called Pick On Us. This eco-friendly, sustainable concept produces cuisine décor – bamboo picks, stir sticks, and skewers – giving us improved access to unique and interesting bouquet picks. We’re excited to learn all we can and to share the possibilities with all of you. There’s a lot of synergy between how we sell flowers and how we sell these items, and I felt it was a great time to add some diversification to our business model and boost our financial position for the future. Aaron Motola, who many of you have known for years as DG’s procurement expert, has agreed to run Pick on Us for us. He and a small team have wasted no time getting up and into this marketplace. Conferences and trade shows throughout the spring have been invaluable in allowing us to connect with chefs and begin our quest to be the knowledge experts in cuisine décor – in the same way that we strive to be the smartest in flower and foliage in order to pass this education along to our clients.  Check out the web site and see what we mean: www.pickonus.com. “We’re off to a great start with this exciting new venture,” says Aaron. “It’s really fun and energizing, and we see all kinds of potential. The best part so far has been meeting and starting relationships with so many culinary experts. We’ve created a Chef’s Toolkit that puts all of our products in all different shapes and sizes at a chef’s fingertips as he/she imagines and creates the next menu. And we completed our first catalog, available in hard copy and online. We’re taking smart, solid first steps, and we think there are great things ahead for Pick on us.” As spring gives way to summer this month, I hope terrific days are ahead for all of you. Together, let’s fill them with flowers! _______________________ _________________________

Happy Mother's Day

Hola! I have always said that Dos Gringos is “a Mother’s Day kind of company,” but what in the world does that mean? It reflects the reality that April and early May tend to be very big for us in terms of reaping what we sow. That was certainly the case this spring. We rebounded nicely from some March weather issues and have been able to harvest many of the crops that came up short in January and February. In fact, last Thursday we broke our standing record for largest daily sales.  It was a proud day in Dg history. I’ve been on the production floor a lot this holiday, and I assure you the products shipped this week are some of the lushest and healthiest of the spring season. The Dg Team is working 14-hour days to bring sunshine and smiles to mothers across the country, let's hope they do! This weekend’s holiday puts an end to Marguerite Daisies and Ranunculus while it ushers in our signature stem – Sunflowers! In just a few short weeks we’ll begin harvesting out of California and northern Baja, transitioning the work flow and plant production schedule around this summertime favorite. It still leads the charge in adding instant, budget-friendly flower power to indoor and outdoor spaces, and I am convinced that Dos Gringos is working with the best and brightest hybridizers and breeders to keep Suns fun and fresh. On the design side, Robin Mooney and her team continue to test a variety of builds and displays. We’ve had a great response to our Mason Jars campaign. Robin and Marco Rivera agree that this product hits a “sweet spot” with consumers. Our Mason Jar's are the perfect size and make for a great hostess gift or small table centerpiece.  They present themselves as a really nice gesture that’s tasteful but not over the top.  Also, we’re seeing some of our competitors follow suit with this design idea. Fortunately we haven’t seen any copycats who have Robin’s eye for design – or her patience for hand-tying every Mason Jar we send to a store!  Check out our summer selection below. Mid-May includes site visits to explore opportunities for supply chain expansion as well as a trip for me out east. We’re very excited to reveal interesting and innovative plans for Thanksgiving 2013 and the year-end holidays. Office time will be spent working with the team to finalize our list of summer projects. More on those in June. Until then, enjoy the last weeks of school-year schedules. More importantly, soak in the sunshine that took too long to arrive in certain areas of the country. ______________________