The Dirt - March 2011 Issue

Hola everyone!



Bring on the sunshine, the growing variety of products, and the wonderfully Green Sunflowers that are so fun and festive this time of year.



As we like to say around here “Green-goes” with everything.








The weather has cooperated nicely over the past month, and we are thrilled to present – in excellent quantity and quality – our Green Burst Sunflower. The green center and jagged edges are a perfect twist for St. Patrick’s Day and beyond; especially this year, I think people are craving signs of spring and splashes of color. Tinted Suns are a great way to kick winter to the curb and throw open the windows for spring.

Green Suns, Marguerite Daisies and gold Eucalyptus – stunning and very festive!

Please let us know if you’re seeing – or not -- the benefits of our efforts to improve communication within our sales team to give better service to you.



I spent a few days in Denver last month at a Global Leadership Conference that gathered approximately 2,000 business leaders from more than 75 countries to hear world-renowned speakers and access resources to address key issues in business, politics, philanthropy and humanities. This is a great way for our team to get beyond the walls of Dos Gringos and the world of flowers and to learn from other disciplines and industries. Together this group generates $15 Trillion in sales and employees 15 million people.



Pretty amazing experience!






We are proud to be helping with a great cause for FINISH CHELSEA'S RUN on March 5th, 2011. We are donating 2,000 Sunflowers which will be sold for $1.00 each with ALL the proceeds going to the Chelsea's Light Foundation Scholarship Fund. We are also donating bouquets to the winners.



Learn More or Donate Today: www.cheleaslight.org.












To all of our hoops fans, enjoy March Madness!




Visit our page: Click here



We are fired up for spring – is there anyone who isn’t? – and ready to work with you to cover the country in flowers and bring smiles to millions!


Adios,

Jason Levin
Chief Gringo





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The Dirt - February 2011 Issue

Okay, so 2011 hasn’t come in exactly as we would have liked.

There’s no wildly positive movement in the economy. Our friends on the east coast can’t catch a break from the snow and the cold and the operational headaches they can bring. Now we’re watching a monster storm move from the heartland to the south and northeast.

Even here in California, January was filled with cold, dark and inclement weather that put our Sunflowers and other key crops well behind schedule. Good grief.








On the bright side, January is history, February is here, and it’s time for love, sweet love.

The good news now is that we’re harvesting Sunbeam Sunflowers and Dark Center Sunflower like crazy and our “Just Add” programs are doing very well across the country. Dos Gringos provides and prepares fresh and unique foliage with a splash of gyp just waiting to be “finished off” by a gorgeous batch of Roses or Tulips. The “Just Adds” are a great way to help out floral departments and to reach out to end users with ideas and products that make life simpler.

Valentine’s Day is here, of course. We are harvesting and shipping Sunflowers and “Just Adds” as quickly as possible and will be running at full strength through the 14th. We stand ready to make this holiday productive and profitable for you.







Recent upgrades include:

• An new updated automated wet pack line that doubles our capacity.



• A new ice machine to ensure water is pre-chilled to a temperature that makes your flowers last longer.

• New digital signage installed in the warehouse to track productivity and keep us ahead of truck delays and/or other opportunities for communication.

• New carts being tested in the warehouse to make us more efficient and to maximize space.

• A new Potting Room in the building, a place “where ideas go to grow.” All team members are invited and encouraged to stop in any time to brainstorm, jot down a thought or two, and help us bring the best seeds to flower.

• SalesForce.com, a new CRM tool to improve customer service.

• New strapping machines on all dry pack lines to help speed up the process and reduce packing material waste.

We are ready to serve! Here’s hoping the next several months are good to all of us.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

The Dirt - January 2011 Issue

We are very excited about 2011 and a new opportunity to serve you. Fresh, unique California flowers and foliage are different from the standard floral fare. We can’t wait to continue to show you how and why.





Several upgrades and accomplishments in the second half of 2010 give us good field position for the new year:

• An additional 120 acres of production that allows us to harvest 100,000 Sunflowers every day!
• Additional automatic assembly lines for increased production.
• New and improved water chiller.
• Quality Control expertise and personnel that we believe is the best in the business.
• Improved sales support focused specifically on better client services.









“Always be Testing” is a new and extremely effective program in our QC department. We pull a sample from every lot we ship and keep it here at headquarters under the same conditions the rest of the lot will experience in transit and at the final destination. We’re getting a much better read on shelf life, durability and overall appearance, and we’re making necessary adjustments along the way to ensure you always get the best product possible.






Software and hardware upgrades are ongoing at Dos Gringos to ensure state-of-the-art forecasting and effective, efficient client communication. We’ve had some great feedback about the speed and visual appeal of our revamped web site and we have upgraded this newsletter to speed up our communication to you.



We've updated our Dos Gringos Products Page with several new sections:
• New Instructional Video by World Renowned Floral Designer, Rene van Rems, AIFD
• A section about our Just Adds™ product offerings
• Interactive Online Seasonal Catalog
• Sunflower Varieties Page that showcases all of the wonderful types of sunflowers we offer

























COMING SOON!
The leadership team will meet this month to finalize budgets and hammer out our top three priorities for the year. Look for details about that in our February issue. In the meantime, the entire Dos Gringos family wishes you and yours a happy, healthy, flower-filled New Year!





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