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kitchen where we test cooking all the varieties in different ways.
"We've had to build all that from the ground up. The company's
whole history has been a lot of building infrastructure so we could
be successful. Rather than just guessing and sending a load of
seed to a particular production area, we do methodical, structured
trialing prior."
As consumer tastes have evolved to crave more diversity, SunRain
has been at the forefront of making sure commercial growers have
the means to meet changing demands. A major difficulty has been
seed growers' reluctance in general to branch out into growing
non-traditional varieties. Over the past five years or so, though,
that tide has turned a bit.
"We now have seed growers coming to us and saying, 'This is what
my ground and climate are like; what do you recommend?'" says
Derbidge. "So the pull from our customers—seed growers—has
been really good. We're seeing a lot more growers coming and
looking for these varieties."
In the end, the success of SunRain Varieties comes down to the love
of potatoes that pulses through everyone in the company. Derbidge
credits ownership's dedication to and belief in the industry as a
driving force of SunRain's growth and rising reputation.
"We're all potato nerds here," Derbidge says with a laugh. "We
fully admit it. We absolutely love potatoes."
