Last updated on June 13th, 2024 at 12:42 pm
International grower and year-round marketer of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, Wish Farms hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on its new headquarters in Plant City, Florida. The company moved into its new 24,000-square-foot office on its 36-acre campus.
“Our company has a 100-year relationship with the community of Plant City. Our connection goes back to our days on the State Farmers Market and beyond,” said Wish Farms’ owner Gary Wishnatzki. “This is a strawberry town, so keeping our new address here means a lot to our company, employees and growers.”
The land on which the campus is built has a strong connection to agriculture, dating back generations before Wish Farms’ purchase. Proceeds from its sale in 2018 were placed into a charitable trust benefiting local FFA and agriculture education by the previous owner, Joe Kuhn.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nicole “Nikki” Fried spoke to the crowd of attendees: “It’s about empowering and inspiring the next generation to love (agriculture) as much as their parents and grandparents…and you have built something here that carries on that legacy.”
Many features inside the office utilize wood that was cut down from the site. Not only does this keep with its “Feel Good” promise of sustainability, but this aesthetic choice adds to the overall “magical pixie forest” theme. The repurposed wood can be found in many custom areas throughout, including the adult sized slide, reception desks, stair treads and conference tables.
In addition to the office built by construction company Barr and Barr, the campus features a blueberry farm, 125,000-square-foot warehouse/cooling facility with a 20,000-square-foot solar array, digital billboard, a treehouse, walking trails and lake. According to the Florida Department of Transportation, approximately 115,000 vehicles drive past the Wish Farms’ headquarters every day.
“It’s exciting because our new headquarters perfectly reflects our fun, family-friendly brand and will be a fantastic asset for retaining and recruiting top talent for many years to come,” said Wishnatzki.