“Fresh From Florida” Products Highlight Florida-Grown Ingredients

In partnership with: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Finding and purchasing local products isn’t difficult when you live in Florida, a state known for its rich agriculture.

Thanks to programs like “Fresh From Florida,” it’s easier than ever to locate items on the shelf made with ingredients grown in the Sunshine State, which allows producers who participate in the program to display the official logo on their products.

There are two slightly different logos: one for unprocessed Florida agricultural products and one for processed products, which shows a “made with” distinction. Both have the same iconic symbol of the sun, land and sea, making them easy to spot.

Two businesses that sell “Fresh From Florida” products are I Heart Bees and Guavonia Guava Grove.

A Buzzing Business

Florida honey is now more accessible than ever thanks to I Heart Bees, which can be found across the state in big-name grocery stores like Whole Foods Market, Publix, Winn-Dixie and The Fresh Market.

While I Heart Bees proudly displays the “Fresh From Florida” logo on their products, their packaging is not your typical squeeze bottle container. Instead, I Heart Bees uses stand-up bags with a pourable spout modeled after honey packaging in Japan, which co-founders Donna and Gary Hinkle discovered while traveling. Besides being much easier to use, it’s also much more environmentally friendly.

“We started out in jars like everybody else, but we switched pretty quickly, and people told us we were crazy,” Donna says. “But it just fit everything we wanted to do: It’s easier to use, and it produces 70% less carbon footprint than traditional packaging.”

I Heart Bees produces a unique line of honey products compared to others on the market. While many honey producers sell varietals like orange blossom or saw palmetto, I Heart Bees takes a seasonal approach.

“We pull honey in the summer, fall and spring,” Donna says. “Our spring has some orange blossom in it, but it also has everything else that blooms in the springtime, and it’s the same with our other blends.”

All of the seasons are combined to create I Heart Bees’ bestselling product: Florida Allergy. Other top-sellers include Ginger Honey, which is the summer honey blended with organic ginger, and Mango Habanero Hot Honey, which packs a spicy punch and tastes great on nut butters, pizza or even cheese.

To try these amazing flavors, visit iheartbeeshoney.com or look for their uniquely bagged honey at your local grocery store.

See more: Kim N Kyle Straughn Honey Has Customers Buzzing

Exotically Exquisite

Farmer Jorge J. Zaldivar loves guava. He loves it so much he once dreamed of opening a bakery that served guava-filled pastries and came up with the name PG Tropicals, but he changed course and began running a tropical fruit farm, Guavonia Guava Grove, and Tropication Rare Plants nursery in Homestead’s Redland Agricultural Area.

“As a Floridian, it was important to understand guava as a fresh fruit and flavor, plus how important and storied it is in Florida’s history,” Zaldivar says. “Guava jelly, the most widely known Floridian product, was sold to European customers in the early 1900s. The jelly, paste, marmalade, juice and the ever-so-exquisite guava shells, also known as casquitos in Cuba, will always be a part of Florida.”

Thanks to this strong Floridian connection, being part of the “Fresh From Florida” program was an easy choice for Zaldivar.

“We wanted to find a way to promote Florida on our labeling to spotlight the fruits of the Sunshine State, and this program was the perfect fit,” Zaldivar says. “‘Fresh From Florida’ has been a great way to educate the public of Florida’s many distinguished products and programs.”

At Guavonia Guava Grove, the goal is to produce small-batch seasonal jams, jellies and marmalades from their own hand-picked fruit. Guava trees are well adapted to the warm subtropical climate in Redland and produce fruit bountifully.

Guavonia Guava Grove sells guava fruit directly to restaurants and chefs, such as Mamey Miami and Madruga Bakery in Coral Gables and Ariete in Coconut Grove, which was awarded a Michelin star in 2022. They also supply Azucar Ice Cream Co. in Little Havana as part of their “farm- to-cone” concept.

Harvests are announced via email list, and small-batch orders can be placed on PG Tropical’s website, guavarico.com.

See more: State Farmers Markets Ship Florida Commodities Across the Country