California Prunes have a history of more than 150 years.
After its initial development, the industry first organized under the Dried Fruit Association of California in 1908. The association oversaw sales contracts, transportation, pure food laws, and legislation. As the industry grew it needed an organization specifically focused on California Prunes.
Thus, the State Marketing Order for California Prunes was established in January 1952 and the California Prune Board has been operating continuously ever since.
Our Mission
Created in 1952, the California Prune Board aims to amplify the premium positioning and top-of-mind awareness of California Prunes. The California Prune Board represents approximately 800 prune growers and 28 prune, juice, and ingredient handlers to support and protect the health, growth, and integrity of the California Prune industry. This is facilitated by the following activities:
- Generic Promotion — Communicate differentiated benefits and encourage large-scale acceptance of California Prunes. This includes both U.S. and international programs that encompass advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and education.
- Research — This includes market research for measurement; production and processing research to improve grower efficiency and product quality and nutrition research to identify positioning opportunities and value messages.
- Trade Policy — Protect the interests of the California Prune industry globally through coordination with the trade, consumers and government agencies.
- Issues Management — Protect the health of the industry by keeping it apprised of issues that could impact it and being prepared for crisis management in an emergency.
California Prune Board Staff
Donn Zea
Executive Director | dzea@californiaprunes.org
Esther Ritson-Elliott
Director of International Marketing and Communications | global@californiaprunes.net
Kiaran Locy
Director of Brand and Industry Communications | klocy@californiaprunes.org
Eric Trotter
Director of Finance & Analytics | etrotter@californiaprunes.org
Becky Poland
Executive Coordinator | bpoland@californiaprunes.org
Jazmine Dawson
Marketing Communications Manager | jdawson@californiaprunes.org
Ginger Holzknecht
Bookkeeper | gholzknecht@californiaprunes.org