Florida Georgia Citrus
Kim Jones was in the tractor business for 48 years – until his grandchildren, who have a particular fondness for satsuma oranges, inspired him to start a citrus farm. Florida Georgia Citrus began as an “all hands on deck” family operation in 2014. Before long, Kim’s small orchard of about 800 trees soon flourished into a grove of 5,800 trees carrying five different varieties of satsuma oranges. Florida Georgia Citrus’ oranges reach its consumers in many different forms – juice, syrup, jams, jellies, slushies, whole oranges, and even soap.
Florida Georgia Citrus sells its products at a brick and mortar location (their farm), which is especially popular during citrus season. They’re also regulars at their local farmer’s market, where their slushies and juice work wonders cooling off their fans in the Florida heat.
Even online, Florida Georgia Citrus stays in touch with their local community. Its web store is most frequently shopped by locals, and they participate in a niche online marketplace, the Red Hills Online Farmers Market, a marketplace of about 50 local growers that aggregates products and delivers them directly to customers.
Kim also works with a variety of retailers to wholesale their products. “Our oranges are in just about any major grocery store chain along the Northeast you’ve heard of,” Kim shares. Trader Joe’s is their largest customer, but their bags of oranges find a home in the produce sections at Harris Teeter, Winn Dixie, and Publix, too. You’ll also find their oranges in some school cafeterias.
From Kim’s point of view, their additive-free, 100% satsuma orange juice is what’s next for the company. Kim hopes to see his orange juice sales expand outside of Florida in the coming years.
