A new strawberry is hitting grocery freezer sections across the East Coast. This strawberry is 50% sweeter than commercial strawberries varieties that are traditionally frozen, like Camino Reals or Ambrosias. Developed at Lassen Canyon Nursery and botanically known as Fragaria x ananassa, the Ruby June variety of strawberries has a deep dark red exterior and interior, with a sweet, luscious flavor that can actually be smelled upon opening a bag of frozen strawberries.

The new variety is distributed under the Seal the Seasons brand, a company that believes the best produce comes from local farms. Seal the Seasons uses a “locally grown, locally frozen, and locally sold” business model to bring the best local foods to their grocery partners. These Ruby June Strawberries come in a distinct package highlighting the variety and the family farmer, Teresa Cottle, who grew them in Faison, North Carolina. 

“I am so proud of our team's hard work over the last 12 months to bring this variety to market,” said CEO Patrick Mateer. “It took careful planning with Ron and Teresa over at Cottle Farms to grow the hundreds of thousands of pounds needed for our customers.”

Ruby June strawberries will be available at about 1,500 Harris Teeter, Wegmans, Food Lion, Whole Foods, Lowes Foods, Ingles Markets, and Weaver Street Market Co-op locations on the East Coast. 

About Seal the Seasons
Seal the Seasons is pioneering a novel locally grown, locally frozen and locally sold brand platform. The company was founded in 2014, with the mission to support local family farms by making local frozen produce and value-added produce to consumers 365 days a year. Seal the Seasons believes that America’s food system must balance the well-being of people, provide wholesome products, and generate sustainable profits, and that local food creates a better future for family farms and communities. As a Certified B Corporation, Seal the Seasons is committed to using business as a force for good in the world. All of Seal the Seasons’ products are locally grown, and locally sold. The brand first released local fruit and vegetable products in 2016, by selling North Carolina and South Carolina grown produce in grocery store chains based out of the Carolinas. Seal the Seasons currently is distributed in 5,000 retail locations while operating in six regions of the United States (Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest and Southeast) with 4-10 SKUs available in each region. The company was founded in 2014, by Patrick Mateer & Alex Piasecki, local food entrepreneurs who started the company while in college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.