Wish Farms
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Agriculture, Food distribution |
| Founded | 1922 |
| Founder | Harris Wishnatzki, Daniel Nathel |
| Headquarters | Plant City, Florida , United States |
Key people | Gary Wishnatzki (President) |
| Products | Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries (conventional and organic) |
Wish Farms operates out of Plant City, Florida, United States as a prominent distributor of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. The enterprise was founded in 1922.
History
The origins of the company trace back to 1922 when Harris Wishnatzki joined forces with Daniel Nathel to establish Wishnatzki & Nathel, a wholesale distributor of fruits and vegetables. Harris initiated business activities in Plant City, Florida in 1929 and permanently relocated there by 1937. Following his passing in 1955, leadership transitioned to his sons Joe and Lester. Gary Wishnatzki assumed the role of President in 1990. In 2001, the Wishnatzki and Nathel families divided the business; the Florida branch was taken over by the Wishnatzkis and renamed Wishnatzki Farms.
In 2002, Wishnatzki Farms ventured into frozen strawberry production and became Florida’s pioneer commercial-scale organic strawberry grower by 2005. The company underwent rebranding in 2010 as Wish Farms, introducing the mascot “Misty the Garden Pixie.” Since then, Wish Farms has been a sponsor of the Florida Strawberry Festival’s Soundstage concert series. To tackle labor shortages, Gary Wishnatzki founded Harvest CROO Robotics in 2013, focusing on creating automated technology for strawberry harvesting.
Products
Wish Farms offers both conventional and organic varieties of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Its cultivation spans multiple regions across North and South America, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Michigan, California, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Peru. The company commenced organic strawberry farming in Duette, Florida in 2005 and by 2018 was responsible for producing 90% of Florida’s organic strawberries.
In 2014, Wish Farms broadened its organic product line to enable year-round availability by cultivating organic strawberries in California along with organic blueberries in Florida. The launch of Misty Organics occurred in 2016 with an organic blueberry farm located in Alturas, Florida; production began in 2018 using container-grown berries under protective covers to lengthen the harvest period between South American and Southeastern U.S. seasons.