Morning Star Videos

Sun-Dried Tomatoes from Valley Sun Products, Inc. – R&D Session

Have you tried a sprinkle of chipotle flavored sun-dried tomato powder on your popcorn and savored the flavor bomb that hits your tongue? Have you infused some sriracha flavor into your dips and dressings to create a new trendy flavor profile? We have, and we continue to innovate new ways to incorporate our flavor-packed powders and sun-dried tomato bits into modern-day dishes, snacks, condiments, and more. However, these products reach far beyond their flavorful benefits.

Sun-dried tomatoes are nutrient-dense and a natural source of sugar. They offer an immensely healthy value that can be added to any food product.

Valley Sun Products, Inc. is the world’s largest producer of sun-dried tomato products. Our team has over 25 years of combined experience and continuity in the production of sun-dried tomatoes. We are part of a vertically integrated enterprise family, which ensures we are involved in each step of the supply chain. This allows us the ability to produce premium sun-dried tomatoes with pride and integrity.

July marks the start of tomato processing season here at The Morning Star Packing Company and the first tomatoes to arrive from the fields are completely green. As part of our value-add portfolio, green tomato ingredient products have blossomed into a hot commodity. A few of our coworkers have joined us to discuss just where these green tomatoes come from and how companies are using them.

Colleague Eric Fisher is here to introduce you to Morning Star’s innovative and comprehensive line of value-added tomato products.

In 1970, Chris Rufer began Morning Star as a one-truck owner-operator company in California’s Central Valley, hauling tomatoes from fields to canneries.

Today, Morning Star operates three factories with the largest production scale in the world, with resources solely dedicated to tomatoes by way of our vertically integrated services with the support of our enterprise companies.

A message from our Morning Star colleagues as we head into the 2020 processing season in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are all staying safe and preparations are underway to ensure our tomato ingredient products are produced on schedule for our customers.

The Morning Star Company is a vertically integrated enterprise and our greenhouse operation at California Masterplant is a very important pice of the puzzle.

The Morning Star Company is a vertically integrated enterprise and our greenhouse operation at California Masterplant is a very important piece of the puzzle.

Everyone is familiar with what a tomato plant looks like, but have you ever wondered what it takes to grow that plant and the red ripe tomatoes we harvest from it for your ketchup, pasta sauces, salsas, and so much more? California Masterplant and The Morning Star Company do. Check out this sneak peek inside our greenhouse operation as our colleagues take you on the journey from seed to seedling.

Cal Sun Grower Services is an enterprise company of The Morning Star Company and is responsible for ensuring our tomato transplants are planted in the fields, and once ripe, harvested for use in our facilities. Our teams discuss why our vertically integrated approach is important to the success, growth, and efficiency of our entire operation.

Our Cal Sun Grower Services team is hard at work harvesting tomatoes for our three Morning Star tomato processing factories. They typically start within the first few weeks of July and run 24/7 until the first few weeks of October.

Morning Star reflects back on the past 50 years since The Morning Star Trucking Company was founded, and on the 30 year anniversary of our very first tomato processing facility.

Melodie, Ross, Todd, and Karrie tell stories of their time with Chris at Morning Star.