Sponsored Content by Tasteful Selections.
The mission of Studio 17’s Kern Agriculture week is to bring awareness to the impact of the agriculture industry in the Golden Empire. Every day this week we will highlight agricultural companies in our community, starting with Tasteful Selections.
Tasteful Selections started in 2010 when President & CEO Bob Bender moved to California as a partner with CSS Farms and left his roots in Nebraska to look for other opportunities. “I first came here to grow chip potatoes, which is what we do in the Midwest,” said Bender. When the chip potato venture wasn’t successful, Bender pursued other opportunities: “I started growing other crops and after a couple of years of growing crops like peppers, and onions, and garlic and black-eyed peas and other things, I was asked to grow some baby potatoes for a company out of Canada.”
Bender said that in Nebraska, the small potatoes were known to be the tastiest potatoes. After supplying the baby potatoes to the company in Canada, Bender knew the crop was needed in the U.S. as well. “In 2012 we started designing a new facility and completed that in 2015,” said Bender
The company takes pride in supplying a year-round supply of potatoes to its customers. Tasteful Selections has expanded its operation from 600 acres in the first year to more than 21,000 acres of baby potatoes today. Tasteful Selection potatoes are grown in California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Washington, and are all shipped back to Bakersfield to be packed in its facility. “For Tasteful Selections to have year-round supply, Kern County makes a lot of sense,” said Bender. “In Kern County, Tasteful Selections grows 2 crops; one in spring and the other in the fall, but we also are at the hub of transportation out of the Central Valley.”
To find out where you can purchase Tasteful Selections, click here.
