
Cucumber Fit for a King as Del Fresco Pure® Secures Title of the Overall Coolest Cuke at the 2025 Greenhouse Competition; Sonia Klinger and Art Barron Comment
KINGSVILLE, ON - Still reveling in their win, Del Fresco Pure® took home some impressive hardware from the 18th annual R.E.A.C.H. International Greenhouse Competitions that took place on Friday, May 23, 2025, in Kingsville, Ontario, which included:
- 1st Place (Cucumber category) Del Fresco Pure ® Organic English Seedless Cucumber
- 1st Place (Yellow Bell Pepper category) Del Fresco Pure® Yellow Sweet Rainbow Pepper* Three-time winner
- 1st Place (Tomato on the Vine category) Del Fresco Pure® Tomato on the Vine
- 2nd Place (Beefsteak category) Del Fresco Pure® Beefsteak Tomato
Along with the impressive wins, there were top honors in the Overall Coolest Cuke category, where they secured the title with their Organic English Seedless Cucumber.

“We always look forward to the greenhouse competition organized by R.E.A.C.H. International. This event not only brings our industry and community together, supporting a great cause,” says Sonia Klinger, Marketing Manager at Del Fresco Pure®, in a recent press release. “Our team takes great pride in our successes, particularly our overall win for our Organic English Seedless Cucumber. This achievement reflects our dedication to quality. "Winning such a prestigious award was a testament to the hard work and passion that our team pours into every aspect of our greenhouse operations,” states Sonia.
The awards ceremony was held at Kingsville Community Church on Friday, May 23rd, and live-streamed at greenhousecompetitions.com.

The winners received the coveted Greenhouse Competition trophies and, of course, the bragging rights as the best producers in North America. Red Seal Chef Julie Myers, owner of Thyme Kitchen, had the difficult task of choosing 8 products from the 194 entries as the Chef’s Choice winners of this year’s competition. Chef Julie wowed the crowd gathered for the awards with dishes made from the products she chose. This is the 18th year of these unique competitions that have been running since 2007 to celebrate Essex County as the largest greenhouse industry in North America. And the charity that runs the annual event uses the proceeds from the competition to sponsor over 45 children in Uganda, Africa, annually. These sponsorships give the children and teens food, school supplies, medicine, and everything else they need to get an education and break the cycle of poverty.

Art Barron, President of R.E.A.C.H. International, speaks on the impact of the Greenhouse Competitions: "We just love that we can celebrate the Greenhouse Industry in Essex County with this annual event that helps in so many ways. Locally, the Kingsville Community Center receives funds from selling donated produce to help support their amazing programs, and the Gleaners pick up any leftover produce. For the villages we serve in Uganda, these competitions have helped us to raise over $275,000, which is used to provide for children's education, build infrastructure, and enhance health and wellness."