Chances are your strawberries come in one of this 100-year-old Watsonville company’s packages

When Charles Sambrailo, the son of Croatian immigrants, first started working with Pajaro Valley apple growers to package their wares, he was hand-nailing wooden crates. A century later, his descendants continue to grow the business he started with new products, new lines and a move into more sustainable options. 

Charles’ great-granddaughter, Kiersten Sambrailo Clontz, is part of the fourth generation of Sambrailos working at what became Sambrailo Packaging, along with her brother. Her father, Mark, serves as CEO and president, following in his father’s footsteps. His brother Michael is a co-owner. 

In the decades since it began, Sambrailo Packaging has grown to now serve some of the biggest berry growers in the world, with locations in both California and Mexico. During peak season, the company employs about 400 to 450 workers and has about 50 full-time employees, around three-quarters of whom are based in Santa Cruz County. 

The company’s trays, clamshells and baskets are distributed throughout the U.S. and Mexico, and then shipped domestically and internationally, according to marketing manager Sara Lozano. While berries represent about 80% of the business, the company has also expanded into new areas like mushrooms and row crops like lettuce and other vegetables. 

Charles Sambrailo started with wooden crates and the company later added the corrugated cardboard trays and green mesh baskets that are practically ubiquitous when it comes to berries. In the late 1980s, Clontz’s grandfather, Bill Sambrailo, introduced the industry’s first plastic clamshell. According to family lore, he was inspired in part after seeing plastic sandwich packages on an airplane, according to Clontz. Before that, the company was using baskets made from paper pulp that were sealed with plastic wrap and a rubber band.

A move into sustainability

In 2017, Sambrailo launched ReadyCycle, a line of 100% recyclable, compostable, single-use packaging made from paperboard and printed with vegetable-based inks that’s an alternative to plastic. In addition to ReadyCycle berry packaging, the company now also has a line for tomatoes and mushrooms.

Offering more sustainable options like this is a big focus for Sambrailo, said Clontz, adding that it’s a continued balance between considering what’s best for protecting the fruit and what can be done to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

In addition to providing packaging materials, Sambrailo also assists its customers with things like inventory management and traceability (essentially, this ensures it’s easier to determine where an individual package winds up and where it came from).

The company’s adaptability and commitment to superior customer service has not only helped contribute to its longevity, but also earned it accolades throughout the produce industry. Recently, Mark Sambrailo was named to the 2023 Packer 25, a ranking of the top people in produce packing compiled annually by one of the industry’s top trade publications.

Rooted in family

Also core to the company’s success, in Clontz’s mind, is its corporate culture.

Clontz’s father had a rule that she and her brother had to work at least five years outside of the family business, but she always knew she wanted to come back to the company, she said. After attending college in Oregon, then spending six years working in recruiting and hiring for both information technology and health care, she returned to the company her great-grandfather began an entire century ago. 

“I think we do a pretty good job in keeping work and life separate and following the golden rule,” she said. “I truly enjoy working with my brother and father.” 

Core to the company’s success, in Clontz’ mind, is its corporate culture – which includes the loyalty of its employees. One employee, Tony Cadiente, retired just a few years ago after 54 years with the company. He’s featured in a video celebrating the company’s centennial.

“We have employees who have been with us 30, 40, even 50 years,” she said. “They feel like family and that’s why they’ve stayed so long. Family is the most important thing and that’s really amplified throughout the company.” 

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