Del Monte Fresh Produce acquires Salinas-based Mann Packing for $361 million.

Broccolini florets may be relatively small, but they're big business. Salinas-based Mann Packing—which holds a trademark for the term "broccolini," a hybrid between broccoli and a Chinese type of kale that was developed in the 1990s—did $535 million in sales last year. 

The company was sold Monday, Feb. 5, to Florida-based Fresh Del Monte Produce for $361 million, Del Monte announced Tuesday morning. 

“We are extremely pleased about our acquisition of Mann Packing, a leader in the fresh and value-added vegetable category,” Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman and CEO of Fresh Del Monte said in a statement.

"This acquisition is a significant step toward our goal to be the world’s leading supplier of healthful, wholesome and nutritious fresh and prepared food and beverages for consumers.”

Del Monte's stock price rose by 4.84 percent Tuesday morning, despite a tumultuous couple of days for the market. 

Mann Packing has long operated a vegetable processing facility in Salinas, and last year announced plans to relocate to Gonzales. (That shift came amid a legal challenge to Mann's proposed expansion within Salinas.)

Mann Packing spokesperson Gina Nucci says plans are still on track to make the move to Gonzales, and she expects the new plant will open this June. 

"Everyone is excited about the new facility in Gonzales," Nucci writes by email. "Everything is moving forward as planned."

Mann Packing CEO Lorri Koster is a visible leader in the Salinas agricultural industry, active in promoting ag tech developments and serving as a mentor in the Thrive Accelerator contest aimed at developing new, tech-savvy businesses. Last summer, she was recognized with the Forbes Impact Award at an annual ag tech summit in Salinas. 

Nucci says the company plans to keep the existing workforce, as well as the management team, in place.