In the heart of the Okanagan Valley, liberal sunshine and warm weather give us delicious tree and vine ripened fruit abundant in natural flavour – fruit which provides our company with the means to make our jams, syrups, fruit leathers, and candies. Mr. F.E. (Ted) Atkinson founded Summerland Sweets in 1962. Ted received a Bachelors Degree in Food Science at Oregon State University in Corvallis in the 1920’s. Throughout his career he worked at the Federal Agricultural Research Station in Summerland and acted as head of the food processing lab for many years.
In the early 60‘s, working out of a pickers’ cabin on his orchard, Ted started producing fruit jelly candies to raise funds for the local Rotary Club. He soon turned to commercial production and what began as a fundraising effort grew into a retirement project and blossomed into Summerland Sweets.
Ted’s success was due to his dedication to quality. He believed in using only top quality tree and vine ripened fruit picked at the peak of maturity. The fruit was then processed quickly to capture maximum flavour and maintain fruit colour.
Since its modest beginnings the business has grown considerably and is still run by Ted’s family to this day.
Directions
