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♪♪

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[George Sousa, Jr.] Our vision, 
uh, is to inspire healthy

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living. You know, a lot of 
people would associate

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prunes with "That's 
what my grandparents eat,"

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yet almost every mom at 
some point will feed her infant

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some form of prunes.

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And, um, so, 
it's really a healthy product

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that checks all the boxes, 
regardless of your age group.

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[Natalie Mariani Kling] I think 
that there's huge opportunity

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for us to sort of rediscover the 
prune and use it for all ages.

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Natalie Mariani Kling and George 
Sousa are on a mission

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to change 
the reputation of the prune.

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The cousins believe that 
the prune's time has come,

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as Americans have a greater 
focus on healthier,

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plant-based eating.

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[George] And it just doesn't 
develop in the middle.

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And that's where 
a lot of the fruit usually is.

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[Natalie] Yeah. Interesting.

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Natalie and George are among 
six family members,

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all part of the fourth 
generation

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who are running the Mariani 
Packing Company.

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Their goal is to introduce 
new customers to an old fruit.

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[Natalie] We think prunes are 
one of the original superfruits,

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because if you list the amount

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of nutrients and antioxidants 
in a plum or a prune,

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it outweighs almost 
all other fruits in the market.

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But nobody knows it. It's kind 
of like it's secret power.

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They're soft and moist and sweet 
so kids actually love them.

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But besides the snacking,

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there's also all these 
award-winning chefs

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that are using prunes 
to elevate their dishes now.

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So, um, we have 
a prune hoisin sauce

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that is actually a marinade 
for ribs.

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Prunes are also becoming 
a popular substitute for sugar

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in baking, inspiring recipes for 
just about every kind of dessert

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you can imagine.

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It's a lot of exciting

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change for a company 
that's more than 100 years old.

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Its founder, Paul Mariani, 
came to the United States

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from Croatia in 1906.

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He made his way to California, 
where the dried fruit company

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was born. In the early days, 
fruit was dehydrated in the sun.

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During World War II, 
their prunes made the long

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journey to Europe.

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Today, the heart of the prune 
industry is located

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near Yuba City, about 
45 miles north of Sacramento.

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[George] California supplies 
probably 95 to 99%

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of all the prunes grown 
in the United States-

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about 40% of the world 
production.

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These trees grow between 4,000 
to 6,000 pieces of fruit apiece.

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Called the D'Agen 
plum, it's a different variety

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than the kind of plum 
you would eat fresh.

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Originally from France, the skin 
and size of a D'Agen

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are perfectly suited 
to become dried prunes.

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Once the fruit is ready 
for harvesting,

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a highly skilled crew will begin 
shaking the trees, making sure

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the pressure is just right 
so the tree trunk isn't damaged.

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[George] It's a- really kind of 
an art and a science, um,

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and that's why it's so important 
to have repeat people

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that are running these machines 
that have experience

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because each tree's 
a little bit different.

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Each day's 
a little bit different,

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um, and the fruit, as you go 
through the season, changes.

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Once the fruit is harvested, 
it's driven on the same day

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to Mariani's processing 
plant in nearby Marysville.

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The fruit is cleaned in water,

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sorted along a conveyor belt, 
and leveled out onto a tray.

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Those trays are then rolled 
into massive tunnels,

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where the temperature 
can get as hot as 180 degrees.

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Here, the fruit gets dehydrated,

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staying in the tunnel 
for about 15 hours or more.

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This bit of innovation

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was the brainchild 
of one of the Marianis.

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[George] We've been the first 
to develop some really

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critical pieces of technology 
that have further advanced

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the industry. So, the first one 
is the drying tunnels.

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Those- That was first 
developed by my grandfather.

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When he developed the dehydrator 
tunnel, it really advanced

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the whole- our product, 
but the whole industry.

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Because now, from a food safety, 
cleanliness,

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consistency of finished product,

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we are able to put it into 
ovens, basically, where its time

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and temperature we can manage 
to make sure we get the best

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quality and food safe product 
out on the other end.

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Knowing just how hard

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their family members 
have worked to advance

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this industry motivates 
the new generation today.

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[Natalie] Our ancestors had 
worked so hard to build this

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thing up into what it is today, 
which is this global platform.

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And it's an awesome 
responsibility to take on.

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And every day that I go to work, 
I feel that...

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that opportunity to...

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to be a part of driving it 
forward, and then to...

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to try to make that as beautiful

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and rich and generous as we can 
for the next generation.

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With an eye toward 
those future generations,

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farmers are also changing 
the way they grow prunes.

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[Mark Kettmann] 
How we use our water,

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how we cultivate our ground,

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how we grow 
the trees is different.

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Today, we're using 40% 
less water than we did

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20 years ago to grow trees.

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We leave grass in the fields. 
We don't turn the soil

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or cultivate the soil 
and let it air out.

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We keep grass in the fields 
to keep the moisture in.

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The generation has become 
smarter.

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They've become smarter 
environmentally.

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They've become 
smarter farmers, and more

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efficient than years ago.

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[Natalie] More than just making 
dried fruit every day,

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going forward, 
we want every product

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that we make to be- to have 
a clean label, to be healthier

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than what we had before,

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and to be a solution so that we 
can be a resource for families

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just like us, trying to eat 
a little healthier every day.

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♪♪