EDC CLIENT STORIES

Sharing the magic of agriculture is Pandia Seeds, Inc.’s specialty. PanDia Seeds is a multigenerational, Latinoowned, international vegetable seed wholesale company based in Ventura that focuses on developing innovative vegetable seed varieties of the highest quality. Guided by his 30 years of experience in the seed industry, founder Franco Campana was driven to start PanDia Seeds to help bring revenue to impoverished countries that are in secondary and tertiary markets. Today, PanDia Seeds is owned and run by Franco’s son, Robert Campana, who worked alongside Franco and has since bought the company from his father. Through the excellent work of Franco and Robert, PanDia Seeds has helped numerous farmers out of poverty.

EDC SBDC International Advisor, Simona Racek, worked with Robert to apply for the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) which provided the company funding for marketing and helped broaden their expansion overseas. “Simona introduced me to programs that I didn’t know about and that I probably wouldn’t have looked at without her encouragement,” Robert explains. The success of PanDia Seeds has even allowed Robert to develop a new company, Leaf’d Box, a subscription-based program that ships young vegetable plants and herbs. Continuing the foundation of serving the community through entrepreneurship, each Leaf’d subscription provides clean water for a year to a person in need. Year over year Robert continues to develop new products and grow his companies to continue helping others.