DUARTE, CA - Vallarta Supermarkets, the family-owned Latin grocery chain known for its authentic and fresh offerings across California and Arizona, is celebrating the opening of its first Duarte location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, October 21st. Located at 1470 Mountain Ave, Duarte, CA 91010, the new store marks Vallarta Supermarkets' 66th location and continues the company's growth across Southern California.

The grand opening celebration will bring the Duarte community together with live entertainment, special giveaways, community contributions, and a chance to experience Vallarta's fresh and authentic offerings, according to a press release. The first 300 customers through the doors on grand opening day will receive a complimentary reusable grocery bag filled with groceries. In celebration of the new location, five local schools and charitable organizations will receive a share of $10,000 in donations from Vallarta, furthering the company's commitment to supporting the communities it serves.

"We're excited to open our doors in Duarte and become part of this community," said Allie Garcia, Vice President of Marketing at Vallarta Supermarkets. "With every new store, our goal is to create a welcoming destination where families can find fresh, high-quality ingredients that reflect the cultures and traditions they love. We're equally proud to give back to the communities we join, and we look forward to building lasting connections with Duarte residents and local organizations."

The new store will also introduce SushiOro, Vallarta Supermarkets' new in-store sushi concept featuring rolls with flavors developed by Vallarta's in-house chefs. SushiOro will debut six signature sauces, ranging from sweet and zesty to bold and spicy, with select sauces paired with core Vallarta rolls and all six available separately for customers who like a little extra flavor.

The Duarte store will bring 200 new job opportunities to the community, from department staff to store leadership roles, along with a vibrant 45,839 sq. ft. space, featuring all of Vallarta's signature departments, creating a convenient and welcoming shopping destination for local residents.

Signature departments include:

• Made-Fresh Daily Foods: From warm corn and flour tortillas crafted in-house, to hand-decorated cakes and pan dulce in the Panadería, and ceviches prepared with freshly squeezed lime, Vallarta's signature freshness is front and center.
• Authentic Flavors at the Heart of the Store: The Carnicería, known as the Home of the Original Carne Asada™, offers premium cuts of meat marinated in signature spices. Guests can also experience the Cremería, which showcases traditional cheeses like queso fresco and cotija, while the Pescadería and in-house Cevichería deliver ocean-fresh seafood, aguachiles, and more.
• Grab-and-Go With a Cultural Twist: Shoppers can stop at La Cocina for hot, ready-to-eat meals inspired by Mexico and Central America, sip aguas frescas straight from traditional vitroleros at the Juice Bar, or personalize their guacamole at the made-to-order station. They can also find convenient refrigerated meals ready to heat and enjoy at home, including tortas de jamón, fresh salads, and our signature rice and refried beans. For a sweet finish, the Dulcería offers candies, piñatas, and celebration essentials.
• Global Meets Local: Alongside staples of Latin American cuisine, Vallarta brings variety with hand-rolled sushi at SushiOro, fresh-pressed juices, fruit bowls topped with Tajín and chamoy, and a wide selection of organic produce sourced both locally and worldwide.
• More Than Groceries: The Florería brightens every occasion with vibrant flower arrangements and potted plants, rounding out the store as a true community destination.

Vallarta Supermarkets is just a few taps away! Get your favorite grocery essentials and La Cocina hot, ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door through all major delivery services, including DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart. From fresh produce to delicious carnitas tacos, enjoy the best of Vallarta anytime, anywhere.

PLEASANTON, CA - Americans spend about $5.4 billion annually on strawberries, according to the California Strawberry Commission, but quality problems threaten that value. In an analysis of online strawberry reviews from a major national grocery retailer, DeltaTrak found that 78% mentioned mold or rot, highlighting a quality issue that can begin long before berries reach a shopper’s refrigerator.

For growers, shippers and retailers, those complaints reflect lost value and damaged shopper trust, often from problems that start in the supply chain.

“Long before mold becomes visible, strawberries may have already lost valuable shelf life,” said Dr. Jeffrey K. Brecht, emeritus professor of postharvest physiology at the University of Florida. “Cooling promptly after harvest and maintaining proper temperatures throughout distribution help preserve quality. Understanding how much shelf life remains gives suppliers and retailers a better opportunity to act before the fruit deteriorates.”

To examine shelf-life loss during distribution, DeltaTrak analyzed more than 8,000 inbound berry shipments using UBQ Freshness Index™ (FreshIDX™), which combines temperature history, transit events and commodity-specific biological models to estimate remaining shelf life. The analysis found that 31.5% of strawberry loads had lost at least half a day of remaining shelf life by the time they reached the distribution center.

For suppliers and retailers, that means less time to inspect, distribute and sell berries before quality declines. Delays in cooling, transportation or receiving can shorten the selling window before mold or other problems become visible, reducing opportunities for full-price sales and increasing markdowns and shrink.

DeltaTrak modeling estimates that recovering just one day of usable strawberry shelf life could improve revenue retention by approximately 27%. The model evaluates how earlier prediction of mold growth can enable retailers to preserve more full-price sales while reducing losses associated with markdowns and product removal from store shelves.

“This analysis puts a financial value on freshness,” said Karl McDermott, chief SaaS revenue officer at DeltaTrak. “For strawberries, one additional day of advance warning can mean more time to sell at full price and less product lost to markdowns or waste. The industry has become very good at tracking the journey. The next step is understanding what that journey did to the product and acting on that information before value is lost.”

FreshIDX turns shelf-life estimates into practical guidance for produce teams. Using those estimates, teams can:

• Identify at-risk shipments before quality visibly declines.
• Prioritize inspections and reroute or expedite deliveries.
• Move products based on remaining shelf life and predicted mold growth rather than arrival order alone.

FreshIDX is delivered through the UBQ Network powered by DeltaTrak, a digital ecosystem connecting growers, shippers, logistics providers, buyers and retail store managers with meaningful produce quality and shelf-life data to make informed decisions to reduce shrink and increase profitability. In the two years since opening its membership program, the network has grown to support more than 1,000 organizations worldwide.

To learn more about FreshIDX or the free UBQ Network membership program, visit ubq.network or stop by booth 2826 at the IFPA Global Produce & Floral Show, Oct. 15–16.

NEW ZEALAND - Zespri’s final charter shipment of the 2026 New Zealand kiwifruit season has departed the Port of Tauranga and is on its way to Shanghai.

The vessel, Whero, is carrying more than 1.7 million trays, or 6,120 tonnes of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit for consumers in China. It’s the 57th charter vessel for Zespri to help deliver a record crop of around 225 million trays (810,000 tonnes) this season, with final container shipments to depart New Zealand in the coming weeks.

CEO Jason Te Brake says the sailing of the Whero marks an important milestone as the industry enters the final stages of the New Zealand season.

“The departure of our final charter is an opportunity to recognise the significant effort from growers, post-harvest, logistics partners and our teams around the world to deliver another large crop to consumers in more than 50 markets.

“Sales have been encouraging in Europe, while North America continues to perform well. In Greater China, our in-market teams worked hard to capitalise on the recent Mid-Autumn Festival where we saw strong sales, with fruit from the Whero due to arrive in market in the coming weeks.

“Despite a more challenging global trading environment and a more competitive fruit category, demand for Zespri Kiwifruit has remained strong across many of our key markets, helping deliver strong value back to growers and shareholders.

“The strong demand we've seen this season reflects the value consumers are placing on high-quality, nutritious fruit and the efforts of our teams and partners across the supply chain. It has also been supported by the rollout of our new global brand platform, Grown for Good, across our core markets, which champions natural nutrition and the role fruit can play in supporting healthier lives.”

With the New Zealand season drawing to a close, Zespri’s focus is turning to ensuring a smooth transition to its Northern Hemisphere-grown fruit and preparing for the 2027 season.

“We’re expecting around 36 million trays (129,000 tonnes) from our Northern Hemisphere growing regions this season. This includes 28 million trays (more than 100,800 tonnes) of Zespri SunGold and a further eight million trays (28,800 tonnes) of Zespri Green Kiwifruit, with the transition to our Northern Hemisphere SunGold fruit getting underway in Europe in the coming weeks week,” says Mr Te Brake.

“Working with our Northern Hemisphere partners to provide our consumers with 12-month supply is a key part of our strategy for maximizing long-term value back to growers.”