PHILADELPHIA, PA - The end of 2019 means more than just the beginning of a new decade. Some see it as the closing of a chapter, while others look to the new year as a chance to open a new book altogether. In the case of John Vena Inc., both are true. The close of 2019 marks the end of the company’s year-long celebration of a full century in business. The specialty produce wholesaler, distributor, and importer has been celebrating its 100th anniversary with a series of launches and events to commemorate its heritage and usher in the next era of excellence in produce distribution.
“So why are we here, in this place?” began President John Vena III, the grandson of the company’s founder, during his remarks at the event. “Many know that this used to be a famous seafood restaurant, Old Original Bookbinders, which had roots back to 1898. Had you walked out the front door in 1919 you would have been right where John Vena Inc. began at 151 Dock Street. That was the heart of the Philadelphia produce world. Hallowed ground for old-time produce people like me.”
Earlier this year, the company launched a refreshed brand with a new logo, the new official nickname “JVI”, and a reinvigorated mission statement. The newly-articulated mission honors the legacy of the Vena family while embracing the fresh energy that its team brings to the table: working together to make the business of food more interesting, exciting, and fun. On Saturday, November 4 over 120 JVI team members, friends, and family gathered at The Olde Bar in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia to officially celebrate the milestone.
The ties between the Vena family and the location of the party go even deeper. As Mr. Vena revealed, “My grandfather, our founder, owned the building on the corner of 2nd and Walnut, where some of you stand now. It was a gun shop in the early days of Philadelphia, but he later sold it to the family that owned Bookbinders next door. And now it has been transformed into this venue.”
On the menu were a selection of hors d'oeuvres, salads, and gourmet sliders that featured ingredients from many of JIV’s partner suppliers, including WestPak Avocado, Purple Pride, Babé Farms, B&W Growers, and Fresh Origins. Bar offerings included a refreshing blood orange spritzer with fresh turmeric and mint.
“We’re wholesalers, repackers, importers, service providers—what can we do to put all that experience and knowledge together to continue to make the business of food even more interesting, exciting, and fun?” concluded Vena. “That’s the question I ask myself, and we must ask ourselves, every day as we begin our next 100 years.”
Vena addressed the crowd in his closing remarks, assuring them that despite a rich, 100-year history, he is looking in one direction only: ahead. Congratulations to John Vena Inc. on ringing in 100 years!
BOISE, ID - In the meal kit sector, Plated has long been a question mark for its parent company Albertsons. Earlier this year, the meal kits were taken off of Albertsons store shelves, which was then followed by staff cuts. Now, it appears the retailer has a new strategy to keep Plated competitive in the market. This week, Albertsons announced it is rebranding Plated from a dinner-based subscription solution to a comprehensive in-house culinary brand.
“Our vision for Plated includes an expanded set of products that goes far beyond a dinner-based solution and into a comprehensive in-house culinary brand,” said Geoff White, EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer. “With a broader scope of offerings, we see Plated solving customer demands around convenience, lifestyle, and cooking experience, while adding yet another layer of interest to our in-store journey.”
As a result of the shift, Albertsons began phasing out Plated’s subscription service, which will officially end this month (November). Instead, the new culinary brand will join the grocer’s lineup of private label products under its Own Brands—who’s team will manage the expansion of Plated into a holistic home meal solution. According to a press release, this decision was made in part because of Own Brands’ status as an important source of growth and innovation for Albertsons. The retailer also conducted extensive testing of the meal kits’ in-store performance in its Northern California Safeway stores.
“Plated’s brand appeals to our most loyal and highest value customers, especially those that skew toward convenient, fresh, and organic products,” continued White.
As part of the new Plated strategy, Albertsons plans to bolster the brand with new product offerings in 2020.
Albertsons first acquired Plated in 2017.
Will this unique strategy help Albertsons deliver a differentiated in-store experience? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.
SANDPOINT, ID - As a trade news writer, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of all the new and exciting innovations coming down the pipeline. Litehouse, however, is making it easy for us to remember a majority of what’s fresh to the scene this season by unleashing new lines, products, and flavors under its brand. While at PMA Fresh Summit, we got the lowdown on all that Litehouse has up its sleeve to meet consumer demand this holiday season and beyond from its Senior Brand Manager herself, Camille Balfanz.
“This year, we’re launching five flavors of Greek yogurt smoothies,” Camille began to tell us. “It’s a new category to Litehouse. They have no artificial preservatives or dyes. They’re in a convenient 8.5 oz container with one serving in that container, which makes it easy for people on-the-go. And we’re able to pack 13 grams of protein in each container because we’re using that Greek yogurt base.”
With five new flavors to choose from, as a consumer, I couldn’t imagine choosing just one to put in my grocery cart. Camille, however, revealed that her favorite is Peach Mango, which gives me a flavor to start with on my next grocery trip.
Since this is Litehouse we’re talking about, Camille also disclosed the latest details on the brand’s new salad dressing flavors: Dill Ranch and Avocado Ranch. Both are available in Litehouse’s iconic 20 oz squeeze bottle. Camille noted that this line is up almost 50 percent year-over-year, leading the company to be excited to launch some new additions soon.
In addition to all of those flavors, Litehouse is adding a new apple flavor to its apple cider line.
“We’re partnering with Cosmic Crisp, the new apple that is coming out of Washington State. This year, we have Cosmic Crisp Apple Cider that we’re excited about and that’s launching in December,” Camille explained. “We already have a Honey Crisp and a Gala apple cider, and those have been really successful. We’re excited to try the Cosmic Crisp.”
Check out our exclusive interview with Camille above to find out more about Litehouse and its portfolio of new products.
THE NETHERLANDS - The Halloween season may be over, but the mischief it inspires lingers as authorities in The Netherlands made it known of not one, but two banana-related busts in the days leading up to last month’s holiday. A total of 1,550 kilograms of cocaine were confiscated in the incidents, according to NL Times; one shipment of Ecuadorian bananas on October 16th of 800 kilos and one on October 31st of 750 kilos.
The local estimated street value for these shipments, combined or separate, was not included in the report, and while both originated in Ecuador and were intended for the city of Vlissingen, authorities did not say if the two shipments were connected.
The latter container of bananas was destined for a company that the Prosecutor said, “had nothing to do with the smuggling." The Prosecutor did not say if the same company was intended for both shipments, but did assure the public that, in both instances, authorities do not believe the destination companies were involved in drug trafficking.
The contraband was discovered with canine assistance, as well as scanning. While the drugs in each instance were destroyed, no arrests were made in either case.
Nonetheless, these busts are invaluable in not just keeping these substances off the street, but hopefully discouraging smugglers from using precious perishable cargo from our industry to do their dirty work. How’s that for one more trick-or-treat?
IRVINE, CA - Good morning, AndNowUKnow readers!
Today, I am bringing you some of the category and weather news from around the industry. Check back twice weekly to see the latest around all growing regions.
LOOK FOR GEORGIA AND WEST FLORIDA FALL SEASON TO END TONIGHT
Freezing temperatures tonight and tomorrow in the southern Georgia and northern Florida growing regions should pretty much bring an end to any production still coming from these areas.
Expect the minimum temperatures in the region to be around 32° tonight and 34° on Wednesday night.
Minimum temperatures on Thursday will rise back into the 40°s where they will remain through next Tuesday, but by then the damage will be done.
Per USDA, the following items are still being harvested in the areas; green beans, corn, cukes, bell peppers, eggplant, squash, and tomatoes.
It has been a good run for Georgia growers with production numbers higher year over year on green beans (50 percent higher this year), bell peppers, and squash. Eggplant, cukes, and corn have about the same production numbers as last year. We now turn our attention to southern Florida and Mexico as their seasons come online for these commodities.
NORTHEASTERN MEXICO TOMATO GROWING REGIONS WILL ALSO SEE COLD TEMPERATURES
The northeastern high plateau region of Mexico will also see cold temperatures tonight and Wednesday with a chance of rain, which will negatively impact the remaining crop.
This region of Mexico, which includes production areas of “La Laguna” Torreón, Durango, and San Luis Potosí, will see minimum temperatures in the lower 40°s tonight and tomorrow, with a 50 percent chance of rain today.
These locations are pretty much done shipping for the season with only a handful of growers still sending small quantities of tomatoes to McAllen. However, this cold weather should slow them down even further.
HURRICANE CENTRAL
With less than 20 days left to go in the 2019 hurricane season, there are no potential storms on the horizon in the Atlantic Ocean or Pacific.
This year, the Atlantic saw a small uptick in tropical storms compared to 2018, but fewer actual hurricanes. So far this season, there have been 17 tropical storms with six becoming hurricanes. 2018 had only 15 total storms, but eight formed into hurricanes.
The Pacific Ocean this year was much calmer than 2018. This year saw a total of 18 tropical storms, with eight of them turning into hurricanes. In 2018, there were 23 total tropical storms with 13 hurricanes.
Thank you as always for your support. We will be back later this week with another report.
UNITED KINGDOM - There’s no rest for grocery retailers, particularly if you’re German discount retailer Lidl. In its quest to push forward growth on all fronts, the grocery chain has unveiled plans to open another 230 stores by 2023, The Times reported. This massive expansion will bring Lidl’s total store count in the United Kingdom to 1,000.
According to the news source, Lidl UK’s CEO Christian Hartnagel confirmed the chain’s plan, which ramps up a previous one that outlined the opening of 50 to 60 new stores a year. While more stores mean more business, industry experts agree that Lidl has chosen to roll out a whopping 230 new stores in order to put the pressure on its biggest competitors in the UK—namely Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons.
Since the beginning of fall, Lidl has been preparing for heightened growth in the UK. In October, the grocer made a couple of strategic moves that now seem to connect the dots to its latest expansion announcement. Specifically, Lidl opened its largest distribution center in Great Britain and committed to a $19 billion agreement with its British suppliers—both of which help stabilize, optimize, and expand its supplier and store network.
Is Lidl eyeing the U.S. market for more growth as well? AndNowUKnow will continue to report on every change of the tide in the grocery retail sector.
TAMPA, FL - A struggle not often spoken of in our industry’s quest to be sustainable is the possible apprehensions of "reusing." While ecologically sound, sanitation and food safety are always top of mind, and how clean can you really get something? According to the latest news from the IFCO team, very.
“The research and results from IFCO‘s ongoing testing should provide peace of mind to growers and retailers, who can continue to use IFCO RPCs knowing that our containers remain safe, efficient, and sustainable packaging for tomatoes and other fresh food items,” said Dan Martin, President of IFCO North America. “Food safety is our top priority because nothing else we do is possible without it.”
The company hosted an independent laboratory, which tested and certified that its cleaning, wash, and sanitation process removes or deactivates damaging pathogens like viruses and bacteria from its Reusable Plastic Containers (RPCs).
“IFCO has a strong commitment to food safety, and we are confident about the effectiveness of our sanitation process. That is why we are open and transparent about our protocols, testing methods, and results,” Martin stated.
Proven to remove contaminants and either remove or inactivate both human and plant pathogens (viruses and bacteria), IFCO’s state-of-the art RPC cleaning, wash, and sanitation process is constantly verified by ongoing in-house testing. According to a press release, the company performed additional challenge studies to reassure its customers after the discovery of the Tobamovirus - Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV).
Eurofins BioDiagnostics, an independent, certified laboratory, came in to validate IFCO’s washing and sanitation process’ effectiveness against ToBRFV, with results showing the wash systems employed by IFCO effectively remove and/or inactivate the virus.
IFCO said that it continuously monitors the wash and sanitizing process through it’s SmartGuardian™ software, which monitors and records critical sanitation parameters. The system issues alerts if parameters fall below or rise above warning levels and, if necessary, will shut down processing until the system is running properly again.
Parameters this evaluates include:
- Water pressure
- Water temperature
- Sanitizer concentration
- Detergent concentration
As a culture driven by continuous improvement, the company consistently looks to bolster its food safety systems, such as performing verification testing of IFCO RPCs, including surveillance testing for ToBRFV in multiple markets to ensure the RPC sanitation process is working effectively.
IFCO reports that more than one billion RPCs are used each year to safely transport fresh food from farms and processing facilities to retail locations. Throughout that network, the company said that RPCs have never been cited as the cause of a foodborne incident. As it and other partners in the produce industry continue to strive to strengthen the supply chain, AndNowUKnow will report the latest.
NOGALES, SONORA, MEXICO - The Confederation of Agricultural Associations of the State of Sinaloa (CAADES) is bolstering its Nogales logistics center with a new leader. This week, the company named José María “Chema” Gaxiola as its new Branch Director.
“This role is critically important for me and my focus will include building competitive service programs to grow a new and existing business, vetting potential partnerships, fostering alliances, and leading competitive services line development for the association's operations," Gaxiola shared with the ANUK team.
In his new role, Gaxiola will continue to improve the CAADES logistics center and consolidate its services. According to a press release, CAADES, with its newest Director, aspires to form a better industry and seeks to make the association stronger with greater capacities to increase the benefits it grants to its members.
Prior to being named Branch Director, Gaxiola worked in the purchasing management department for the Division of Inputs and Irrigation Drips System. Since 2010, he garnered a proven track record in the private sector and implemented new strategies for Mexican industry, holding various positions like Special Project Manager for the Mexican Association of Protected Horticulture AC (AMHPAC) and Sales Manager for industrial accounts at Adelnor Grupo Empresarial.
Congratulations to José María Gaxiola on this new role!
Confederation of Agricultural Associations of the State of Sinaloa
VICTOR, NY - Celebrating a quarter of a century is worthy of celebration, no matter the occasion. But for The New York Apple Association (NYAA), this 25 years represents being a steward of the land and consistent support for its 600 growers. Represented across six regions and more than 50,000 acres, NYAA began in 1994, when groups of apple growers from eastern and western New York came together to uplift the state’s apple industry.
To mark this momentous occasion, NYAA released a series of grower videos telling the New York apple story.
“More and more retailers are requesting social media and website content,” Cynthia Haskins, President and CEO, explained. “And our videos are by the grower, for the consumer.”
In addition to these videos—which NYAA is happy to make available for retailers—the association has several new merchandising tools this year, such as its Variety Guide, which includes photos of New York apple varieties, recipes, and fun nutritional information. NYAA also created a dietitian toolkit, which will be available upon request.
“Recipes, recipes, and more recipes!” Cynthia exclaimed, highlighting the importance to consumers to have applicable recipes at their fingertips. “NYAA will be adding recipes to its arsenal that include a little bit of healthy and a little bit of comfort, both of which are oh so good. The high-graphic recipes will be available to retailers to send out to their customers as well as post on their social media platforms and website—and hand out to customers in the store!”
With the New York apple harvest upon us, the crop is estimated at around 31,500 million bushels, all with excellent, beautiful quality and a high range of sizes. To commemorate the beginning of apple harvest, NYAA also launched a new poly tote bag with handles alongside its high-graphic display shipper.
But this, unbelievably, hasn’t exhausted the association. If anything, it has stirred up a fervor to keep going and delivering the best apples New York has to offer.
For its efforts, the NYAA and Cynthia have been recognized for several awards. In 2018, the association won Business of the Year from the New York State Agricultural Society. More recently, it won a Telly Award in the Business-to-Consumer, Local TV category for its brand TV commercial, as well as a PRism Award from the Public Relations Society of America in the Media Relations.
Check back in with us at AndNowUKnow for another deep dive into NYAA.
IRVINE, CA - We recently reported that Dave Puglia will succeed Tom Nassif come next February. Now, Western Growers Association is adding a few more Board members to bolster its roster. During the Western Growers 94th Annual Meeting in Maui, Hawai’i, Ryan Talley, Co-Owner and Farm Manager of Talley Farms, was announced to assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors. Talley will serve as Chairman for a one-year term and will be taking over the responsibilities of outgoing Chairman Ron Ratto, President of Ratto Bros.
“Ryan’s successful tenure at Talley Farms and his significant personal accomplishments make him the ideal choice to be the next Western Growers’ Chairman of the Board of Directors,” said Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif. “With his stellar track record on the board, there is no doubt in my mind that Ryan, along with the rest of the Western Growers Board, is poised to truly lead the organization and the fresh produce industry to even greater heights.”
According to a press release, Talley has been committed to agriculture for more than three decades and spearheads Talley Farms, a diversified family-owned farming company and grower-shipper of bell peppers, cilantro, spinach, lettuce, Napa cabbage, avocados, lemons, and grapes. Talley earned his bachelor of science in business from Purdue University and subsequently returned to the farm to help write the computer programs Talley Farms currently uses for production, planning, their mechanic ship, and the nursery. The farm is committed to supplying consumers with the best and freshest produce that California has to offer, following the company’s vision to strive for ‘Excellence in Everything.’
“Western Growers has been a staple organization in the agriculture industry for nearly a century, and Talley Farms is proud to have been a part of its legacy since 1970,” said Talley. “I am both eager and honored to embark on this new role as Western Growers’ Chairman of the Board of Directors, working with the rest of the board to further our commitment to the industry.”
During the 94th annual meeting, the Board also selected Albert Keck of Hadley Date Gardens as Senior Vice Chairman, Stuart Woolf of Woolf Enterprises as Vice Chairman, Carol Chandler of Chandler Farms as Treasurer, and Vic Smith of JV Smith Companies as Secretary.
Congratulations to all the newly elected members! Stay with ANUK as we bring more exciting developments in the produce industry.