GLENNVILLE, GA - I love a good reason to celebrate, and Bland Farms is welcoming a few changes to its operations as it continues to push innovation forward.
As one of the largest contributors to the Vidalia® onion crop, Bland Farms has expanded production outside of Georgia—venturing into Texas, California, Peru, and Mexico to respond to the rising demand for sweet onions. The growth in production is strategic in that the new partnerships will allow the company to supply sweet onions year-round.
In addition to the expanded production seen throughout the States and well beyond, the company is introducing a new computer monitoring system to manage temperature and humidity at storage facilities located in remote locations. Those managing the facilities will receive alerts on their cell phones notifying them when adjustments need to be made, according to a press release. Because of this notification system, the company is able to monitor its goods with seemingly unparalleled precision and make adjustments quickly.
Another change to Bland Farms’ operations is its use of a high-speed sorter to customize orders—which are programmed by weight, size, color, and external appearance—and fill orders on the same day that they are made. 20 pictures per onion, 10 per second, are taken by the machine in order to sort quickly and efficiently and meet customers’ needs.
Bland Farms has not lost its personal touch, quite literally, since planting and harvesting is still done by hand. However, the company has introduced bin boxes into the harvesting process, replacing 50 lb bags. The boxes are transported through the field to the facility by a forklift, which relays into less handling of the onions and, therefore, less bruising. To top it off, Bland Farms’ boxes don a high-graphic label, and its onions use PLU stickers to add just the right amount of pizazz.
As the company moves forward, it endeavors to innovate and carve out a path for itself within the industry, always setting itself apart from the pack with leadership and steadfast determination to meet customers’ needs and provide better quality with every step along the way.
More onions to use in dinnertime meals—and better, to boot? I’m crying happy tears!
SOUTH KOREA and JAPAN - While a frenzied mob can be heard chanting, “PSL, PSL, PSL,” outside of stateside Starbucks locations all year long—Americans’ simultaneous love and hate for the popular drink knows no bounds—international Starbucks goers are proving once again that they’re getting the better end of the deal when it comes to limited edition, seasonal drinks.
This week, Starbucks in South Korea and Japan announced their latest menu additions featuring two varieties of a classic fall vegetable—and, no, it isn’t pumpkin anything!
Hypebae reports that South Korea is launching a new Violet Roasted Sweet Potato Latte, and it’s stunning. Available hot or cold, the lavendar-hued latte is a blend of purple sweet potato and milk, topped with whipped cream and a purple dust, and I need it all over my Instagram feed and as a part of my morning routine.
Starbucks Japan’s new drink, on the other hand, while perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing as South Korea’s, still sounds pretty appealing. According to Sora News 24, the Crispy Sweet Potato Frappuccino joined Starbucks’ international menu this month and features the traditional Japanese snack, imo kempi, which is fried sweet potato bits coated in a sugary glaze—something I will be needing to add to my Thanksgiving menu, immediately. The drink itself is a blend of sweet potato sauce and milk—and even comes in latte form.
My fellow Americans, I beg you: Forget the PSL! Let’s get the Violet Roasted Sweet Potato Latte and the Crispy Sweet Potato Frappuccino on our local Starbucks’ menus!
To stay up-to-date on the latest concoctions featuring our favorite fresh fruit and veg flavors around the world, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
OAKDALE, MN - Today’s consumers have shifted their buying habits toward high-value produce, focusing on quality and convenience. To meet the demands of these consumers, Maglio Companies created its readyripe® pouch, a gusseted pouch concept for fresh quartered watermelon.
According to Sam Maglio, President and CEO of Maglio Companies, this pouch benefits both consumer and retailer: “The development of the patented pouch took several years and significant field testing in order to perfect it. We wanted to get the technology just right.”
The specially formulated pouch regulates oxygen and water vapor transmission rates. This natural respiration process creates an enhanced atmospheric environment, resulting in the quartered watermelon staying fresh for a longer period of time. According to a press release, the pouch preserves the taste and flavor of quarter-sliced watermelon and increases convenience for both the consumer and for the retail grocer.
Time and motion studies with leading grocers have shown that the pouch reduces watermelon production time. The overwrap method can take up to three times longer than the pouch to wrap quarter slices of watermelon for display in the store, and during busy watermelon season, retailers are looking for solutions to their labor challenges.
By using the pouch, grocers can stop cutting the tips off the melon quarters to prevent tearing of the overwrap film. This improves weight, yield, and reduces labor while increasing profit. Additionally, fewer quarter watermelons will be discarded as the pouched melon enhances shelf-life and appearance. This further improves sales and profits.
“There is also an additional benefit,” said Joe Delgadillo, Product Innovation Manager at Maglio. “When you cut your production time in half or more, you can use the extra time to produce more quarter watermelon and satisfy peak season demand, or use the extra time for other produce offerings that yields an additional stream of revenue and profit.”
He noted that this strategy gives grocers a way to dynamically adjust their production capacity without adding more labor and expense.
“In 2017, we delivered millions of pouches to the market enabling retail grocers to fulfill in-store quarter watermelon programs with this innovative approach to packaging. With this solution, category sales have increased,” added Delgadillo.
In-store pilot programs have shown consumers prefer the readyripe solution pouched quarter watermelon and are willing to pay more per pound. The grocer can maintain the same price per pound, thus providing more value for the customer.
When Maglio representatives surveyed consumers in-store about their experience, they noted the three things the loved most about the readyripe solution: convenience, freshness, and no mess. With the convenience of the pouch, consumers take the sliced watermelon out and cut the portion they are going to use and place the remainder back in the pouch and reseal it for later use.
The company noted that the pouched quarter watermelon gives customers a superior product and retailers options for increasing productivity and profits. The shopping experience is more enjoyable for the consumer who can more easily carry, handle and store the quarter watermelon and the retailer can increase productivity and meet consumer demand for convenient produce options.
For the latest in fresh produce happenings, stick with us at AndNowUKnow.
MIAMI, FL - After the discovery of a special tree that spawned a new species of avocado, interest in how to duplicate the buttery richness and conveniently smaller size of the new variety began to take shape. In the midst of the competition, though, things took a... shall I say... mushy turn. Allegations of tree-branch theft, clandestine cloning, and DNA tests on competitors’ produce are coming to light, as Carla’s finder, Agroindustria Ocoeña—the Dominican company that holds a U.S. patent for the Carla and argues it has exclusive rights to sell the variety—moves forward with the Miami federal court to sue Miami produce distributor Fresh Directions International. The former alleges that the latter illegally sells Carlas in South Florida from another grower.
These avocados are not knock-off avocados either—no, this is not a case of Prada versus Prado. DNA tests have proven the avocados are, in fact, Carla clones, and Agroindustria Ocoeña lawsuit suggests that the only way to accomplish this is with a grifted graft.
“The party who is importing the illegal fruit either has to stop, or license the patent from my client,” said Coral Gables lawyer Ury Fischer, who represents Agroindustria Ocoeña, before sharing that the company’s legal team visited supermarkets throughout Miami to fill the office with dozens of avocados for testing.
“We ended up eating a lot of guacamole,” he continued—rough day on the job, I bet!
Fresh Directions International has not made a comment on the incident, according to Pilot Online.
The variety is so precious to its inventor because it has become crucial to the avocado market—Carlas offer a unique availability and opportunity for suppliers and retailers to tap into its size and flavor.
“It doesn’t necessarily compete with most Florida varieties,” said Peter Leifermann, VP of Sales and Marketing for Brooks Tropicals, a distributor of Carla avocados in Florida. “It helps fill a gap in the calendar year. We are able to supply the market with green-skin avocados nearly 12 months a year.”
The lawsuit comes at a time when consumers are always looking for new ways to use the coveted green fruit. According to the news source, data from a U.S. avocado trade association expresses that 33.3 million pounds of avocados were shipped to the U.S. from the island nation last year.
You might have to wait a little longer to get your hands on Carla again, as harvests run between February and May. As to why Carla was named Carla, the patent doesn’t reveal an explanation, but the tree was seen as a beautiful new addition to the industry because it produces fruit later and longer than species that are similar.
For more news on how tight competition is steering our industry into unchartered waters, stick with AndNowUKnow.
NEW YORK CITY, NY - There’s no escaping the snacking craze that’s sweeping through every grocery store aisle. Consumers have a hankering for smaller, convenient, on-the-go items and many across our industry are rising to the occasion with offerings galore that tap into this trend—because, after all, there’s no better snack than fresh produce. Since its launch in 2016, Hudson River Fruit Distributors’ Lil Chief line has captured the high-quality flavor consumers expect from New York apples, but in an easy-to-bite, easy-to-take-anywhere size.
“We wanted to offer a different size apple to be sold at retail and we thought the packaging along with the size of the apple would stand out in the produce department,” Alisha Albinder, Owner/Operator, tells me. “Market response has been great! Its attractive pricing and packaging made it a success since it launched. We constantly get feedback from consumers that they love this product and love learning about the grower story.”
Featuring the likes of Gala, Fuji, McIntosh, Red Delicious, and Empire apples, the Lil Chief branded apples are the perfect back-to-school goodie thanks to their snackable size and bright colors. The Lil Chief line is available in 2 lb bags from September through June, with packaging that connects shoppers to the farmers behind the operations.
“We wanted to bring the farm to the stores, so the packaging highlights that Lil Chief apples are family-farmed and tells the story of the four generations of farmers involved in our business. The bag itself is also meant to emulate apples sitting in a bin in an orchard,” Alisha explains. “We even offer a free New York Grown pop-up bin that can be used to display the Lil Chief apples or any of our other products, like trays, totes, and 3 lb bags.”
Lil Chief apples are available at retail now and are one sure way to get your consumers excited about healthy snacks.
To stay in-the-know on what’s circulating the produce aisles of late, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
LONDON, ENGLAND - Kroger could be inching closer to the high-tech network of automated distribution facilities. Since penning the outlines a partnership with UK-based online retailer Ocado this May, the two companies have purportedly been hard at work identifying locations for automated distribution points. This week, Ocado’s Chief Financial Officer told reporters that the companies had made “good progress” identifying locations for the first of what will be at least 20 automated warehouse locations.
“They’re making good progress identifying which particular sites and which particular cities. And we’re making good progress working on the details of the commercial relationship,” Duncan Tatton-Brown, CFO of Ocado, told reporters according to Reuters. “There’s a lot of work going on because even though the final deal (service agreement) isn’t agreed we are actually being paid. So nothing is holding us up.”
Tatton-Brown didn’t name specific locations.
Kroger is currently working to identify the first three sites for its new warehouses. These warehouses are expected to take two years to construct.
According to Reuters, Ocado’s stock value has risen more than 200 percent over the last year—in large part thanks to major partnerships like the one with Kroger and other international retailers like Casino’s Monoprix.
For more information as the two retailers make progress, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
NASHVILLE, NC - At Nash Produce, we know a thing or two about sweet potatoes.
Consumers are demanding healthy, convenient, and easy options—but they have to taste great too.
Here’s What’s In Store.
Here at Nash Produce, we’re dedicated to providing the highest quality produce—with superior service and dependability. We’re able to ship 365 days a year. Nash Produce will meet your sweet potato demands!
We’re committed to exceeding our customers’ expectations.
With our full-scale logistic operation, retail support programs, and steady supply of sweet potatoes, we offer everything our retail partners need to drive sales and keep customers coming back for more.
We’re stocked up with organic and conventional offerings of our classic Covingtons.
Looking for something new? Our Bonita and Murasaki sweet potatoes can turn any dish into something special.
And with our growers’ commitment to sustainability, traceability, and food safety, consumers can rest assured that they’re getting quality product every time.
Let Nash Produce solve your sweet potato needs!
Thank you for watching What’s In Store.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - Those in produce know no bounds, with new innovations rolling down pipelines all year long. Whether for the sake of the endless possibilities available or simply because our industry is increasingly fast-paced, those in produce simplify, modify, and innovate despite a current systems’ ability to run or not. Vanguard has not only taken this notion and ingrained it into its company mission, but has also used it as the building blocks for expanding its global grape empire.
“Vanguard continues to rethink and reinvent how produce journeys from field to table. It’s an approach that’s made us the growing choice of retailers, importers, and wholesalers around the world,” Craig Stauffer, CEO, tells me. “Our mission is to be a vertically-integrated global fresh fruit organization that is able to supply fresh produce 52 weeks per year from our farms to our customers. Whether we grow them ourselves or whether we work with our long-time strategic third-party suppliers, it all starts with selecting the right product and making sure we deliver what is freshest to our customers, which requires a preciseness to do so reliably and consistently that we take pride in.”
First started in 1991, Vanguard has, in recent years, acquired new operations around the world as a means to strengthen its empire and reach. In 2017, Vanguard bolstered its state-side operations, acquiring Wapato, Washington-based Pride Packing Co, an apple, pear, cherry, peach, and nectarine producer. Pride Packing has over 3,000 acres of farming operations that includes packing and cold storage facilities.
The previous year, in 2016, Vanguard acquired Challapampa, one of Peru’s leading producers of grapes, citrus, and pomegranates, adding to its 1,000+ acres of ranches growing patented-varieties of seedless table grapes in Ica, Peru—one of the most fertile growing regions for table grapes. Currently, Vanguard Challapampa is in the midst of finalizing the construction of a brand-new packhouse in Ica. When completed, the new packhouse will receive and pack in-demand and new-to-the-market grape varieties—which this season are plentiful.
“We are very excited about the crop coming to North America from our Challapampa production. There will be seven spectacular new grape varieties, including Sweet Celebration™, Jack’s Salute™, Ivory™, Sweet Globe™, Sugar Crisp™, Sweet Favor™, and Sweet Sapphire™ that will be sold and marketed through Vanguard Direct in Bakersfield directly from the grower,” Craig continues. “As a result, we have increased shipments to over one million cartons.”
With offices in China, Peru, Malaysia, Italy, Chile, Taiwan, Spain, and Bakersfield, California, Vanguard is only picking up the pace as it continues to expand its presence around the world.
For more information on Vanguard and its operations, including Vanguard Challapampa, Vanguard Pride, Vanguard Direct, and Vanguard International, click here. To stay up-to-date on blossoming produce empires, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
FRESNO, CA - Last week, the California Supreme Court rejected a bid by the United Farm Workers of America (UFW) and the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) to overturn a court order directing the ALRB to count the ballots in the decertification election held by Gerawan Farming workers in 2013—a monumental moment for Gerawan and what could be the end of one of the largest decertification elections in California agricultural labor history.
This week, the votes were counted, with the company reporting 1,098 votes for "No Union" and 197 for the UFW—results that conclude the employees have rejected the UFW as their bargaining representative.
"Our employees have been waiting since November 2013 for their votes to be counted. After a historic struggle, they achieved that right today, in spite of the efforts by the UFW and the millions of taxpayer dollars spent by the Agricultural Labor Relations Board to deny them that right," Gerawan said in a statement following the tally. "Today’s vote tally leaves no doubt what our employees want. It is a ringing endorsement of their right to choose, and a repudiation of concerted, unlawful, and anti-democratic efforts to deny them that right."
Gerawan concluded its statement by calling on the UFW and the ALRB to respect the choices of farmworkers, as well as calling on the Legislature and the Governor to take immediate steps to ensure a case like this does not occur again.
In response to the results, Western Growers’ President and CEO, Tom Nassif, issued a statement, asserting, "It took a decision of California’s highest court to force, once and for all, the ALRB to do the right thing and count the votes of Gerawan Farming’s workers. With a resounding vote against the union, we now know the reason behind the ALRB’s delay tactics, which lasted nearly five years. The ALRB knew or believed the outcome of the vote was No Union and was attempting to shield the UFW from the humiliation of its irrelevance. It is clear that the UFW does not represent the voice of California’s farm workers, and the results of this election must compel the State of California to stop acting as a surrogate of the UFW and move instead to guarantee justice for all agricultural workers."
George Radanovich, President of the California Fresh Fruit Association, also applauded today’s outcome and stated, "The determination of the employees, and their employer, in defending the rights of the employees, as well as the company, resulted in the protection of the right to choose. I call upon the ALRB to certify the results of the election, and to decertify the UFW. We also impress upon the Legislature and Governor Brown to take immediate steps to ensure that the ALRB will never again have the power and ability to usurp farmworker freedom of choice and the due process rights of affected parties."
AndNowUKnow will continue to provide updates on this case and more as it pertains to our industry.
QUEENS, NY - With $42 million worth of debt, New York-based Seasons, a kosher grocery store chain, has filed for bankruptcy.
According to the Commercial Observer, the retailer has $5 million in assets, but it owes millions of dollars to its vendors, landlords, and banks. These findings, the news source relays, were communicated in a Chapter 11 filing obtained by the Nationwide Research Company.
The retailer has locations at 661 Amsterdam Avenue, which lies between West 92nd and West 93rd Streets, and 68-18 Main Street in Flushing, Queens. Another six locations are strewn throughout New York State, New Jersey, and Maryland.
The news source shares that the CEO Mayer Gold couldn’t be reached for comment, and Co-Owner Zvi Bloom directed calls to business management consultant Joel Getzler, who didn’t respond to inquiries.
The Flushing, Queens, location—the chain’s flagship—was opened in 2010 by Gold, and as of September 17th, the phone line was disconnected. Over the years, the retailer introduced supermarkets in Scarsdale, NY; Lakewood, NJ; Clifton, NJ; and two in Lawrence, NY.
The Baltimore, Maryland, location opened just last year, and the company was working on a Cleveland store when news broke of its bankruptcy.
Whether Seasons is looking for a buyer or is in the process of closing its stores has yet to be determined, but speculation is swirling after reports have surfaced that its outposts’ shelves are empty and order deliveries are not being made, the news source explains.
“Seasons has revolutionized the kosher shopping experience, and we look forward to serving the neighborhood and the kosher consumer for many years to come,” Gold said last month in a statement to Nassau Herald.
Is the retailer’s struggle to survive amidst an increasingly competitive market a sign that there is more trouble ahead for small grocers across the map? AndNowUknow will keep you updated with the latest industry happenings.