ISSAQUAH, WA - Sun World Innovations has selected, among a small group of companies, Vanguard Direct (owned by Vanguard International) to market and sell its proprietary grape varieties in North America.
“We are thrilled to partner with Sun World Innovations to bring these great tasting grape varieties to market,” Craig Stauffer, CEO of Vanguard International, commented. “This is an exciting next step for our world-class grape growing program in Peru, where we look to grow, pack, market, and deliver to our customers around the world the highest quality and most flavorable grape varieties available.”
As we previously reported, Sun World announced in May that it wanted to direct its focus to genetics and breeding, with plans to choose ten companies to have licenses to distribute and market its varieties, including Vanguard Direct.
“With all these new varieties coming to market, freshness is hugely important, which makes our continued developments at our packing house in Peru crucial to our operation,” says Dirk Winkelmann, Business Development Officer for Vanguard International and President of Vanguard Direct. “The packing house gives us the capability to temperature control the grape reception area which means that the team gets the fruit out of the field and into a controlled environment quickly.”
According to a press release, Sun World grape varieties from Vanguard Direct’s production in Peru will include:
- AUTUMNCRISP®: offering an “unmatched eating experience” with jumbo green seedless berries, crisp-juicy texture, and a sweet flavor that has subtle hints of Muscat
- Adora: the “two-bite grape” boasting jumbo/giant-sized berries, as well as excellent firmness, color, and a sweet juicy flavor
- Midnight Beauty: extra-large elongated berries with firm texture and exceptionally sweet flavor
The Vanguard team noted that selling and marketing of the grapes grown at its ranches in Peru to North America is handled by Vanguard Direct, located in Bakersfield, California, and consisting of Vice President, Sales Gene Coughlin; Sales Manager Shawn Caldwell; and Sales Support Manager Denise Smith.
Proud to pronounce ‘We Own It,’ the company takes great pride in ownership of ranches and packing house. As this new chapter of its offerings kicks off, AndNowUKnow will continue to keep you up to date on the latest.
Vanguard Direct Vanguard International Sun World International
WENATCHEE, WA - It’s very difficult to resist an enormous box of cherries, especially if consumers are seeing them come off of Stemilt’s Ultimate Cherry Line. After adopting this high-tech packing line, Stemilt has been more flexible with its automated packaging options and has been able to increase its capacity for moving volume.
“We call it the Ultimate Cherry Line because it’s our largest and longest cherry line yet,” stated Brianna Shales, Communications Manager. “There are 32 lanes of optical sizing and sorting that will be able to push both dark-sweet and Rainier/Skylar Rae® cherries through so we can get more out the door in less time.”
According to a press release, other lines at Stemilt have the flexibility in handling dark-sweet and light varieties, but the Ultimate Cherry Line is capable of packing both cherry types at once.
“As the Ultimate Line reaches full capacity with 48 lanes in the near future, we will be able to pack dark-sweet and light varieties simultaneously on parallel lines,” stated Shales. “This gives us a tremendous amount of flexibility and unique position in the industry.”
This flexibility will allow Stemilt to not only run multiple varieties, but also pack various types of consumer packs. The line comes with three automated clam fillers to pack UPC scannable clamshells, as well as pack and seal—the up-and-coming top seal packages.
Another feature of the Ultimate Line is its ability to adjust the level of cushion it provides to different cherry varieties, which makes it especially important when handling light-hued varieties, which have a higher tendency to bruise. At the front of the line, Stemilt has added an automated dumper for light varieties.
“The automated dumper is incredibly efficient at taking lugs of cherries and gently getting them on the packing line,” said Shales. “It also brings lugs to sanitization, allowing for their quick return to the field to be used again in harvest.”
The Ultimate Cherry Line also has an in-line hydro-cooling that will ultimately push cherries out the door faster. While on packing lines, cherries tend to heat up, but the in-line hydro-cooling allows finished cherry packages to come off the line close to an ideal shipping temperature. This shortens and potentially eliminates the jet cooling process cherries go through prior to shipment.
Shales noted that the Ultimate Cherry Line has been in the works since spring of 2018. With the new addition of the Fresh Cube, Stemilt’s state-of-the-art distribution center, the company was able to capture existing space from its previous shipping facility to house the new cherry packing line.
“The Ultimate Cherry Line is all about getting the cherries from the field to the box quickly and with high attention to quality,” concluded Shales. “Cherries are very perishable fruits and we want retailers and consumers to benefit from getting them at maximum freshness. That’s how we fulfill our mission of delighting consumers with our World Famous Cherries.”
I for one can’t wait to get my hands on some of those cherries!
Keep checking back in with us at AndNowUKnow for the latest in fruit and veg.
COMMERCE, CA - Instead of stepping out, Smart & Final appears to be stepping back in—into the private sector that is. In April of 2019, Smart & Final entered a merger agreement with affiliates of Apollo Global Management, an agreement that saw the retailer’s shares acquired for $1.12 billion. Now, the retailer has transitioned back into the private sector, following last week’s announcement that First Street Merger Sub, an entity managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, has acquired all of the outstanding shares of Smart & Final’s common stock.
“As we turn the page to the next chapter in our almost 150-year history, we are excited to again work with Apollo to capitalize on our unique value proposition in this dynamic grocery marketplace,” said David Hirz, Smart & Final's President and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to continued evolution in the Smart & Final and Smart Foodservice store banners, as we endeavor to provide the best shopping experience for our household and business customers across both in-store and digital sales channels.”
According to a press release, First Street Merger Sub made payment for the tendered shares on June 20, 2019. Following this payment, Smart & Final officially merged with the company and became a privately-held, indirct, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Apollo Funds.
As part of this latest move, Smart & Final’s common stock will no longer be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information on the transaction, click here to read the press release in its entirety. And to stay on top of breaking news like this, keep following AndNowUKnow.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - Texas retailer H-E-B is doubling down on growth and supporting its hand in the quickly growing grocery delivery sector, with plans in place to open a new fulfillment center at one of its stores in San Antonio.
According to mySA, the new center will be located at Bulverde Road and Loop 1604, and is designed to enhance its curbside pick-up and grocery delivery services. H-E-B has several such facilities throughout the state, including in San Antonio and Houston. Construction on the 51,131-square-foot facility is set to end in August.
The retailer has been expanding left and right this year, opening up more stores in the Lone Star State. This new addition to its existing facilities signals a dedication to keeping up with the growing competition among retailers in the online pick-up and delivery space.
Will this new center spark a facility-off among Texas retailers? AndNowUKnow will report.
LOS ANGELES, CA - sweetgreen has acquired Galley Foods in order to proceed with its healthy food expansion. The fast casual chain completed the acquisition for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock. This is the company's first-ever acquisition.
"We're both companies with D.C. roots, and we're like-minded in our mission and in our commitment to our customers to better understand them and meet them wherever they are," said Jonathan Neman, sweetgreen's Co-Founder and CEO. "It's with this mutual thinking, and Galley Foods' unparalleled insight into delivery, that we look forward to welcoming Alan and his team."
According to the company’s press release, sweetgreen will be able to use this new acquisition to its advantage with Galley Foods' knowledge of logistics technology, live courier operations, and high-volume production. Alan Clifford, current CEO of Galley Foods, is now the newly appointed VP of Logistics for sweetgreen.
"As a health-focused brand that was also homegrown in Washington, D.C., we've admired sweetgreen since its start," said Clifford. "It's a company that, since its inception, has paved the way for change in the restaurant industry and inspired other brands to challenge the way they think about connecting people to food."
Galley Foods will carry on with operating in and serving D.C. while leveraging sweetgreen's supply chain made up of regional growers, producers, and distributors as part of the terms of the acquisition.
Moreover, sweetgreen is also partnering with Dreaming Out Loud, a Washington, D.C.-based healthy food non-profit. Families who will be participating in the summer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) at The Kelly Miller Farm—an urban farm program at Kelly Miller Middle School providing fresh fruits and vegetables—will be offered prepared meals made with local ingredients from sweetgreen and Galley Foods.
Along with helpful tips to create dinner at home with produce from their CSA boxes, over 50 households will get family-style Galley meals next month.
For more news on sweetgreen’s acquisition and partnerships, keep checking back with AndNowUKnow.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - Something about eating a melon makes me think, hot dang, it’s summertime! I’m not alone, because consumers are also clamoring for the goods. I spoke with Frank Camera, SunFed’s Director of Sales, and Gretchen Kreidler Austin, Director of Marketing and Business Development, to find out a bit more about the state of this season’s melon market.
“We are harvesting both watermelon and honeydew,” Frank told me. “For our Seedless Watermelon, we are transitioning to Eastern Mexico. We have three weeks left in our Honeydew crop out of Caborca, Sonora, Mexico. We will then also transition to our Eastern Mexican fields.”
With a slight increase in volume, and a spectacular quality for its Sonoran melons, it seems hopeful that the market will improve further into the summer months and as retail promotions rev up for the 4th of July.
“Nobody is a stranger to a crisp, ice-cold watermelon in the summertime, and retailers do a great job with display contests and promotions,” Gretchen explained. “But not every melon is created equally. Seed, growing soil, growing region, and season all play a big role in the flavor and sweetness of a melon. Sampling is always a great way to capture customer attention! As the old adage goes, 'seeing is believing, but tasting is proof!' And SunFed has super sweet melon!”
For retailers, Gretchen noted that it’s easy to play into the inherent nostalgia of melons as a driving force to getting them toward that register ring.
“Melon in general is a sweet treat, refreshing in the heat of summer. Watermelon is nostalgic and engrained in our minds as a symbol of summer. Picnics with friends and family, trips to the lake or river, summer vacations, running through the sprinkler in the yard, 4th of July celebrations and parades—and always having ice cold watermelon to snack on,” she concluded.
I mean, I already want some. Don’t you?
For the latest in fresh produce updates, keep checking back in with us at AndNowUKnow.
IRVINE, CA - Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif expressed his gratitude and announced a statement about the Drought Resiliency and Water Supply Infrastructure Act.
“We thank Senators Dianne Feinstein, Cory Gardner, Martha McSally, and Kyrsten Sinema for their bipartisan leadership in addressing water supply and drought resiliency needs throughout the country, in particular in the West,” Nassif said.
According to a press release, Nassif added that there is little argument that the existing water infrastructure in the West is aging and in need of rehabilitation and improvement. Senator Feinstein also commented on the importance of this bill.
“The effects of climate change are here to stay, and one enormous effect on the West is more—and more severe—droughts,” said Senator Feinstein in a statement. “As California continues to recover from a historic drought, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory now estimates that the Sierra snowpack, a primary source of water for California, will decrease by 79 percent by the end of the century. If we fail to prepare for this contingency, life in California will be forever altered. Longer and more severe droughts will change the face of our state, undermine our economy, result in more wildfires, devastate our agriculture sector, and require draconian water restrictions. To counter this, we must act now, and this bill will help toward that goal.”
Alex Teague, Chief Operating Officer of Limoneira, also noted his support for the legislation.
“We support all water legislation that helps solve the ongoing problem,” said Teague. “We hope that aside from the money set aside, they will attach language that also helps expedite implementation.”
Ian LeMay, President of the California Fresh Fruit Association also commended the Senator's work on this issue.
“We thank Senator Feinstein and her Senate colleagues for their continued efforts to address the Western United States and California’s water needs," he stated. "There is no easy fix but the funding identified in the proposed legislation is needed to both repair and modernize our water infrastructure.”
Nassif stated that it is vital to meet the current and future demands on our water resources.
“We must continue to invest in a diverse portfolio of water management tools, including conservation, recycling, desalination, conveyance, surface and groundwater storage,” Nassif said. “This bill tackles these issues in a manner that is both environmentally sensitive and fiscally responsible, and will provide substantial benefits for all of the Western states. We encourage the Senate to move quickly on this commonsense and proactive piece of legislation.”
Key provisions, according to Feinstein's statement, embrace extending funding under the WIIN Act for an additional five years, including:
- $670 million for surface and groundwater storage projects, and supporting conveyance.
- $100 million for water recycling projects.
- $60 million for desalination projects.
- Creates a new loan program for water agencies at 30-year Treasury rates (currently about 2.6 percent) to spur investment in new water supply projects. Repayment can be deferred until five years after completion of the project.
- Authorizes $140 million for habitat restoration and environmental compliance projects, including forest, meadow and watershed restoration and projects that benefit threatened and endangered species.
The legislation includes two offsets:
- Extends existing WIIN Act provisions allowing water districts to prepay their outstanding capital debts and convert to indefinite length water supply contracts to bring in additional revenue within the next 10 years.
- Creates a process to deauthorize inactive water recycling project authorizations.
For updates on Drought Resiliency and Water Supply Infrastructure Act, keep checking back with AndNowUKnow.
WASHINGTON, DC - In its efforts to enforce the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) and ensure fair trading practices within the U.S. produce industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has filed an administrative complaint under the PACA against Write On Marketing Inc.
Direct from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service:
The company, operating from California, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to nine produce sellers in the amount of $619,195 from August 2017 through July 2018.
Write On Marketing Inc. will have an opportunity to request a hearing. Should USDA find that the company committed repeated and flagrant violations, it would be barred from the produce industry as a licensee for three years, or two years with the posting of a USDA-approved surety bond. Furthermore, its principals could not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee for two years, or one year with the posting of a USDA-approved surety bond.
The PACA Division, which is in the Fair Trade Practices Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service, regulates fair trading practices of produce businesses that are operating subject to PACA, including buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry.
For further information, contacts, and to read the press release in its entirety, please check out the link here.
U.S., MEXICO - After months fraught with trade drama, after President Donald Trump recently threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico as retaliation for migration issues, Mexico has become the first country to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The USMCA, announced last September, was intended as a replacement for NAFTA to create a more modernized trade agreement. Three weeks ago, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador submitted the texts required for Mexican lawmakers to approve the deal, according to Politico. Still, López Obrador had to call an extraordinary session before lawmakers broke for recess in early April, the news source reports.
"USMCA passes! Mexico goes first with clear signal that our economy is open," Jesús Seade, Mexico's Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, wrote on Twitter. "We're confident that our partners will soon do the same," he added.
President Trump will now make efforts to pass the deal through Congress this summer for approval, though Democrats have expressed hesitation—insisting that changes must be made to strengthen enforcement of the deal.
Canada has taken a bit of a wait-and-see policy, as it has introduced an implementation bill in its Parliament, but is still waiting to approve the bill until around the same time as final votes are held in the U.S.
“Our plan is to move forward in tandem with the U.S. We think of it as a kind of Goldilocks approach. Not too hot, not too cold,” commented Canadian Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland. “We’re not moving too fast, not moving too slow.”
For more news on this story as it develops, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
EMERYVILLE, CA - Even though we’re still in the thick of it, 2019 is definitely Grocery Outlet’s year. After first announcing its plans to go public back in March, the retailer officially filed with the SEC in May to raise up to $100 million in an IPO—a goal the grocer has already surpassed, taking the newswire by storm in the process with stories of its successful IPO launch that some sources are estimating will raise $378 million.
When I sat down to chat with Grocery Outlet’s President, RJ Sheedy, however, you never would have guessed this month has been nothing short of fantastic. Instead, it was clear that RJ and his team are hard set on continuing this momentum and working tirelessly to uphold the mission and values that have been ingrained in the company since its inception in 1946.
“We’ve definitely been celebrating this milestone as a team these past couple of weeks. As we continue forward, we’re focused on executing what we do best, what resonates with our consumers, and what will continue to make us unique in the retail sector,” RJ shared with me. “We’re also focused on prepping for more long-term growth, which includes emphasizing the value we offer shoppers as a small box, independently operated, high touch, friendly, extreme value-added retailer.”
One way Grocery Outlet is emphasizing its value is by expanding its brick-and-mortar presence into as many markets as possible. This also includes carrying its company culture to new markets and introducing a burgeoning team to its core values: family, trust, integrity, collaboration, and community.
“We will continue to focus on our culture as we continue to grow in existing markets and invest in our infrastructure. Our model—which includes operating stores in all kinds of different market types and offering value on high-quality branded items—has worked well for us,” RJ noted. “We have a lot of runway for growth in existing markets and plenty of potential to grow beyond that as well.”
Another key part of Grocery Outlet’s value is the shopping experience it offers. After speaking with RJ, I would describe this experience as firmly rooted in a one-two punch of “love at first sight” and “self-discovery,” while RJ described it as a treasure hunt.
“Shopping at Grocery Outlet is a loud experience, a treasure hunt shopping experience, which is pretty unique. Shoppers never know what they’re going to find—other than, of course, great value,” RJ explained. “Customers especially love our growing NOSH category: Natural, Organic, Specialty, and Healthy. Our customers have a strong orientation toward value, and as a company, we’ll continue to seek out value and points of differentiation in our format to keep positioning ourselves well for the future.”
And the produce aisle is definitely a key part of Grocery Outlet’s point of differentiation and a main focus as the retailer continues to grow.
“We love produce, and our customers love produce. We have great partnerships with the produce industry that we’re proud of and that will help grow our produce aisles as a result. I think customers enjoy shopping in our produce aisles because they love the quality and value we provide,” RJ said. “And that treasure hunt shopping experience exists in the produce aisle as well.”
With a half a year still left in 2019, how else will Grocery Outlet dominate the retail sector?AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the latest and greatest.