NEW ZEALAND - The summer fruit season is in full swing, and Zespri™ has the kiwifruit supplies to fill shelves. The supplier reported record sales for the beginning of the 2024 season, and is now touting increased volume.

“There has been significant effort from the industry to deliver a fantastic crop of high-quality fruit which allowed us to capitalize on early season sales opportunities,” Jason Te Brake, Chief Executive Officer, stated. “We’re now in a period that is traditionally more challenging on the back of the arrival of summer fruit, which is something we see every year. This is a period where we typically experience strong competition from the likes of peaches, berries, melons, and grapes, which are more available in volume and at lower prices than expected.”

Around 75 percent of this season’s largest ever crop of more than 190 million trays of kiwifruit from New Zealand have now been shipped to Zespri’s customers around the world, a press release stated. Zespri’s teams are focused on driving sales and preserving value for growers through the competitive summer fruit season.

“While strong competition has seen sales rates in most of our major markets ease back from the record highs we’ve seen in the early parts of the season, feedback from our customers has been clear that they have huge confidence in the quality of our fruit this season, and they want more of it,” Te Brake continued.

As well as domestic summer fruit, there is more competition in the kiwifruit category, including an increase in volume of Chilean green kiwifruit in the United States market. Zespri’s teams have been well prepared with season planning focused on getting the season off to a strong start before hitting the summer fruit period.

“With summer fruit experiencing tough growing conditions this season, it’s likely to be off shelves earlier with competition expected to subside in the next month and we’re already seeing signs of this starting to ease in some of our key markets,” Te Brake added. “This season’s fruit quality has us well placed to close out the season strongly in the remaining months as this summer fruit exits the market, capitalizing on clearer space in market to support returns to our growers. Zespri and our partners remain focused on delivering a record crop, with our teams in market executing some outstanding campaigns to drive sales rates and deliver the season well.”

For more season updates, you know where to find us.

DINUBA, CA - It is with a heavy heart that we report the recent passing of an industry great. California fruit grower Herbert Alvin Kaprielian passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 16.

Born October 28, 1929, to Leon Minas and Ruth Kaloostian Kaprielian, he spent his childhood in Reedley, California. He attended Southern California Military Academy in Long Beach, California, graduating in the Class of 1947. He continued his education at Reedley College and Fresno State College. He made lifelong friends at Reedley College, including Beverly Holmes, whom he married on June 28, 1952.

After Kaprielian’s honorable discharge from the United States Air Force in 1955, they moved to the family farm east of Reedley, where they raised four children. In 1980, the family relocated to Beverly and Kaprielian’s dream home on Smith Mountain near Dinuba, CA.

Kaprielian was part of a family owned business founded in 1919 by brothers Leon and Gabriel Kaprielian in the practice of growing, packing, and marketing fresh California fruit. The family farming business benefited greatly from Kaprielian’s leadership—he expanded the packing facility, started a sales and cold storage company, and was instrumental in designing and implementing new packing equipment and procedures as well as new methods for maintaining freshness in fruit delivered to stores across the U.S. and abroad.

Kaprielian was active on various boards and committees of the California Fresh Fruit Association, California Tree Fruit Agreement, the Bank of Fresno, and the Fresno Business Council. He was one of the three founding partners of Tommy's Pump Company (now Carver Pump Company).

Kaprielian is survived by his daughter Cheryl Mooradian (Michael), grandchildren Nicole (Thraen), Alicia (Marc), Gabrielle (Andrew); son Craig Kaprielian (Lorrel), grandchildren Bianca (Deborah), Christian, Charlotte, Angelica (Gregg), Florencia (Geoffrey), great-grandchildren Elizabeth, Adam; daughter Jenifer Santos (Victor), grandchildren Elliott, Claire; daughter-in-law Dawn Kaprielian, grandchildren Kara (Brett), Richard (Angie), and great-granddaughter Vivian.

Kaprielian was preceded in death by his loving wife, Beverly; his parents; sister, Darlene Rowland; beloved son, Richard; and daughter-in-law, Donna Aivazian Kaprielian.

Remembrances may be made in Kaprielian’s name to: Leon M. Kaprielian Memorial Scholarship, Reedley College Foundation. To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Our hearts go out to all those experiencing this great loss.

LE GRAND, CA - Catching up with the team at Live Oak Farms is always exciting for us here at AndNowUKnow, especially when the produce supplier pulls back the curtain on a formidable new program. Briana Giampaoli, Produce Sales, divulged the details in an exclusive interview.

“We have organic Romas that we are starting this year,” she shared. “[It is] a new program here and it's a retail-ready 1 lb bag. We still have what we're known for when we started off: our green bells, and now we’ve expanded it to our organic program.”

With the addition of items like organic Roma tomatoes, Live Oak Farms is strategically broadening its organic portfolio to remain a reliable one-stop shop for its customers.

“We've got organic eggplant and now we've added Romas,” Briana continues. “We have green beans, so we’re slowly growing our organic line. It's something that we've really put our best foot forward to establish ourselves in the organic space.”

More portfolio insights can be found in the exclusive video above! Stick around for more fresh produce updates from ANUK.

SACRAMENTO, CA - Celebrating the stories and individuals of today cannot come without honoring the past. Those individuals who have helped build, evolve, and elevate fresh produce are foundational to who we are and who we aspire to be. This July, at our annual Besties event, we honored some of those amazing industry members we have lost in the past year. And, as we tipped our glasses to the amazing lives they led, we committed to continuing to share their legacies with you all.

"It is important for us to honor those we have lost, and to continue carrying on their passion for our industry in any way we can," said Robert Lambert, Chief Executive Officer and President of AndNowUKnow, when speaking of the In Memoriam video played at the beginning of the event. "We consider ourselves stewards of their stories and yours. It is a great honor to recognize these people who will be forever with us."

This In Memoriam video looks back at some of the industry members we’ve lost since the summer of last year. Our hearts go out to those impacted by their loss and touched by their lives.

To watch the full video, please see below.

Thank you to all who contribute to the successes and the struggles that mark the true beauty of our industry. Our stories are for you.

MOUNT VERNON, WA - Welcome to the latest Behind the Greens, featuring the leaders of Bay Baby Produce. Find out about key milestones and achievements in this brief but insightful video.

Michele Youngquist, President, Bay Baby Produce

We started Bay Baby Produce 25 years ago and we're celebrating our 25^th anniversary.

My name is Michele Youngquist, President of Bay Baby Produce. We built our 55,000-square-foot facility in 2018. With our solar panels, we have saved 27,000 pounds of coal being mined, 2,800 gallons of gas—62,000 miles of cars being driven. We also focus on what's trending on social media.

So, you know, we've got our fingers on the pulse of what people want in their houses for the Halloween season. Halloween is the second largest retail next to Christmas, so if they do a great job, they have great sales. And that's what we've noticed with most of our customers.

Nate Youngquist, Vice President, Bay Baby Produce

Hi, my name is Nate Youngquist. I'm Vice President of Bay Baby Produce, and we are sitting in one of our pumpkin fields right now. I've been farming pumpkins for the last 17 years for Bay Baby. I became an owner in 2022. So, farming here in Skagit Valley, we farm about 750 acres which sets us apart from other places in the world because of the climate.

We have a great region to grow top 1 percent and soil health, and that's what helps set us apart from other regions in the country is the perfect growing conditions to create the best yield and really quality of product.

We grow organic Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti, delicata, Carnival, kabocha, and red curry. We also grow Pumpkin Patch Pals and our eight-count painted pumpkins. And sometimes we do custom items for whatever our customers would like. We are a vertically integrated company. We grow, pack, ship, and sell. So, that is the great thing about Bay Baby Produce. We watch the product from the beginning all the way through the entire process, and we love spreading the pumpkin joy.

Thanks for watching AndNowUKnow! Stay tuned for more exclusive videos like this one.

ZAANDAM, THE NETHERLANDS - With the second quarter coming to a close for many companies, Ahold Delhaize recently released its financial results. Most notably, the retailer reported that group net sales were €22.3 billion ($24.35 billion), up 0.7 percent at constant exchange rates and up 1.2 percent at actual exchange rates.

"I am pleased to report a second quarter performance that places us well on track to achieve our strategic aspirations and financial goals for 2024,” said Frans Muller, President and Chief Executive Officer. “It has been a busy quarter, as we launched our refreshed company strategy, 'Growing Together,' internally and externally. As I said in May, we have a strong foundation, and we are ready to set the pace for change in our industry. We believe we have a very compelling set of ambitions, which, on delivery, will yield strong growth for our company and our stakeholders.”

According to a press release, other highlights from the report include:

• Online sales increased by 3.4 percent in Q2 at constant exchange rates and by 3.9 percent at actual exchange rates
• Q2 underlying operating margin was 4.2 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points due to strong performance in both the United States and Europe
• Q2 diluted underlying EPS was €0.65 ($0.71), an increase of 4.5 percent compared to the prior year at actual rates

“As growth rates in the industry normalize, our omnichannel ecosystems are proving a major competitive advantage and source of market share gains,” Muller continued. “In Q2, online sales were again fueled by double-digit growth in online grocery in both Europe and the U.S., excluding the divestment of FreshDirect. Here we are seeing both new customer growth and strong customer retention. At the same time, we are making strides in e-commerce profitability. In the U.S., the shift in demand to more profitable channels and our initiatives to optimize the store-first fulfillment model are paying off.”

For more from the press release, click here.

ANUK will continue to keep you updated on the latest in grocery retail.

LEAMINGTON, ONTARIO, CANADA - Harnessing advanced tech integration to enhance its productivity and overall greenhouse operations, Nature Fresh Farms® is seeing the benefits of a cutting-edge alliance. The greenhouse grower unveiled a new trial partnership with Koidra, an expert in AI-based automation for controlled environment agriculture (CEA).

“We are excited to partner with Koidra in this innovative trial,” said Octavio Perez Rodriguez, Director, Growing Operations at Nature Fresh Farms. “Their AI-based automation technology represents the future of sustainable agriculture. By integrating Koidra’s solutions, we aim to enhance our operational efficiency and continue providing high-quality produce to our customers.”

Koidra's AI-powered solutions—DataPilot and KoPilot—offer a comprehensive approach to greenhouse management, integrating data from various sensors and hardware and providing real-time insights and autonomous control of climate, lighting, and irrigation systems to maintain optimal greenhouse growing conditions.

Through the partnership, Nature Fresh Farms will utilize the company’s state-of-the-art AI technology to streamline its greenhouse operations, reduce energy costs, and maximize crop yields.

“Koidra is thrilled to collaborate with Nature Fresh Farms, a leader in the greenhouse industry,” said Kenneth Tran, Chief Executive Officer of Koidra. “Our mission is to empower growers with cutting-edge technology that optimizes their operations. This trial will demonstrate the significant impact our AI solutions can have on large-scale greenhouse production.”

According to a press release, the trial will focus on several key objectives:

• Enhanced Efficiency: Utilizing Koidra’s AI algorithms to optimize energy and resource usage for heating, lighting, and irrigation
• Labor Optimization: Reducing the burden on skilled labor through the automation of routine tasks and environmental adjustments
• Increased Yields: Maximizing crop production potential by maintaining consistent and optimal growing conditions

The duo will monitor and analyze the trial’s outcomes, aiming to showcase improvements in productivity, energy savings, and overall operational efficiency.

This innovative partnership between two industry trailblazers signifies a key step in the evolution of controlled environment agriculture and ag technology.

For more fresh produce updates, leave a tab open to ANUK.