OXNARD, CA - If you are experiencing the thick of winter it is probably hard to imagine that, somewhere, it’s warm enough to provide high-quality mangos. But, Freska Produce’s Gary Clevenger assures me that it is so.
“We are currently winding down out of Peru with Kent mangos and started our Mexican season about two weeks ago with Ataulfos from southern Mexico,” Gary tells me. “Volumes fluctuate from year to year out of each of the countries, but demand for mangos continues to go up year after year as they become more mainstream.”
This year’s volume, Gary says, is about 35 percent less out of Peru versus last year.
“Out of Peru, we didn't quite have the right weather, so less flowers remained on the tree. In Mexico, we have some similar problems with flowering and the season was off to a slow start compared to last year. Quality-wise, however, the fruit is very nice this year out of both countries—no visible quality problems with any fruit,” he says.
To continue to foster that rising demand, Gary advises that it’s best to get ahead of promotions as the season gains momentum.
“As mango season ramps up out of Mexico, I would encourage retailers to promote both varieties of mangos—Ataulfos and Kents/Tommys, as wells as multiple sizes, large and small. The National Mango Board is also conducting a Make it with Mango promotion to celebrate mangos all winter long with a special winter recipe contest,” he explains.
So keep a weathered eye on the horizon, or in this case, the port of entry. We’ll continue to keep you in the loop on this and other produce items at AndNowUKnow.
HINCKLEY, OH - Can’t stop, won’t stop must be the new motto for Aldi, as it has recently announced plans for further expansion in the Ohio market. The German retailer is making a commitment to grow employment as it expands its distribution center in Hinckley, Ohio.
“As Aldi continues to grow, we’re excited to expand employment opportunities at our Hinckley distribution center, and we’re proud to be an employer of choice in the state of Ohio and across the U.S.,” said Corey Stucker, Hinckley Division Vice President. “We’re committed to job growth across the country and look forward to continuing to serve our local Ohio communities in the years to come.”
More than 60 new jobs will be created, and 180 current full-time employees will be retained, as reported by Cleveland + Business. The hirings are set to take place over the next three years. The growth is part of the company’s plan to expand to 2,500 stores by the end of 2022, and add 25,000 new jobs.
Will Aldi’s ambitious plan for growth pay off? Keep reading AndNowUKnow for all the updates.
THE NETHERLANDS AND CALIFORNIA, USA - Apeel Sciences has been making headlines ever since its avocados starting rolling out at Costco and Harps. No stranger to the spotlight, the company has once again made heads turn with its latest partnership. Apeel’s plant-derived food waste prevention tech will soon be integrated into Nature’s Pride avocado value chain, which will bring Apeel Avocados—avocados with double the edible shelf life—to European households for the first time.
“Food waste is a massive global problem and with a strategic leader like Nature’s Pride, we can look to a future where there’s much less waste in the system, and we can advance sustainability together with benefits to everyone in the supply chain,” said James Rogers, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Apeel Sciences. “Nature’s Pride and Apeel have the same vision for a future where our food systems operate more harmoniously with nature, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to work with them to take the food waste fight to Europe very soon.”
According to a press release, the partnership comes at a time when food waste in Europe has reached 88 million tons annually and builds on Apeel’s successful introduction in the U.S., where the technology demonstrated more than 50% food waste reduction at the retail level. As part of the partnership, Nature’s Pride and Apeel Sciences will introduce a co-branded label, a signal to consumers of quality, sustainability, longer lasting freshness, and less food waste, made possible by Apeel’s technology.
“We put the health of people and the environment at the heart of all we do. We are constantly looking for improvements in our value chain to provide our customers with the highest quality and most tasty products. With Apeel, we share the same values: we are both pioneering and passionate about reducing food waste, and we want to work collaboratively with others to solve this problem. This makes Apeel the ideal strategic partner for us. We look forward to reducing food waste, unlocking new value for everybody in the supply chain, and growing the fruit and vegetable business with all of our partners together.” said Adriëlle Dankier, Chief Commercial Officer of Nature’s Pride.
Avocado pilots are expected to start mid-year in select retail stores in Europe, subject to EU regulatory approval, and both companies are excited to offer European customers and consumers Apeel Avocados.
In support of Apeel’s expansion to meet demand domestically and around the world, Apeel Sciences has expanded the team. The press release noted that this supports the company's efforts and relationships with its fresh food suppliers and buyers.
Mike Tucker will be joining Apeel as Team Leader of Buyer Relations. His role will be to oversee the group who will work with retailers and wholesalers to grow existing Apeel programs and introduce new Apeel products to the market. Tucker’s most recent role was as Retail Category Manager with Sakata Seed. He also has over a decade’s worth of buy-side experience with Target.
Chayla Balko joins Apeel as a Senior Account Executive on the Buyer Relations team. She brings over 15 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, working with retailers to build winning sales strategies. She gained her strong business development and industry knowledge from her most recent roles with Golden Sun Marketing as its Business Development Manager and The Oppenheimer Group as its Business Development Representative and Key Account Manager.
Michele Visser is returning to the produce industry as the Director of Supplier Relations for Apeel. She will work closely with the grower-supplier community to implement joint go-to market strategies that unlock the value of Apeel. She most recently served as the Vice President of Sales for Aplos Software, and she brings a keen understanding of how to support grower-packer-shippers in their successful adaptation of new systems and technologies from her time as a Senior Account Manager for Famous Software.
Congratulations to Apeel on this new partnership and to its new team members!
WASHINGTON, DC - Mary Coppola is stepping into a new role with the United Fresh Produce Association. The marketing maven has been promoted to Vice President, Marketing & Communications.
According to a press release, Coppola first joined the association in the fall of 2014. During her time with United Fresh, Coppola has been pivotal in spearheading the organization’s marketing and communication efforts.
“When Mary joined our team, we asked her to take on two major tasks,” said United Fresh President & CEO Tom Stenzel. “First, she focused on growing the association’s marketing and communications capacity to deliver targeted messaging to our members and broader fresh produce industry. Equally important, Mary also took on the role of staff liaison to the association’s Produce Marketing & Merchandising Council, a group of 45 leading marketing professionals from our member companies. Working with these volunteer leaders, Mary has helped create a strong professional community of produce marketers that is helping our industry bring great new products to consumers around the world."
The Produce Marketing & Merchandising Council is the team behind BrandStorm™, an industry opportunity to get up close and personal with produce marketers. The council organizes and hosts the interactive event, which is celebrating its fourth year this year.
“Congratulations to Mary on this great and well-earned career step,” said Mark Munger, 4Earth Farms’ Vice President, Sales & Marketing and Chairman of United Fresh’s Produce Marketing & Merchandising Council. “We invite marketers from across our produce supply chain to join our Council members, Mary, and the United Fresh marketing team at this year’s BrandStorm conference for an amazing experience.”
BrandStorm will take place in San Francisco on February 20-22—see you there!
Congratulations, Mary, on your promotion! For more news like this, keep following AndNowUKnow.
UNITED KINGDOM - Kroger’s partner, Ocado, has reportedly been talking to UK-based Marks & Spencer (M&S) about a potential grocery supply deal. A partnership with Ocado, The Mail on Sunday first reported, would give the struggling retailer a chance to pull itself out of the grocery hole.
Given that the two companies have held talks regarding a partnership, one wonders what may become of Ocado’s current partnership with Waitrose. As of now, the contract between the two is set to dissolve in September of 2020.
M&S has been hitting a wall, so to speak, when it comes to expansion plans. The retailer closed 100 stores by 2022 as part of its latest bid to halt a decline in its revenue. Although it has thus far been fairly quiet on the grocery delivery front, M&S allegedly wants to launch a £1 billion delivery service (approximately $1.3 billion USD).
A source reported to The Mail that Archie Norman, M&S Chairman, needs to do something “transformational to make his mark at M&S, and he is running out of time.”
Ocado and Kroger made headlines last May when they announced that their partnership would yield distribution centers, or automated warehouse facilities, to best fulfill Kroger’s online delivery capabilities.
Will Ocado enter into this agreement with Marks & Spencers, and will the partnership look similar to the one it has with Kroger? Will it pull M&S back from the brink? AndNowUKnow will keep its eyes peeled to the newswire.
WASHINGTON, DC - The Trump Administration announced recipients of its 2019 Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP) funding, and the produce industry has emerged victorious. Late last week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue revealed the Administration’s list of 57 recipients that will split $200 million in funding, 20 of which are involved with the fresh produce and/or nut industries. Familiar produce industry names such as Sunkist Growers, the California Fresh Fruit Association, and the California Table Grape Commission were all names as recipients of the federal funding.
“At USDA, we are always looking to expand existing markets or open new ones, so we are proud to make good on the third leg of the President’s promise to America’s farmers,” said Secretary Perdue. “This infusion will help us develop other markets and move us away from being dependent on one large customer for our agricultural products. This is seed money, leveraged by hundreds of millions of dollars from the private sector, that will help to increase our agricultural exports.”
All sectors of U.S. agriculture were eligible to apply for cost-share assistance under the ATP, according to a press release. Each application was evaluated for potential for export growth in the target market, direct injury from recent tariffs, and the likelihood that the proposed project or activity will have a near-term impact on agricultural exports. The USDA provided a full list of recipients and the amount of funding each will receive here. In total, fresh produce and nut interests will split nearly $30 million between them.
“We were pleased to see the large demand for participation in the program and truly got some out-of-the-box ideas that we are hopeful will expand our global footprint,” Perdue said. “We examined all applications carefully, considered our ranking criteria, and awarded the funds in order to make the best use of taxpayer dollars in growing agricultural trade.”
Below are the 20 funding recipients relevant to the fresh produce industry:
- Almond Board of California: $3,185,690
- American Pistachio Growers: $1,715,000
- California Cherry Marketing and Research Board: $394,440
- California Fresh Fruit Association: $267,565
- California Pear Advisory Board: $140,690
- California Strawberry Commission: $577,140
- California Table Grape Commission: $2,856,830
- California Walnut Commission: $1,612,440
- Cal–Pure Produce Inc.: $1,715,000
- Cranberry Marketing Committee: $1,139,450
- National Potato Promotion Board: $3,670,860
- National Watermelon Promotion Board: $50,000
- Organic Trade Association: $547,085
- Pear Bureau Northwest: $564,170
- Sunkist Growers, Inc.: $546,690
- U.S. Apple Export Council: $196,515
- U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council: $259,953
- U.S. Pecan Growers Council: $1,325,010
- Washington Apple Commission: $8,457,600
- Washington State Fruit Commission: $709,203
AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the latest efforts by the Trump Administration and Secretary Perdue as they look to further stimulate innovation in ag.
PORTLAND, OR - Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW) is taking February and early spring head on and focusing promotional efforts on the importance of maintaining a nutritious diet and healthy lifestyle. PBNW is taking a multi-channel approach and introducing retailer demos and displays, targeted digital ad campaigns, and editorial and social media with a synchronized message highlighting the flavor, versatility, and nutritional benefits of pears.
“With the fresh start of a new year and many people embracing healthier lifestyle and diet choices, we feel that February and March are the perfect months to loudly share the message that pears are a favorite winter fruit with significant nutritional benefits,” said Kevin Moffitt, President and CEO, in a press release. “Northwest pears are also available nearly year-round, and our promotions during the Nutrition Months will help keep pears on the minds of retailers and consumers in winter and spring.”
PBNW noted that February is American Heart Month, and March is National Nutrition Month, and the bureau is working on a number of coordinated promotions aimed at engaging consumers throughout that window. PBNW is undertaking a collaboration with California Walnuts featuring a produce meal solution that places pears, walnuts, and other salad ingredients conveniently in front of consumers. Retailers will also be encouraged to participate in display contests and feature timely salads, smoothies, roasted veggies, and breakfast ideas in their store signage.
PBNW will be talking about these same topics on its social media platforms and in its consumer newsletters, with an emphasis on pears’ high fiber content (6 grams per medium-sized pear) and the fruit being Heart-Check Certified by the American Heart Association. The bureau also noted that it will continue to run targeted advertisements on social media and will also work with a range of influencers within the healthy eating and wellness communities.
Additionally, PBNW will be hosting an online sweepstakes throughout February and March, offering consumers in the U.S. and Canada a chance to win a custom-painted KitchenAid stand-up mixer. Much of the content used to engage consumers in this contest will emphasize pears as a heart-healthy food, with pears being an excellent source of fiber and a good source of Vitamin C, as well as being sodium-free, fat-free, and cholesterol-free.
For more fresh fruit and veggie news, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
CAMARILLO, CA - Houweling’s Group is putting the pedal to the metal to accelerate growth in 2019. The greenhouse grower is teaming up with sustainability investment firm Equilibrium to modernize its existing facilities in California and expand its production capacity at its Utah facility.
“We had been seeking a strategic equity partner for the past few years, recognizing the need for outside capital to react to growing customer demand for fresh, safe, and 365 day-a-year production,” said Kevin Doran, Houweling’s President and CEO. “By partnering with Equilibrium, who bring a deep understanding of the greenhouse and agriculture sectors, we expect to unlock the full potential of our company.”
In a press release, Doran outlined that thanks to Houweling’s partnership with Equilibrium, the company is able to provide further economic development for its neighboring communities. As a result, this will help the company expand its greenhouse’s locally-grown product mix that's available to Houweling’s customers.
“The waste heat and CO2 from the adjacent power plant is sufficient to support a greenhouse twice the size of what we have now” Doran said. “With Equilibrium, we can realize the economies of scale from a second 30-acre phase, planned to commence construction in 2019.”
Equilibrium’s Chairman Dave Chen added, “[Houweling’s] state-of-the-art greenhouse in Utah captures waste heat and CO2 from the neighboring power plant, reducing the amount of fossil fuels consumed compared to a traditional greenhouse operation, and recycling CO2 that would otherwise enter the atmosphere. This is exactly the kind of economic and sustainability impact we look for in our strategies.”
Chen noted that Equilibrium was first drawn to Houweling’s because of its sustainability innovations and efforts to create operational advantages and reduce environmental/climate action impact.
“We see a tremendous opportunity in the future of controlled environment agriculture and foods,” said Chen. “By partnering with top high-tech greenhouse operators, such as the Houweling’s Group, we plan to grow with the demand in the sector. We have spent the last few years getting to know the management team. We are impressed with the strength of their direct-to-retail business and brand they have built over the last 20 years in the United States.”
For more on the companies leading the sustainability charge in produce, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - True story: when I was a kid, I learned that carrots were good for your eyesight, so I ate the things like crazy. Fast forward 20 years and I still have astigmatism, but also a fresh appreciation for carrots—this time based on taste rather than ocular promises. The growers at Grimmway Farms share my appreciation of the crunchy orange cones, making it their business to produce high-quality, delicious carrots. Vice President of Sales, Mike Anspach, shared an update on the company’s current crop of carrots.
“Carrot quality, size, and supply are excellent this season,” said Mike. “We saw some rain and colder temperatures in Kern County, but neither have affected crop volumes or harvest activity.”
At the moment, Grimmway Farms is harvesting carrots in Kern County, while getting ready to transition to its desert growing region come late February. The carrot market remains steady, but with a tighter than normal supply of jumbo carrots, a very popular item, prices are subsequently slightly higher than normal.
With the crop going strong despite the tumultuous weather and a steady carrot market, 2019 is shaping up to be a bang-up year for Grimmway Farms.
AndNowUKnow will continue to report on all things crop related.
WENATCHEE, WA - As the fresh produce industry keeps developing and it becomes increasingly more difficult for retailers to stand out from the crowd, it now takes a little more ingenuity and strategy to unlock the biggest profits in the game. One way CMI Orchards’ Vice President of Marketing George Harter suggests retailers can tap into those larger category sales is to offer consumers a “a fourth tier of selling potential.”
“Most retailers carry first, second, and third tier items, which are the conventional core varieties, organic core varieties, and conventional branded apples, respectively,” he explained. “The retailers that are really benefiting from large profits in their apple category recognize the value in adding a fourth tier of selling to drive interest and excitement by offering another vehicle for incremental sales: branded organic apples.”
According to Harter, CMI grows and markets seven of the top twelve selling branded apples in the United States. Ambrosia, Jazz™, Envy™, Kanzi®, KIKU®, Pacific Rose™, and Smitten® apples all showed strong performance in Nielsen’s reports on the last 52 weeks of sales data sourced through December 29, 2018.
“Of these rock star conventional branded apples, CMI has really set ourselves apart by investing in branded organics,” Harter continued. “We can deliver organic Ambrosia, KIKU, Kanzi, Envy, and Smitten, providing retailers with some great options for leveraging the power of higher-value apples on the shelf.”
Nielsen data shows organic Ambrosia is the number one selling branded organic apple, Harter said, performing 95 percent higher in sales dollars than the second ranked branded organic apple. Harter noted that, of the five top selling branded organic apples, CMI carries three: Ambrosia, Kanzi, and Jazz apples. Organic Ambrosia had stronger sales performance than the second and third top performers combined, he added.
CMI growes around a quarter of Washington State's entire organic apple crop, said Robb Myers, Director of Domestic Sales for CMI Orchards, who continued: “That’s more than 100 million pounds annually. We’ve reached significant volume where we are close to being able to supply customers year-round with organics, supplemented by import organic apples in the summer.”
With branded organics, Myers added, CMI provides retailers a way to further segregate the expanding organic category even further.
“Put it this way, you can essentially amplify your set price points considerably with each tier, resulting in more sales for your stores,” Myers said. “If you’re offering only three tiers in your apple category, you’re missing a huge opportunity to capture dollars with branded organics.”
For more from the produce industry’s foremost experts on merchandising and category management, keep reading AndNowUKnow!