MISSION, TX - Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller visited Lone Star Citrus Growers to discuss key industry issues and tour the company’s facilities. He was accompanied by a delegation from The Texas Department of Agriculture. Previously, in July of 2018, Commissioner Miller’s office, along with the Texas Department of Agriculture, sponsored a delegation to South Korea which included VP of Sales, Trent Bishop.
“The purpose of the trip was to explore the South Korean market’s viability for importing Texas red grapefruit, and we were pleasantly surprised by both the hospitality of the South Koreans and their interest in our product,” said Bishop in a company press release.
The delegation met with the U.S. Embassy’s Agricultural Trade Office, Office of Agricultural Affairs, APHIS, and the three largest importers of U.S. grapefruit. The company noted that import/export negotiations are currently underway, and APHIS plans to address the project at the upcoming IPPC in Rome. During the visit to Lone Star Citrus, Commissioner Miller again reiterated his support of the project.
While there, Commissioner Miller enjoyed a tour of the packing and juice plants given by Bishop, VP of Operations T.J. Flowers, and Warehouse General Manager Gustavo Serrano.
“The Texas citrus industry is a vital part of the Texas economy, and I appreciate the opportunity to tour Lone Star Citrus and their state-of-the art-facility,” said Commissioner Miller.
Lone Star Citrus noted in its press release that it was grateful to Commissioner Miller for his leadership in the installation of TDA signage along Texas state borders, warning travelers that it is “unlawful to enter Texas with citrus plants.” The signage is a key strategy in the fight against citrus greening and other diseases. During his visit, Commissioner Miller shared that he is working toward the installation of four new produce inspection stations that will further protect the Texas grapefruit crop.
The Lone Star Citrus team stated that it appreciates the support of Commissioner Miller and the TDA, and looks forward to introducing Texas red grapefruit to new markets in the coming season.
For the latest in produce news, stick with us at AndNowUKnow.
LOS ALAMITOS, CA - The holidays are a time for festivities and gratitude—and for eating. To ensure retailers are inspiring produce-seeking consumers, Frieda’s Specialty Produce has teamed up with chefs from Los Angeles’ food-forward scene on some tasty holiday dishes.
“At Frieda’s, we have partnered with chefs Heather and Emily from Botanica Restaurant in Los Angeles, which was named one of the Top 10 new restaurants in 2017 by LA Magazine,” said Alex Jackson Berkley, Assistant Sales Manager. “Their recipes fit in perfectly for New Year entertaining, while inspiring consumers to try new dishes.”
Frieda’s noted in a press release that a recent Wakefield Research poll shows 85 percent of consumers plan to attend a holiday celebration this season, while 97 percent of consumers plan to shop for produce to fuel their holiday celebrations.
New Year’s Eve parties and New Year’s Day brunches are great ways to celebrate, and Frieda’s and its culinary partners have just the thing.
“
We love working with the Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes from Frieda’s,” said Chef Heather Sperling. “They're so versatile and have a place at every table—from morning though night! Purple Sweet Potato Fritters with Green Tahini is a dish that's as ideal as a passed hors d'oeuvre as it is as a dinner party centerpiece. Garam Masala Purple Sweet Potatoes with Garlicky Yogurt is a vibrant, unexpected side dish that will definitely be on my holiday table. We love riffing on hummus, and one of our new favorites is Spiced Purple Sweet Potato Hummus, ideally served on a crudité platter with roasted purple asparagus, charred orange cauliflower, crunchy jicama, and mini sweet peppers.”
Alex added that the Frieda’s team is all about inspiring new food experiences, something the team shares with Botanica.
“There is no better way to ring in the New Year than by introducing your friends and family to new, delicious foods,” she concluded.
Frieda’s can be contacted directly to help retailers plan New Year’s Eve displays with products like Stokes Purple sweet potatoes, purple asparagus, colored cauliflower, Meyer lemons, jicama, elephant garlic, and mini sweet peppers.
Let the festivities and food-buying begin!
CARLISLE, PA - SuperValu has found a buyer for five more of its Shop ‘n Save locations in the form of Giant Food Stores. Giant Food Stores announced a new growth strategy earlier this year and has recently debuted a new format, additional new stores, and other expansion efforts across the Northeast.
“This acquisition demonstrates our continued commitment to the long-term growth strategy we announced earlier this year,” said Nicholas Bertram, Giant Food Stores’ President.
GIANT plans to convert the Shop ‘n Save stores into Martin’s Food Markets stores, and current Shop ‘n Save employees at these stores will have the opportunity to interview with Martin’s, according to a press release. The five stores involved in the sale include:
- 22401 Jefferson Boulevard, Smithsburg, MD
- 500 North Antrim Way, Greencastle, PA
- 409 North McNeil Road, Berryville, VA
- 147 Roaring Lion Drive, Hedgesville, WV
- 1317 Old Courthouse Square, Martinsburg, WV
“Our Martin’s associates have proudly served many of these communities for years, and we look forward to expanding the Martin’s brand along the Interstate 81 Corridor and within the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia,” Bertram added.
Giant Food Stores, which currently encompasses 171 locations in four states, has made a series of strategic investments recently, including debuting the new Giant Heirloom Market in Philadelphia, an acquisition a former Darrenkamp store, a new e-commerce hub, and additional new stores in East Stroudsburg and Walnutport, PA.
The sale is expected to close during the first quarter of 2019, but is still subject to customary closing conditions and Federal Trade Commission approval.
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failure to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).
According to a press release, the following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:
- Phillips Produce LLC, operating out of Plant City, Florida, for failing to pay a $133,094 award in favor of a Minnesota seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Christopher Phillips was listed as a member of the business.
- Peisel Markets LLC, operating out of Madison, New Jersey, for failing to pay a $315,901 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Allen Peisel was listed as a member of the business.
- G&M Import Produce LLC, operating out of Bronx, New York, for failing to pay a $36,448 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Gil A. Fernandez was listed as a member of the business.
- Integrity Produce LLC, operating out of Tieton, Washington, for failing to pay a $3,729 award in favor of a Washington seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Nenita A. Denton and Carl A. Denton were listed as members of the business.
PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions; this may result in a reparation order being issued that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors or major stockholders, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA approval.
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.
In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,350 PACA claims involving more than $63 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 8,000 callers with issues valued at approximately $156 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.
MT MAUNGANUI, NEW ZEALAND - Zespri is making more moves to strengthen its kiwifruit growers’ ownership in the company, recently completing a targeted share offer and buy-back program. Closing on October 19, the offer resulted in Zespri’s acceptance of 427 applications to purchase over 12 million shares for a total of over $95 million. The company sought growers who did not previously own shares or held less than one share per tray of their production for the offer. Now that the offer is complete, the percentage of total shares in Zespri held by growers has increased to 85 percent.
“Share ownership gives producers the opportunity to benefit financially as both growers and shareholders, from fruit payments and via the corporate income stream,” Zespri Chairman Peter McBride commented. “Ownership also gives growers a greater influence over the direction of their kiwifruit marketer. The share offer and the buy-back together represent significant progress in our objective to strengthen ownership and alignment.”
McBride added that the share offer and buy-back program was a milestone in a long-term project to strengthen the industry’s foundations and addresses a problem of growing misalignment between growers who supply kiwifruit to Zespri and people who own shares in Zespri. The move follows significant changes Zespri made to its Constitution in March of this year.
According to a press release, the capital raised through the share offer will allow Zespri to fund in full a buy-back program from eligible shareholders, targeted specifically at shareholders who no longer produce kiwifruit or who hold over 1.5 shares per tray of production and over. In total, there were 257 applications for the buy-back involving nearly 9 million shares for a total of over $70 million, and the number of former growers holding Zespri shares has reduced by 30 percent.
“A significant number of New Zealand kiwifruit orchard owners do not own Zespri shares and over 18 million shares were held by people who have left the industry,” explained McBride. “Through this share offer, a good number of growers have taken up the opportunity to either become shareholders in Zespri or to increase their shareholdings in line with their entitlements.”
Zespri noted that it gave eligible shareholders an effective option to sell shares, without broker fees and that take-up of the share offer and buy-back offer by shareholders was voluntary. The share offer and buy-back were at the same price of $8.00 per share, determined by Zespri’s Board on the basis of an independent valuation.
FISHERS, NY - 2018 marks the 21st year the New York Apple Association (NYAA) has sponsored the TCS New York City Marathon, and this year was especially important to the association because it displayed its recently redesigned brand, Apples from New York®, on promotional ads and televisions spots before the marathon took place. Then, as runners crossed the finish line on November 4, they were given delicious Apples from New York apples.
“The TCS New York City Marathon is the world’s largest marathon and New York state is the second largest apple producing state in the nation—the two are a natural match!” said NYAA President Cynthia Haskins in a press release. “It just makes sense that two things that are as important to New York state as the marathon and the apple industry are to the state should pair up and work together in this way. And speaking of pairings—when all the nutritional and health benefits of apples are paired with the distinct flavor that’s unique to apples grown in New York, Voila! You have a healthy food choice that will keep anyone running!”
In addition to New York apples being included in runners’ finisher recovery bags, NYAA also provided apples for all the marathon-related events during the week leading up to the big race. These events included the Poland Spring Marathon KickOff, Youth Invitational, Abbott Dash to the Finish 5K, the Marathon Eve Dinner for the marathon runners and marathon volunteers. According to NYAA’s Joan Willis, coordinator of the association’s sponsorship with the marathon, NYAA provides more than 80,000 fresh New York grown apples.
Given that NYAA is an official sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon, the association receives guaranteed entries to the marathon, the press release noted. In turn, it offers these entries to New York apple growers, Rochester area firefighters, law enforcement officials, and other first responders in honor of “those who came running” during the 9/11 attack in New York City in 2001.
To keep up with how those in our industry are working to give back to the community, keep reading us here at AndNowUKnow.
ROSEMONT, IL - Foodservice giant US Foods announced the results of its third quarter fiscal 2018—reporting solid growth in profits and EBITDA despite decreases in net sales and total case volume.
"Adjusted EBITDA growth was solid at 6.0% for the third quarter, and we continued to expand gross profit dollars per case," said Chairman and CEO Pietro Satriano, in a press release. "We also delivered organic independent restaurant case volume growth of 3.1% for the quarter, an improvement over the first half of the year. Our initiatives to improve customer service levels are showing early positive results, and we expect this momentum to continue to accelerate total case growth as we finish the year."
Highlights from the company’s Q3 included:
- Total case volume decreased 0.8%; independent restaurant case volume increased 3.3%
- Net sales decreased 0.8% to $6.2 billion
- Gross profit of $1.1 billion increased 0.9%
- Income before income taxes decreased $6 million to $141 million
- Net income increased $18 million to $114 million
- Adjusted EBITDA increased 6.0% to $283 million
- Diluted EPS of $0.52; Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.55
Financial news sources noted that the company’s earnings beat analysts’ estimates, and shares of the company’s stock had rallied more than 12% by 11:00 am EST, November 6, 2018.
The company adjusted portions of its fiscal outlook for the 2018 year, as well. US Foods expects total case volume to be down roughly 1% and net sales to decrease 0% to 1%. The company expects Adjusted EBITDA growth of approximately 5% and Adjusted Diluted EPS of approximately $2.03-$2.08.
For more fresh food news, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
MONTEREY, CA - The upcoming Organic Grower Summit is dishing the deets on the latest in technology for organic growers with its new series of intensive and educational sessions. Specifically, the expo is excited about the educational session, “Technology Is Not Just For Big Ag,” which will allow show-goers to get up close and personal with the expanding use of technology in the organic industry.
According to a press release, “Technology Is Not Just For Big Ag” will explain technology advances including asset sharing, robotics, and one of the most talked about information systems—blockchain—as well as touch on how to increase the accessibility of new technologies for organic growers through a variety of business models designed to make operations more efficient and sustainable.
The session will be moderated by Western Growers’ Senior Vice President Hank Giclas, and panelists, who will discuss issues associated with bringing technology to smaller organic growers and how the industry can collaborate to help this tech take root and scale, will include the following:
- Brian Dawson, Co-Founder, CEO, Harvestport
- Raja Ramachandran, Co-Founder, CEO, ripe.io
- Diane Wu, Co-Founder and CEO, Trace Genomics
"Blockchain technology and secure data will enable organic growers to better engage with the consumers and environment to facilitate a more transparent and truth-based system, opening new business opportunities for farmers and food value chain stakeholders," said panelist Ramachandran.
This year’s Organic Grower Summit takes place on December 12-13 in Monterey, California ,and includes two days of education, information, and networking opportunities for organic production supply chain and service providers.
Attendee registration—which is all-inclusive and permits admittance to the opening reception, educational sessions, keynote presentations, breakfast, lunch, and the trade show floor—is $499, with discounts available for CCOF members and government and educational members. Those interested can also purchase tickets to the 2018 Cannabus Tour and the CCOF Foundation Dinner.
For more information on the exhibitors—including soil amendment, bio-pesticide, seed, packaging, food safety, ag technology, equipment manufacturers, field production staff, supply chain managers, pest management advisors, food safety experts, and more—as well as exciting events happening at this year’s OGS, click here.
LOS ANGELES, CA - Los Angeles-based ProducePay, a company which provides fresh produce farmers with financial resources, tech tools, and data insights, has secured $14 million in a Series B Funding round. The funding was led by Anterra Capital, with participation from Rabo Frontier Ventures (Rabobank strategic investment fund), Coventure, Social Leverage, FJ Labs, Greenhouse Capital, Moonshots Capital, and Tribeca Angels.
ProducePay has created the means of securitizing perishable produce as a financial asset through the use of technology. This alleviates financial pressure for growers and frees up cash flow for distributors. The company also provides immediate access financing for farmers and distributors in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Honduras, and Chile.
According to a press release, the Series B funding will be used to finance the next growth phase of ProducePay as it scales its financing business and develops its software platform. This funding follows significant growth in 2017, in which the company financed $400 million of produce—up from $17 million in 2015. Founded in 2015, ProducePay has provided liquidity to over 600 growers and distributors in six countries, financing over $850 million of produce in under four years.
In addition to cash flow solutions, ProducePay has recently launched multiple tools for online trading and data insights. These tools aim to streamline the produce sales process by allowing verified distributors and grower shippers to find new business partners, communicate digitally, and access real-time pricing and market conditions.
Wondering what the latest and greatest tech updates are? AndNowUKnow will be here to report.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - Sweet potatoes may have carved their way into a year-round demand for consumers, but Thanksgiving will always be the time they shine brightest. As the tuber’s peak demand of the year approaches, Country Sweet Produce is introducing a new spin on its favored product.
“We are excited to introduce our new 2 Count Organic Bako Sweet® Sweet Potato Tray. With all the great response on the 4 Count Tray from retailers and consumers alike, we decided to expand the line by offering different sized sweet potatoes,” Gina Pettit, Director of Sales and Marketing for Country Sweet, tells me.
The new 2 count tray is packed with two traditional number one-sized sweet potatoes. Most shoppers, Gina explains, prefer a traditionally sized sweet potato this time of year because of the amount required in most holiday recipes.
“It’s the perfect time of year for us to introduce this,” she continues. “Historically, the emphasis has been on conventional sweet potatoes around the Thanksgiving holiday. But, with the influx in organic shoppers and organic commodities over the years, we wanted to offer an organic U.S. #1 item that is scannable for stores and gives shoppers the option to stay consistent with their shopping trends and lifestyle changes toward organic produce.”
On that note, I ask her what she and the team are seeing when it comes to sweet potato trends, both organic and conventional.
“Organics continue to gain interest across the board. We feel consumers have higher expectations for organic produce and we want to deliver that to them. This item displays well in stores—showcasing clean, handpicked sweet potatoes that are consistently sized and uniformly packed in compostable and recyclable packaging,” Gina answers.
She tells me that the new 2 Count Organic Bako Sweet® Sweet Potato Tray meets all organic value-added needs, plus being scannable so retailers are able to capture organic sweet potato sales and gauge growing performance and interest within the category.
Available now and ready for those holiday needs, Country Sweet will offer this item year-round in retail stores in various regions of the country.
And there is still more yet to come, Gina and the team assure me.
“Our Organic Bako Sweet® Baby Sweet Potatoes will softly launch in our fourth quarter, and hit all markets in the early part of the first quarter,” she promises.
Keep an eye on AndNowUKnow as we bring you the latest in all fresh produce introductions throughout the coming holiday season and beyond.