VALENCIA, CA - Sunkist Growers is welcoming a new leader to head its communications team, announcing Christina Ward as its Director of Communications.
“It’s an honor to be a part of the well-rounded and vibrant team at Sunkist,” Christina stated. “Even after 125 years, Sunkist continues to grow, and I’m looking forward to increasing awareness of the brand promise with such an amazing group of people.”
A California native with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from California State University, Long Beach, Christina will bring her Golden State Roots and upward of 15 years in corporate communication and customer service experience to the role.
“We are thrilled for Christina to join the Sunkist family and lead our global communications efforts,” said Mark Madden, Vice President of Marketing and Global Licensing. “Her 15 years of communications experience on the agency side and in-house—along with more than a decade working directly on lifestyle and foodservice brands across the U.S.—is a tremendous asset to Sunkist and complements our marketing team.”
Christina is now responsible for the Sunkist brand and overseeing the cooperative’s internal and external communications, according to a press release. She will lead Sunkist’s integrated marketing and communications efforts, including earned media, advertising, consumer response, and social and digital content.
Congratulations to Sunkist and its new Director of Communications on this latest step in growth!
WASHINGTON, DC - Last week, at its fall board meeting held in Washington DC on October 2-3, the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) elected Ernie Farley of Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce as the new Board Chair and Carol Schrader, a technology consultant and former software executive, as the new Vice-Chair of the EFI Board of Directors.
“The produce industry is at a critical time that requires us all to reflect on how we can change and adapt to new ways of thinking and doing business,” said Farley. “Issues around labor, food safety, and consumer transparency require us all to evaluate new tools that can help us meet the ever-increasing challenges, and I’ve personally seen how EFI can play a direct role in providing solutions. I also know that the kind of culture change that EFI requires does not come without discomfort or detractors, but I believe the industry needs to better understand how we can adopt programs like workforce development that will strengthen our industry in the long-term.”
With a degree in plant science from the University of California, Davis, Farley has built a career in tomatoes, kiwis, and strawberries in both the United States and Mexico and has worked in various production, sales, and management positions. Currently, Farley is a partner in Andrew & Williamson, a company he has been with for the last 15 years, according to a press release. He has also served on a variety of organizational boards, including as Chairman of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California and on the EFI board since it first began.
Newly elected Vice-Chair Carol Schrader joined the board in 2017 and serves as one of three independent members of EFI’s multi-stakeholder governing body, according to a press release. Schrader holds a Bachelor of Arts in management science from Clarke University. She has built a career as a specialist in raising capital, strategic planning, marketing, and executive management after serving in a variety of management roles with start-up technology companies.
“EFI is a young organization, and a robust and diverse board of directors is critical to our long-term success. Visionary leaders like Ernie and Carol provide valuable strategic guidance that helps EFI focus on our overall mission to transform agriculture through workforce development,” Peter O’Driscoll, Executive Director for EFI, said.
Farley and Schrader are taking over for Erik Nicholson of United Farm Workers and Maisie Ganzler of Bon Appétit Management Company, who have completed their respective terms as Chair and Vice-Chair respectively—EFI’s bylaws allow for two consecutive two-year terms of leadership. Nicholson and Ganzler will remain on as Board members.
EFI’s mission is to bring together growers, farmworkers, retailers, and consumers to transform agriculture and improve the lives of farmworkers through the process of workforce development. With over 300 standards for labor practices, food safety and pest management under its belt, EFI has certified 28 farming operations of 11 grower-shipper companies, covering 38 produce commodities with the Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured™ label. EFI’s training programs have also impacted more than 30,000 farmworkers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala.
Congratulations to Ernie Farley and Carol Schrader on your new positions!
SALISBURY, NC - Earlier this year, Ahold Delhaize-owned Food Lion invested $91.7 million in 63 of its Virginia-based stores. The investment included remodels, 2,000 associate hires, and donating two mobile food trucks to local food banks. Tomorrow, October 10, the retailer will unveil its new, easier shopping experience at its Roanoke locations.
“Roanoke is very special to Food Lion,” said Meg Ham, President of Food Lion. “We’ve been part of the fabric of this community for 40 years, opening our first store in Martinsville, Virginia. A lot has changed since we opened our first store in this market. We’ve created a new grocery shopping experience through significant investments in our stores, customers, associates, and communities. From our expanded variety and product assortment, newly reorganized stores, new signage to more efficient check-out experience, every change we’ve made will make it easier for our customers to find fresh, quality products at affordable prices every day.”
According to a press release, the remodels include the following:
- Expanded variety and assortment across departments relevant to its customers in each store, such as more locally produced items in its “Local Goodness” section, an expanded variety of craft beer, limited reserve wines, and more natural, organic, and gluten-free items
- An abundant selection of fresh produce and meat backed by Food Lion's double-your-money-back guarantee and a selection of Nature's Place beef and other items
- Select stores will also offer hand-battered chicken and in-store cut fruit and vegetables
- A greater selection of easy and affordable complete meals for families and a wider variety of grab-and-go items and pre-sliced deli meats and cheeses, which are sliced fresh daily and available for customers to pick up without waiting in line
- New signage and groupings of like-products to make it easier to locate items faster
- A more efficient checkout process, making it easier to get in, out, and on your-way
- Improved quality and freshness of products throughout the store
- Low prices on thousands of items across all departments
In addition, 13 of the 63 remodeled stores will feature walk-in garden coolers designed to keep produce fresh longer.
On October 10, each store will open to the public at 8 a.m., following a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Upon the completion of the Roanoke remodels, Food Lion will have remodeled 712 of its 1,030 stores in the last four years, including the renovation of 105 Norfolk-based stores this past August.
For more grocery retail news like this, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
LOS ANGELES, CA - I planted a pomegranate tree in my backyard this year in an attempt to satiate my love of the pretty red fruit, but the powers that be know that one tree will not be enough for me. My love for the nutritious value in arils is something I like to share with everyone I know. Thankfully, POM Wonderful is helping me to spread the love by launching a new integrated marketing campaign to encourage consumers stress less by making healthier decisions. POM Wonderful’s marketing campaign is called The Worry Monsters and stars larger-than-life inner voices who attempt to make us anxious about our daily choices.
The company is flipping the script on The Worry Monsters with its multimillion-dollar multi-year marketing campaign, as POM Wonderful showcases the voices of anxiety becoming anxious when the humans in which they live begin to make healthy choices and live with confidence that they are making better dietary and lifestyle choices.
Those choices they begin to make include working out and drinking healthy POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice.
“A health scare can come with stress and constant worrying that begins to feel like you have a companion following you at all times, like your very own Worry Monster,” said VP of Marketing Adam Cooper. “Consumers are increasingly looking for healthier options, and incorporating the Antioxidant Superpower POM Wonderful into your daily routine is a powerful step toward making healthier choices and getting rid of your Worry Monster.”
There will be five new commercials that showcase annoyed and underemployed Worry Monsters in hilarious scenarios, where they attempt to make humans fret about their decisions. They become unsettled and frustrated, however, when the humans begin to live healthier lifestyles that cause them to worry less. According to a press release, taunts from the Worry Monsters are no match for the runner who had a health scare who jogs and drinks POM, the woman who just turned 50 and can still twist herself into any yoga pose, or the man who now sleeps like someone without a care in the world. This campaign was created by The Wonderful Company’s in-house creative team, Wonderful Agency, which is led by Chief Creative Officer Darren Moran. The Worry Monsters campaign will run ads in broadcast, digital, social, print, in-store, and as a Times Square Billboard.
“You don’t often see a marketing campaign featuring someone trying to get you to not use the product,” explains Moran. “But are we worried? Hell no! Because this anti-spokesperson approach allowed us to be disarming, and funny, in ways that haven’t been done before. It’s not a campaign of matching luggage; we let the Worry Monsters use every medium to their best advantage. And that’s what we think will get people talking.”
On the New York Times Square digital billboard, the company’s advertisement shows the Worry Monsters pointing out all the amusingly terrifying things they worry about as they wander around the tourist destination. The social media campaign will begin with unveiling a series of what the company is calling “Worrivational Posters,” unsettling proverbs, and bad advice that the Worry Monsters plant in our minds.
In addition to these efforts, the company’s campaign is debuting a one-minute YouTube pre-roll video that shows a Worry Monster interacting real-time with the viewer by breaking the fourth wall and pointing out all the things they “should” be worrying about at the time of viewing. A POM bottle that is next to the “Skip Ad” button makes the connection for viewers to skip the worry and drink POM.
Aaron Sims Creative, a renowned Hollywood character design firm, and monster fabricator Stefaniuk FX Studio have teamed up with POM Wonderful and The Wonderful Agency to create The Worry Monsters. Academy Award-winning studio MPC have also had a hand in additional visual effects for the campaign. Check out the new ad campaign here.
SOUTHEASTERN U.S. - After intensifying into a Category 2 storm this Monday, Hurricane Michael continues to intensify. The storm is expected to grow to Category 3 strength before touching down on the Florida panhandle this Wednesday—bringing surge flooding, destructive winds, and flooding rainfall.
The National Weather Service’s (NWS) Tallahassee, Florida, office issued a warning calling the storm “potentially catastrophic” and warning that “conditions [along the Florida panhandle and Big Bend coastlines] will begin to deteriorate late tonight into early Wednesday.”
Damaging winds and widespread power outages are expected along with localized flash flooding and even tornados. AccuWeather reports that mandatory evacuations are in effect throughout much of the region.
As the storm proceeds inland toward Georgia later in the week, its intensity is expected to diminish into a tropical storm and to fuel to muggy wet conditions throughout the Northeast.
“As tropical moisture spreads northward along the Eastern Seaboard, it will produce pockets of rain which can include flooding downpours later this week,” noted AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Carl Babinski in a report.
For more on the storms progress throughout the week, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
DELANO, CA - Sure, the rides are great, the people-watching is even better, but admit it, the real reason you’re at the carnival is to indulge in all the decadently sweet treats. Luckily for us, here to bring those candy flavors into our homes—sans greasy fingers and artificial sugars—is Sunview Marketing International with its new, proprietary grape variety, Sweet Carnival™.
“When a consumer bites into a Sweet Carnival grape, we want the experience to be just as if they were biting into the pink spun sugar you find at the fair,” explained Mitch Wetzel, VP of Sales. “We say Sweet Carnival is ‘as sweet as any carnival treat,’ and we’re excited that we are able to offer it in commercial volumes from the beginning of September through most of November next year.”
Sweet Carnival’s exclusive flavor profile was developed through Sunview's internal breeding program. Over the program’s 35-year existence, it has developed all of the company’s trademarked proprietary varieties such as Rosa™, Stella Bella™, Sorella Bella™, Gem™, Sparkle™, and now, Sweet Carnival.
While the product will officially debut at PMA Fresh Summit this year, the buying community has already been buzzing about the new sales opportunities Sweet Carnival will help to open. According to Mitch, both Sunview’s customers and consumers are ready to eat these grapes up.
“With this new product, we are entering a category above and beyond premium grapes and creating a new segment that drives incremental sales. The retailers from coast to coast that we have talked to have told us that Sweet Carnival will create brand new opportunities to sell without cannibalizing existing grape sales.”
And with even more more new and different varieties in the pipeline from Sunview that will fit in with this new segment, the future looks bright for the grape category. Mitch tells me the company anticipates more proprietary flavors to hit the market as soon as next season.
So, while you’re saying goodbye to summer festivals and the decadence that goes along with them, say hello to a brand new way to enjoy a Sweet Carnival.
VANCOUVER, CANADA - Randhawa Farms, Oppy’s British Columbia sweet bell pepper program, expanded its cooler facility and greenhouse acreage. The growers noted an addition of almost 22,000 square feet of cold storage with a 600 pallet capacity that includes two new value-added lines. Randhawa will also expand by 15 acres of bell peppers at the end of 2018 with a cutting edge packing line installed in time for next year’s season.
“We’re very excited to already be shipping out of the new cooler,” said Aaron Quon, Executive Category Director of Greenhouse at Oppy. “Randhawa has always built themselves around future expansion, and we value being part of these big steps in their operation.”
Bringing in two new employees to manage the new packing and shipping lines, Randhawa harvests bell peppers from March to November with a year-round cucumber offering. Its high-tech greenhouses currently hold over 60 acres of bell peppers, long English cucumbers, and mini cucumbers, all with ongoing exceptional quality and flavor, a press release noted. The new cooler, packing line, and staging area will ensure optimal temperatures are consistent throughout the packing process, thus increasing shelf life even further for the premium grown produce.
“Oppy has been an exceptional support system within our team,” said Vijay Randhawa, Randhawa Farms’ Executive Director. “They are consistently running reports and keeping an eye on our day-to-day to better prepare us for anything that could come up. We are so thrilled to be partnered with them because we couldn’t do what they do for us on our own.”
With more innovative developments on the horizon at Randhawa Farms, the Oppy team looks forward to the future as they settle into this new facility and acreage.
“We’ve had a strong partnership for many years and look forward to growing with the Randhawa family as they continue to expand,” concluded Quon.
For the latest in fresh produce news, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
RIO RICO, AZ & WESLACO, TX - While trees shed their leaves this season, SunFed® is bucking the trend and adding two new key team members to its lineup. The company is bringing another experienced member to its sales team on board, as well as one to its Texas program to bolster its footprint in the Lone Star State.
Josh Acuna jumped on board in his sales role at the end of September, and his position will entail work at the sales desk, as the company endeavors to build upon its renowned Perfect Produce reputation. T.C. Betancourt is stepping into his role for the company’s Texas program, where he will hone in on SunFed’s limes and Texas onions.
“Having worked in Nogales produce for nearly 20 years, I have witnessed firthand what the SunFed brand means in this industry. I’m thrilled to come on board with such a reputed organization and excited to join the talented sales team that they’ve built,” Acuna shared.
Acuna is joining SunFed with 20 years of industry experience in tow. Most recently, he worked at Ciruli Brothers in sales, and, before that, he worked at Fresh Express as a Procurement Manager and Chiquita as a Product Coordinator.
Betancourt also has an impressive resume, with 20 years of industry experience and two master’s degrees in Agriculture Science and Business Administration. He brings with him a strong reputation in produce, making him an ideal member for SunFed, according to a press release.
“We are happy to have Josh as he comes to us with great commodity knowledge and retail experience. His time in the industry will help us to be able to grow in the area we are focusing on as a company,” Director of Sales Frank Camera shared. “TC will be a pivotal part of our growth as he brings us experience that we greatly need.”
Congratulations to both Josh Acuna and T.C. Betancourt on your exciting next steps and to SunFed on your great new additions to the team!
ECUADOR - There were more than the usual maritime suspects aboard a ship docked at a port in Ecuador this week, with counter-narcotics police uncovering illicit substances tucked away in cargo. The Ecuadorian Ministry of the Interior reported that unknown persons snuck aboard the ship and hid over 650 pounds of cocaine within boxes of bananas, according to the Maritime Herald.
“Supposedly, after handcuffing the crew member who made the case known, the strangers proceeded to contaminate with 298 packages (652.5 pounds), brick type, one of the containers that was on the deck of the ship, which was destined for New Zealand,” the Ministry reported.
Authorities were first alerted after a crew member informed the captain of the ship that unknown persons had access to the site where the containers were placed before loading. Police dogs then sniffed out the scene, uncovering that a fruit export company’s container seal had been tampered with.
While the boxes have since been purified and now contain only bananas once again, police have not tracked down the suspects.
“The case is being investigated, until we determine the details of how the contamination was carried out, which could have been in the quarantine area, as the area near the Maritime Port of Guayaquil is known,” one of the police officers said on the scene.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more cases of juicy justice.
HOUSTON, TX - The Lone Star State might be gaining a major addition to its wholesaler lineup. Washington-based Costco is reportedly looking for land to accommodate up to a one-million-square-foot distribution space in the west and northwest Houston area. Costco’s development could be accommodated on about 80 acres.
A 150-acre land parcel that is transforming into an industrial park that is focused on distribution tenants by Houston-based Hines is currently up for consideration. The land, known as Pintail Crossing Business Park, is located at the northwest corner of Interstate 10 and Igloo Road and is nestled between Seattle-based Amazon’s one million-square-foot distribution center and Igloo Product Corp.’s headquarters and distribution center, according to the Houston Business Journal.
On behalf of Hines, Boyd Commercial leases the park, but both companies didn’t provide a comment, the news source explains. Further, Costco, the Greater Houston Partnership, and the Katy Economic Development Council also declined to comment. GHP and Katy EDC assist with long-term hiring when companies look for deals of this magnitude.
Even though the company beat estimates, as we previously reported, its stock faltered when news of potentially slowing e-commerce growth hit with its fourth quarter fiscal results.
Appraised at $46.8 million, Costco’s Houston-area retail locations include Katy, Humble North Gessner, and, soon, Cypress. Will the addition of a major distribution space increase the wholesaler’s stance in the south? AndNowUKnow will keep you updated!