A press release from the team at Mastronardi Produce:
KINGSVILLE, ONTARIO & BROXBOURNE, ENGLAND - BerryWorld®, a leading berry business involved in all aspects of the supply chain, and Mastronardi Produce Limited, North America’s leading grower and distributor of greenhouse produce, have created a partnership that will “WOW™” the North American berry market. The joint venture is a significant and exciting development, as both companies share an uncompromising commitment to providing innovative, market-leading products that start with best-in-class varietal development to deliver exceptional flavor.
“Following a successful track record of growth including expansion across Europe, into Africa, Asia, and Australia, North America presented the next logical and attractive step in our strategy to grow the berry world. We have taken the time to carefully consider our approach in North America and are confident that Mastronardi Produce, who pioneered high-tech berry growing in 2005, will be a great partner. This joint venture will combine our wealth of berry knowledge and our extensive portfolio of berry varieties with Mastronardi Produce’s recognized reputation for growing expertise, excellent customer service, their appetite and ability for scale, and their state-of-the-art logistics platform,” said Adrian Olins, BerryWorld’s CCO.
Paul Mastronardi, President and CEO of Mastronardi Produce added, “We see significant opportunity for expansion in the category. Our track record of game-changing innovation, technological advancements, and fresh produce marketing expertise, combined with BerryWorld’s varieties, category management, and global berry expertise, will make us a unique alternative for the North American berry market. We believe the berries we are bringing to the category will change consumer expectations of how a berry should taste.”
The new berries are expected to launch in North America soon and will debut at the PMA Fresh Summit this year.
BRENTWOOD, MO - A match made in produce heaven is rolling onto the scene with a goal of encouraging more families to enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables. The Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) are teaming up on a new campaign and launching social and digital experiences, in-store programs, and more that the industry can wield to inspire more shoppers to pack their meals with produce.
“Both PBH and the FMI Foundation have long histories and rich legacies of helping families make smart food choices throughout the day. As partners, we will make a greater impact by creating solutions that enhance not only family mealtime, but increase fruit and vegetable consumption,” said Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, MS, RDN, and President and CEO for PBH. “Research shows that eating more fruit and vegetables supports healthier, happier lifestyles, and together, we will support the industry as well as consumers in achieving this goal—at any meal occasion.”
Not only is this partnership a match made in produce heaven, but it is also happening at the perfect time as September is both Fruits and Veggies-More Matters® Month and National Family Meals Month™. According to a press release, all of the campaign elements, including customizable infographics, social posts and blogs, retail toolkits, and more, will encourage families to prepare and enjoy nutritious meals together and to fill half of their plates with fruit and veggies.
“The demands of a busy, modern family life often come at the expense of family mealtime at home. Our goal is to start a movement that inspires and helps families to enjoy just one more meal together each week,” said Susan Borra, RD, Chief Health and Wellness Officer and Executive Director of the FMI Foundation. “By emphasizing that half of the mealtime plate should be filled with a variety of fruit and vegetables we can introduce consumers to a range of new solutions throughout the grocery store.”
PBH and FMI Foundation are also tapping food and nutrition influencers to amplify the campaign’s message with calls-to-action and hashtags like #MoreMatters and #FamilyMeals Month.
“While this is the first integrated partnership between PBH and the FMI Foundation, we look forward to exploring additional, mutually beneficial opportunities in the future and continuing to activate and engage with the industry to help improve the health and wellbeing of consumers,” Reinhardt Kapsak continued.
For more of the latest fresh produce news, stick with us at AndNowUKnow.
Produce for Better Health Foundation Food Marketing Institute
SPRINGDALE, AR - Authentic Hatch Chiles prompt a kind of enthusiasm that is rarely seen in produce. With an extremely short season and an exceptional flavor all its own, these New Mexico-grown grilling staples are pitch-perfect for the end of a hot summer and the beginning of a temperate autumn.
So, how does one go about selling Hatch chile? How does the enthusiasm catch at the store-level? I spoke with Mike Roberts, Director of Produce Operations at Harps Food Stores to find out more on how this forward-thinking retailer preps, reps, and relishes Hatch chiles. With its iconic Harps Hatch Chile Roasting Events rolling out this month and extending throughout September, Harps locations can look forward to classic fare like salsas, rellenos, and tamales—and innovative new dishes like Hatch mac’n cheese, cookies, and rye bread.
Q: Tell me a little bit about how Harps prepares for Hatch chile season: How does Harps prep a produce item with such a short promotional window?
Mike Roberts: We actually start planning this event in the spring; we have to have everything ready to go well in advance with an event with this short of a window. If you miss something you might not get it by the time the season is over. Having six roasters is really beneficial to our sales, and that is where we start; we have to make sure that all the roasters have been cleaned, serviced, and are in good working order for the next year’s events.
After that, we continue with a review of last season’s roasting events results to help determine where we need to have them for the upcoming season, what events worked the best—were they one or two day events, etc.
Once we have determined where we are going to have our events, we start putting the schedule together. We try to roast four days out of the week, having one-day events at stores on Mondays and Wednesdays and two-day events on Friday and Saturday. We have stores pretty spread out, so Sunday and Thursday are usually travel days for the roaster and supplies. After the schedule has been finalized, then we really get going—with the planning of chile needs per store to start and then on to the ordering of POS materials, planning items to tie in with the events both in the produce and our other perimeter departments, and meeting with the marketing department to start the planning of this year’s campaign.
Q: How does Harps work to most effectively promote Hatch chile purchases?
MR: We start advertising them in the store with event dates, pre-order forms, and an estimated arrival date in July—as well as put some of this information in our circular. We also do not advertise a per-pound or case price, just the availability of them in our stores; this allows us to be the low price leader in our market and react to competition. We also post event dates, recipes, and a Hatch essentials giveaway on social media and our web-site.
Q: How does the company hope to drive sales with both enthusiasts and those who are new to Hatch chiles?
MR: We sample at every event—from quesadillas to Hatch salsa—and have several recipes available to get customers to try them and become repeat customers. The enthusiasts, well that’s easy; just make sure they know that you have them and where the roasters are going to be each week. These customers alone have helped us grow the sales via word of mouth. In short, we just keep them happy and get the chiles as soon as we can and as long as we can.
Q: Are there any particular promotional or merchandising strategies the company employs?
We start with announcing the events weeks in advance with posters on easel boards and taking pre-orders. Once we get to the day of the roast, the outside event is the catalyst, and we put a lot into that using fresh chiles, corn, corn shucks, baking potatoes, and sweet onions to really get a market feel to the event. Using empty boxes that our partner supplies us, we really make it look like we have a truckload of product outside.
Inside the store, we will have a nice display of fresh chiles, bagged chiles, and all the incremental items—plus a pallet of fresh chiles available to purchase by the case and then roasted on the customers way out. This way we can capture not only the walk-up business outside but also every day customers who might not know about them. The bagged Hatch chiles for stores that do not have roasting events or smaller stores really work well, keep the shrink down, and get rung up correctly at the register.
Q: Does Harps partner with particular growers/shippers/distributors to provide Hatch Chiles?
We partner with Melissa’s World Variety Produce for our Hatch chiles. Melissa’s does a great job of providing us with POS materials from banners, T-Shirts, Iron Man signage announcing the events, recipes, cookbooks, and other Hatch essentials, like salsa, tamale kits, Hatch flavored Clean Snax®, and dried Hatch chiles.
Q: What are some of the challenges associated with such a short season and a sought-after category?
Timing is always the biggest challenge; while they are usually ready the same week each year, a week early or late can be challenging once your schedule is set. The other challenge is just making sure that the merchandisers and managers are ready as soon as the chiles are! When they are ready, it is go-time, and it doesn’t stop until the chiles do!
Q: Does the company have any plans to integrate Hatch Chiles into its prepared foods/Deli department offerings?
We are working on a few items: Hatch mac n cheese, cookies, and rye bread, and this year we added some Hatch-flavored cheese, and our meat department added Johnsonville-flavored Hatch brats. Still a work in progress but we get better every year!
Q: Is there anything else you would like to get in front of our readership?
What a great item and event to offer your customers! Offering them something that is unique, tastes great, has a million uses, and is good for them all at once! It is items like this that make the produce industry fun and sets it apart from the rest!
Need your Hatch fix? Consumers can head to your nearest Harps Food Stores location while supply lasts—and check out this list for the dates of upcoming Hatch chile roasts.
SANTA BARBARA, CA - If Apeel Sciences isn’t on your radar yet, there’s no doubt the company will be soon. While newer to the market, Apeel is already off to the races, and since its initial avocado launch, has already expanded its solutions to include new categories like citrus, asparagus, and berries. To position itself for even more growth, the company created the Chief Revenue Officer position and brought on Gordon Robertson to lead the charge of further establishing Apeel as a leading brand.
I sat down with Gordon, along with James Rogers, Founder and CEO, to learn more about the new executive's journey to his latest role and to hopefully get a peek behind the curtain at what the company has coming down its innovations pipeline.
Question: How did your produce journey begin?
Gordon Robertson: I started working in a grocery store over 30 years ago, which was what initially helped me learn more about customer and product development. I then went on to work at the Campbell Soup Company for 20 years, and, most recently, I spent 12 years at Sun World International, which was a tremendous learning opportunity.
I have a passion for food, which is why I’ve chosen to stay in the industry. Campbell got me close to food products and helped me learn more about the value companies bring to the consumer. When I made the move to fresh produce, I got closer to the source—I actually remember on my second day, I was literally elbows deep in a bin of citrus. My move to Apeel is helping fulfill my personal goals. Apeel’s technology is new, it’s fascinating, and it’s actually a solution that I think will be accepted by growers, retailers, and consumers.
Q: The Chief Revenue Officer is a newly created position for Apeel. What drew you to it?
GR: The role offered some dynamic challenges that intrigued me. The ability to build out an organization from the ground up, really taking a white paper and saying what are we going to do to go find the best-in-class solutions and bring them to the marketplace is very exciting. I also saw that this as a global opportunity—it’s a solution for the world’s supply chain. Not to mention that if you looked at the pipeline of products we’re working on today—it’s a great pipeline of innovation that is going to fuel the activity of this role and of the organization.
James Rogers: We truly want to go beyond what’s been done and venture out to see what the possibilities could be. Our philosophy is we don’t need to go to a lab to create new chemistries to solve old problems, but that we can look at the natural world and ecosystems to create and inspire solutions that won’t cause additional problems. We think Gordon showcases a big picture perspective that will be integral to the Chief Revenue Officer role as we continue to expand to new categories and introduce new solutions.
Q: What makes Gordon such a good addition to the team?
JR: If you haven’t met him before, he’s a fantastic individual. On top of that, his 20 years of experience at Campbell, where he gained product and category management expertise, and his 12 years at Sun World, where he helped turn the commoditized red table grape into a premium differentiated offering at retail, is exactly what we’re trying to build here at Apeel. His experience, fantastic industry reputation, and willingness to take on new big challenges is what we’re looking for. He has all the right skills to lead Apeel’s brand development and sales growth.
Q: What makes Apeel such a unique partner and place to work in the industry?
JR: Apeel occupies a really important space in the industry; we’re able to bring benefits to everyone in the supply chain. We recognize that the challenge for growers today is ensuring quality is maintained from the moment the produce is picked from the vine to the moment it arrives at retail. Grocers are responsible for offering a variety of items to consumers virtually year-round with very high quality consistently. But, we know that once produce is picked, the clock starts ticking, and quality is really at the mercy of nature. So, Apeel is able to occupy that space between the supply and retail sides and we see a unique opportunity to be the post-harvest technology solutions provider that helps suppliers deliver the quality they grew to the retailers’ shelves, and then help retailers merchandise that quality.
GR: Apeel offers three things that really wowed me: innovation, culture, and evolution. Our industry is looking for innovations that offer better solutions to growers’, retailers’, and consumers’ problems, and I think Apeel holds a key solution. The culture at Apeel is dynamic, fast, and smart. The talent on our team and their willingness to challenge the status quo offers a fast-paced environment that I look forward to continuing to build out. Lastly, I want to continue to be a part of innovation. We’re literally going from atoms to apples, which positions us to bring a truly unique solution to our partners that actually delivers fresh fruit to the consumer. Food waste is a big business and good business with over $18 billion dollars of value. Apeel’s job is to go get that business.
Congratulations to Gordon on your new role and to the Apeel team, just because! For more produce companies and innovators to watch, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
AUSTIN, TX - H-E-B announced its most recent plans to become a dominant force in the digital retail space. Its first step toward bringing these plans to fruition is signing a long-term lease for an 81,000-square-foot facility in East Austin, Texas. According to a press release, the world-class tech facility and innovation lab—for the company’s growing digital team as well as its delivery service, Favor—is slated for completion in spring 2019.
“This state-of-the-art space will be a hub for creativity and innovation as we continue to develop the ultimate digital experience for our customers,” said Jag Bath, Chief Digital Officer and Favor CEO and President. “Bringing H-E-B and Favor closer together will allow us to promote collaboration between our two companies as we strengthen our commitment to building out H-E-B’s omnichannel services.”
H-E-B noted that it will turn the recently renovated industrial warehouse into a creative and collaborative workspace for digital team employees. It will also be Favor’s corporate headquarters.
This year, H-E-B has made a series of strategic technology investments to further establish itself as a technology leader in Texas, including the acquisition of Favor, the appointment of Bath as H-E-B’s Chief Digital Officer, and the recent addition of Mike Georgoff as Chief Product Officer for H-E-B Digital.
Will this latest facility allow for H-E-B to take on the likes of Amazon? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.
BENTONVILLE, AR - Walmart is welcoming an exciting addition to its offerings. Consumers looking for more efficient delivery options can breathe a sigh of relief, as the chain rolls out its new last-mile delivery pilot, Spark Delivery, which is another avenue for consumers to get their groceries delivered to their front doors. This new program is a pilot program within the established Grocery Delivery options, which provide quality fresh produce, meat, seafood, and bakery items to the retailer’s consumers.
“We’re saving customers time by leveraging new technology, and connecting all the parts of our business into a single seamless shopping experience: great stores, easy pickup, fast delivery, and apps and websites that are simple to use,” President and CEO of Walmart U.S. Greg Foran shared. “We’re serving our customers in ways that no one else can. Using our size and scale, we’re bringing the best of Walmart to customers across the country. Spark Delivery is one way we’re exploring how to get quality groceries from our door to our customers’ doors.”
What makes Walmart’s new pilot so unique is that it is a crowd-sourced delivery platform, allowing the former to learn more about the last-mile delivery process to its fullest potential. Further, the pilot allows drivers to choose windows of time that work best for their schedules—as well as Grocery Delivery order details, navigation assistance, and more—through the in-house platform. Bringg, a leader in delivery logistics technology, powers components of Spark, according to a press release, and Walmart’s personal shoppers participate in the process by shop for customers’ orders. Rounding out the entire experience is Spark Delivery’s use of independent drivers, who team up with Delivery Drivers, Inc., a nationwide firm that focuses on last-mile contractor management, to finish the delivery of orders.
Spark drivers are recruited, screened, and given background checks. Once hired, they are given payment per delivery, accounting, and other services. The drivers also become privy to order flow, group discounts, and a Contractor Entrepreneurial Program that helps drivers to establish small businesses.
“It is important to us at DDI that we help each independent driver run their transportation business correctly,” said Aaron Hageman, CEO, Delivery Drivers, Inc. “We are excited to partner with Walmart to allow them to focus on providing great products while we can build and support a professional driver network to focus on the delivery side of the business.”
Because of this new development, Walmart is able to deliver its goods to 100 metro areas, covering 40 percent of its U.S. households. Currently, the chain’s Grocery Delivery offering is available in almost 50 markets—including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Miami, and Seattle. However, this new piloting program is available in Nashville and New Orleans, with plans to release the offering to more metro areas this year.
“Our customers love Grocery Pickup and Delivery – it offers convenience paired with the everyday low prices customers expect from us,” Tom Ward, VP of U.S. Walmart's Digital Operations, said. “We’re always looking for the best ways to serve them, so we’re exploring a number of different options for getting groceries from our stores to the customer’s front door—some in-house, some third-party.”
Walmart’s delivery program requires a $30 minimum per order and includes a $9.95 fee, but there is no subscription and no price markups.
For more of the latest news on what retailers are doing to woo consumers in innovative ways, stick with AndNowUKnow.
VICTOR, NY - As a creative, I feel like a crucial part of my soul journey is to venture to New York—a trip that has been on the top of my to-do list for years, but still has yet to happen. With the New York Apple Association’s (NYAA) latest efforts to keep retailers’ excitement top-notch and satisfy consumers’ cravings for New York apples and their signature flavor, coloring, and texture, my New-York-yearning soul might be content with another season away from the Big Apple.
I chatted with NYAA President and CEO Cynthia Haskins to learn more about this season’s iconic favorites coming out of the region—which boasts 26 different apple varieties, including born-in-New-York legends Empire and Cortland and New York exclusives RubyFrost® and SnapDragon®—and the initiatives NYAA is implementing as crop hits retail.
“NYAA is the marketing organization for the more than 600 commercial apple growers in New York State. We are committed to raising consumer awareness and working directly with retailers to promote New York’s apples, known for their exceptional color, flavor, and texture,” Cynthia tells me. “The 2018 growing season has been sensational and harvest is in its earliest stages. The harvest lineup is showing early varieties like Ginger Gold and Paula Red coming in first, followed by McIntosh and Honeycrisp at the start of September, with favorites like Cortland and Empire hitting later in the month.”
Cynthia reveals that volume will be up this year thanks to the growing region’s expanding acreage—up to 41,000 acres in six districts across New York state—that includes over 11 million trees producing on average 29.5 million bushels of apples annually. And the top ten apple-growing counties—Wayne, Ulster, Orleans, Niagara, Clinton, Columbia, Monroe, Orange, Onondaga, and Dutchess—have reported a good range of sizes is coming out of the orchards and that color is near perfect this year, in part because the weather has been ideal.
“New York has ideal growing conditions, which includes rich soil, abundant sun and water, and a long growing season. This season, New York had warm weather, a successful bloom, and bountiful pollination activities, followed by rain, which fostered a great growing season,” Cynthia says. “There is no decline in consumer demand for great tasting apples. In fact, the category continues to explode and is showcasing flavor, convenience, and versatility like never before. And, as snacking continues to become more sophisticated as consumers look for ways to turn a snack into an on-the-go meal alternative, we’re getting to bolster New York apples as a delicious pairing with dips, nuts, cheeses, pretzels, spreads, and in salads.”
To stay on top of changing consumer demand, the NYAA is switching up its consumer and trade marketing initiatives to answer the question, “What kind of brand experience do people have when they sink their teeth into a New York apple?” This will include new brand messages and fresh ways to assist retailers with outreach via traditional circular ads, in-store demos, signage, social media support, and, beginning this year, a national display contest that will award two grand prize winners with trips for two to one of two picturesque apple regions in New York. The NYAA is even tapping into popular state events as a means to push New York apples to the top of retailers’ and consumers’ minds.
“Because the legendary Empire apple was born in New York, New York apples will be the official apple of this year’s TCS New York City Marathon—it only makes sense that an event devoted to fitness involves a healthy food like a New York apple. Also, we are sponsoring the Big Apple Crunch, an annual event that involves more than two million New Yorkers biting into a New York apple at precisely 2 pm on October 25th,” Cynthia explains.
One thing is for sure, New York apples are just as fun as the state they’re from and the New York Apple Association is making sure no one forgets that this season.
For more on how fresh fruit and veg is faring around the world, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
GREENSBORO, NC - Produce needs a mode of transportation to get from the fields to retail, and unfortunately, that department is experiencing a shortage across the nation.
According to a report by WFMY, the American Trucking Association reported that a record shortage of truck drivers is sweeping through the nation. To meet industries’ demands, the trucking industry needs roughly 90,000 drivers annually, but currently has a shortage of 50,000. The Temple Daily Telegram also noted that if the shortage continues, that number could increase to 174,000 by 2026.
“Here in the Triad, we’re short probably in the percentage rate of about 10-20 percent every month,” said Karl Robinson, CEO of R&R Transportation, according to WFMY. “We have companies that have 1,000 trucks and 200 trucks are sitting so that’s a very bad problem in the Triad.”
Because of the trucking shortage, many have witnessed delayed deliveries and increased prices. But some within the trucking industry have been combatting the shortage with solutions, like choosing the best routes per trip and advocating for more truck driving schools in communities
“Over the course of the last year, the national shortage of truck drivers has put pressure on our ability to serve our customers at the highest level,” Ronald Timperio, Vice President of Operations and Supply Chain, Wilsonart, said according to the Temple Daily Telegram. “We won’t allow this pressure to negatively impact our customer satisfaction. Therefore, one of the things we are doing is using our internal fleet for sub-optimal routes to ensure we service our customers at the highest possible level.”
Mike Sakellaridis, General Manager of Renaissance Community Cooperative, added, “Sometimes with smaller companies, when you have vendors of small things, they have some struggles to get products the exact day you need it, so there might be delays for a certain small vendor. We need a truck driving school in Guilford county to train our drivers. In Davidson county they have one, and we had planned to have one in Guilford county, but it never came to fruition.”
Will more rise to the occasion and come up with solutions to solve the trucking shortage? AndNowUKnow will continue to report on this and other challenges the produce industry continues to face.
SALINAS, CA - Saving time and preparing hearty, wholesome, and healthy meals have traditionally been thought of as incompatible. But Mann Packing is making mealtime easier than ever with convenient solutions that buck convention and offer on-trend flavors and a home-cooked satisfaction in under five minutes. Recently Mann’s Nourish Bowls® were featured on a TODAY Show segment wherein Eat This, Not That! founder and TODAY contributor David Zinczenko broke down kitchen time-savers that cut prep time while encouraging healthy eating.
“‘I don't have time to cook!’ As founder of Eat This, Not That!, I hear that from fans every day. And my answer is simple: ‘You don't have to.’ That's because it's possible to eat healthy and delicious meals in minutes, especially if you choose from this list of amazingly awesome time savers,” said Zinczenko, in his introduction to the segment.
To learn more about the innovative Nourish Bowl line and the ways in which retail customers can take advantage of the popular Mann’s brand, I reached out to Mann’s VP of Sales, Marketing, & Product Management, Rick Russo.
“We offer so many innovative products, it is only natural that we put an emphasis on proactively pitching media like the TODAY Show,” said Russo. “Jacob Shafer, our Senior Marketing & Communications Specialist, connected with Eat This, Not That! reps at a media event in New York earlier this year. Through his work—and because Nourish Bowls fit Dave’s segment on the most exciting quick and easy foods on the market so perfectly—we were able achieve this great win for the brand.”
Russo told me that the feature was an ideal fit for Mann’s—a company dedicated to innovative and tasty value-added offerings that save consumers time and effort and help retail customers generate sales.
“We know that a large number of consumers are seeking healthy, convenient meal solutions,” continued Russo. “Making those solutions portable adds another layer of value for that consumer. We feel with Nourish Bowls we have filled that need with a variety of vegetables that are nutrient dense, on trend, and what consumers are reading about and looking for when they shop. We have been very conscious of the sauces and condiments we select so that the final product is not only great tasting, but well within the calorie goals of those who are watching that number.”
As Zinczenko noted on the TODAY Show, Mann’s Nourish Bowls can cut prep time from three-fourths of an hour to three minutes. And shaving more than forty minutes off a busy schedule has, to many consumers, been tremendously helpful—if not indispensable. And with flavors like Basil Pesto, featuring kohlrabi noodles, kale, and vegan Chick’n in pesto sauce and Parmesan cheese, and Tomato Bolognese, with kohlrabi noodles, carrot, and vegan sausage in marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese, Mann’s bowls will satisfy even the most discerning palate.
“Consumer acceptance was instantaneous. We have begun to connect through social media with what we call Nourish Bowl ‘fanatics.’ These are folks who talk about eating a Nourish Bowl 4-5 times per week,” Russo explained. “While they will use the product as standalone, we have also seen a multitude of ideas for using the product as a base for a larger meal with other add ins, or in some cases a foundation for an entrée recipe. The ideal Nourish Bowl customer is active, conscious of what they are putting into their body, and definitely seeking adventurous flavors.”
Several years ago, Russo noted, Mann Packing began to see the emergence of bowls in the foodservice arena, and with the success and popularity of the single-serve salad kit reaching an apogee, the forward-thinking company decided warm meal kits could be the next frontier for the fresh-cut veggie provider.
“Those two trends together laid out a pretty obvious opportunity for us as a major fresh cut vegetable producer. With some ideation from chef panels, and a lot of hard work from our new product development team, the first four concepts were born,” Russo noted, and he explained, Mann Packing is continuing to work on its innovative product line, paving the way for future offerings that propel the category forward. “We don’t plan on resting on our early success with Nourish Bowls. We are investing in equipment to provide us with a longer horizon in capacity, and planning more unique concepts in the line. Stay tuned.”
For more fresh produce news, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Indiana-based Cibus Fresh, a foodservice company that specializes in high-quality and made-to-order packaged convenience foods, has been acquired by Indianapolis Fruit and Piazza Produce (IF&P Foods), which will expand the company’s grab-and-go offerings to include chef-curated sandwiches, wraps, flatbreads, salads, snack packs, and parfait cups.
In addition to the expanded line that this acquisition will offer, an 11,000-square-foot state-of-the-art FDA- and USDA-inspected kitchen facility certified with the Federal Grant of Inspection will also be included. This makes sure that optimum food safety and regulation is adhered.
“By combining Cibus Fresh’s unique approach to fresh convenient foods with our extensive expertise in produce and specialty foods distribution, we’re primed to exceed our customers’ expectations with new offerings, quality and speed of delivery,” IF&P’s President and CEO Greg Corsaro shared.
IF&P became one entity in 1997 when the two companies merged—Indianapolis Fruit distributed to individual grocers and grocery chains, and Piazza Produce distributed to foodservice establishments, according to a press release. Both focus on fresh, including organic. Local and culturally specific product segments are also a focus for the companies. After acquiring Cibus Fresh, over 60 new food varieties will be added to the IF&P Foods lineup, as the companies move forward with innovative creations.
“We’re thrilled to become a part of the IF&P Foods family,” said Kurt Layer, Co-Founder of Cibus Fresh. “Having access to more resources means we can get even more creative in the design and delivery of our culinary creations. Together we can advance the convenience food industry in ways we could never do alone.”
Cibus Fresh’s employees will stay with the company, including Co-Founders Kurt Layer and Bill Pitrelli.
For more fresh produce happenings, stay tuned into AndNowUKnow.