DELANO, CA - The Wonderful Company is celebrating the next generation of our industry’s leaders! This past weekend, Lynda and Stewart Resnick graduated the inaugural class of the Wonderful Agriculture Career Prep program (Ag Prep) at a special event held at Wonderful College Prep Academy in Delano, California.
“Our Ag Prep graduates are the pioneers of a new way to look at high school and college education,” said Lynda Resnick, Vice Chair and Co-Owner. “These kids are living, breathing inspirations of what’s possible when smart kids are given a fair and equal opportunity.”
This year, 90 students graduated and received an associate of science degree along with their high school diploma, with over 300 family, friends, and community members in attendance. Many of this year’s graduates are the first in their families to go to college and will be attending four-year universities this fall, with one third of the students pursuing studies in ag business or plant science.
Currently, over 1,000 students across seven high schools are enrolled in the Ag Prep program. Along with their high school curriculum, enrolled students earn college credit and take courses conducted by college professors; complete an internship related to agricultural technology, plant science, business management, or other career opportunities in our industry; and engage in real-world work immersion experiences at The Wonderful Company and other local ag businesses.
According to a press release, Ag Prep is transforming secondary education in the Central Valley into a personally relevant, wholly engaging experience for all levels of students—exposing them to previously unimagined college and career opportunities.
Congratulations to this year’s graduates! For more news related to the up-and-coming generation of produce leaders, stick with us at AndNowUKnow.
CHICAGO, IL - Craig Carlson, CEO & President of Carlson Produce Consulting, LLC, launched the company in July of 2013 and is celebrating the fifth anniversary of this consulting venture—and five years of successful value creation—with the launch of a new interactive website.
With over thirty years of retail and foodservice experience, working for notable corporations such as Walmart and US Foods, Craig decided to leverage his network and take his skills to market in order to help others break into the industry. Over the past five years, Craig has worked with a range of clients—from retailers to start-ups and growers—delivering superior results and boasting a proven track record of growing the bottom line to drive productivity, create value, and deliver growth. Craig has helped develop value creation plans, sourcing initiatives, and execute innovative business and brand development projects.
According to a press release, the site represents a new phase for both Carlson and CPC, LLC, as the company wanted to showcase the next stage of its development.
The new website offers ease of navigation, a clean interface, and the ability to comprehensively understand Craig’s experience, services, and past and present clients. For more information, please navigate to carlsonproduceconsulting.com.
Congratulations to Craig Carlson on this milestone!
HELENA, MT - WinCo Foods is inching closer to opening stores in Montana—a new market for the grocery chain. The employee-owned retailer confirmed to local news source the Independent Record that it has broken ground on a 84,000-square-foot Helena location—with a second location in Billings to follow.
“We know the people of Helena are excited for us to arrive, because so many of them have told us,” Director of Corporate Communications Noah Fleisher said in a statement to the news source. “We share that anticipation with them here at WinCo. We expect Montana will be a great market for us and we’re thrilled that Helena will be the place we get to start.”
The new store will, according to the Independent Record, feature WinCo’s signature “Wall of Values,” more than 700 bulk food items, and a full selection of fresh foods, including meat, deli, and of course, an ample selection of fresh produce.
“Our customers love that they can buy as little or as much as they like...Whether it’s two teaspoons of a specific spice or a 50-pound sack of flour,” said Fleisher. “On top of all this, we also carry a variety of organic, gluten free, and natural food items, all clearly labeled.”
For more fresh news on the greener side of grocery, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
WENATCHEE, WA - It’s stonefruit season! With four generations of experience growing, packing, and shipping organic-picked stonefruit, ANUK checked in with Stemilt Grower’s Pete Douglas, as well as Jewel Osco’s Scott Bennett, to find out everything retailers and more need to know about the crop set to hit retail in the following weeks.
“One thing that differentiates our family and our fruit from the others is we truly pick our peaches and nectarines tree-ripe, meaning each of our blocks is under 15 acres and we’ll send the pickers through four to five time per block because that’s how you actually get tree-ripe fruit,” Douglas said.
This season, Douglas revealed that we can expect high sugars and starches and full flavor from Stemilt's stonefruit—all of the qualities customers and consumers want their peaches and nectarines to offer.
“These peaches and nectarines will be in our stores very soon, within a few days from today. You can’t go wrong with these peaches,” Bennett said. “There’s a really good benefit for me coming out to orchards. I learn about the best product, how they pick them, how they take care of the product, and also what peaches are the best peaches…they’re picking the best tree-ripened peaches you could possibly get.”
While many have come to expect high-quality stonefruit from Stemilt Growers, Douglas reveals a key reason for that is the company’s location in Washington state, which offers ideal growing conditions for peaches and nectarines.
“As for peaches and nectarines, we have very cold winters, very hot summers, and very cool nights. Peaches love heat, but at night they like to go to sleep for a little bit, so it cools down at night. This past week it was 100 degrees every day. Peaches love that, so we’re going to get these Jewel peaches,” Douglas said.
For more on this season's stonefruit, check out our exclusive video above.
LONDON, ENGLAND - As a proud Anglophile, I hardly need a reason to pack my bags and make my way across the pond. This time around, though, I find myself wanting to go with a specific task in mind: visit the latest vegan supermarket to crop up in London.
The Plant-Based Supermarket, as it is aptly titled, opened its doors just last week in Homerton, a district of East London, according to a report from Plant-Based News. The outlet is 100% vegan—as stated on its Instagram page—and offers a variety of vegan food products that run the gamut from ice cream to frozen pizza. The retailer also sells convenient items like grab-and-go sandwiches and wraps.
Outside of vegan food, Plant-Based Supermarket also offers coffee in store, and customers have the choice to enjoy the brew in the indoor or outdoor sitting areas.
Throughout its process of opening the doors to consumers, the retailer has been keeping people abreast of the progress through its Instagram. Users have shared their excitement for the store, praising that it carries healthful products rather than "vegan junk."
How will this brick-and-mortar store shake up other retail formats? Will there be other all-vegan retailers to pop up in 2018 and beyond? Stick with us at AndNowUKnow as we continue to report the latest trends in the retail space.
MONTEREY, CA - Organic Grower Summit organizers OPN and CCOF have announced a new session for the annual event. The second in a lineup of intensive educational sessions, “Sustainable Investing in Your Farming Future” promises deep insights into the strategic and financial challenges growers, shippers, and other fresh food producers, especially those with multi-generational ownership, face. The session will be held during the 2018 OGS taking place December 12-13, at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California.
“Multi-generational farming enterprises and those with shareholder bases extending beyond a single family are confronting the dilemma of growing their businesses, while also satisfying the financial desires of all of the shareholders,” said Brandt Brereton, Co-Founder and Managing Director for Brereton, Hanley & Co., and moderator for the panel, in a press release. “This intensive explores the corporate finance alternatives that exist to satisfy everyone. Attendees will understand the pros and cons of each available alternative."
Several solutions to these dilemmas—each having their own pros and cons—will be discussed by the featured panelists of this session. Panelists including:
- Bill Reiman, Managing Director, Gladstone
- Tom Avinelis, Co-CEO, Agriculture Capital
- Andrew Freeman, Managing Director, Fremont Macanta
According to the company’s press release, many operations struggle with how to fund market requirements and cash flow of the operating companies and supporting land/real estate companies in the highly competitive world of organic growing. Given the varying types—and generations—of owners not directly involved in the management of the operations, financial expectations may not be in sync with the expectations and needs of the ownership group leading the operations.
Thus far this year, over 40 sponsors have confirmed their support of the nearly sold-out 2018 OGS. Only 20 exhibitor spaces remain. Exhibitors include soil amendment, bio-pesticide, seed, packaging, food safety, ag technology, and equipment manufacturers who will be connecting with organic field production staff, supply chain managers, pest management advisors, and food safety experts.
Attendee registration is $499, with discounts available for CCOF members and government and educational members. Attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase a ticket to the CCOF Foundation Dinner on Wednesday, December 12th. Registration to OGS includes admittance to the opening reception, educational sessions, keynote presentations, breakfast, lunch, and trade show floor.
For more fresh produce news, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
HOUSTON, TX - Texas-based retailer H-E-B is striking while the online grocery sector is hot and opting to implement a new strategy for its Memorial and Dairy Ashford store. Last week, President Scott McClelland announced in the “Memorial Area Eats!” Facebook group that the store will be closing next month, but will reopen its doors as an e-commerce warehouse—the first in Houston for the grocer—according to a report by the Houston Chronicle.
“I know many will be disappointed by this decision and will wonder why we didn’t just remodel. Those economics don’t work in a 28K store. There just isn’t enough space to fit everything that you would be looking for,” McClelland wrote in his Facebook post. “You’re seeing more people seeking convenience so we’ve added that into a lot of stores. We need to supplement their capacity.”
The news source reports that the 28,000-square-foot store has been criticized for its struggling perishable department for a while now, which has affected how H-E-B has competed with larger retail chains. Instead, H-E-B’s new Houston-based distribution center will operate as a satellite for the retailer’s home delivery and curbside pickup businesses and will bolster its e-commcerce game.
While the Memorial and Dairy Ashford store is closing, McClelland said he is committed to bringing a better store to the 7709 zip code, revealing, “My real estate team is beating the bushes to find a new location for a larger store. Not as big as Bunker Hill, but more like what we’ve built in Montrose, Tanglewood, Bellaire, and soon in the Heights.”
Will H-E-B’s new strategy prove successful and give it an edge in the Houston market? Stick with AndNowUKnow as we continue to follow the grocery retail sector.
SAINT LOUIS, MO - I love a story about a lasting relationship, so it may come as no surprise that I can’t get enough details on industry partnerships that keep the magic alive. Mark Andy Print Products and DuPont Advanced Printing will be joining forces again at Stand 749 at LabelExpo Americas 2018. The companies co-sponsored the booth, and the event marks the occasion of their first industry-wide event since Mark Andy Print Products was named the exclusive distributor of DuPont™ Cyrel® flexographic platemaking systems in the U.S.
“At LabelExpo 2018, we are showcasing the comprehensive solution that DuPont offers to the label market. These offerings include DuPont Cyrel EASY plates and DuPont Cyrel FAST 2000 TD, which highlights an efficient workflow using the newest thermal processing technology. We will also be showcasing products from DuPont Tyvek®,” Shyamal Desai, Americas Marketing Manager for DuPont Advanced Printing, shared.
If you’re looking for ways to enhance your entire workflow—including pre-press, on-press, and post-press—then have I got news for you. Attendees visiting the two companies at Stand 749 will see advanced platemaking and processing equipment and best-in-class plate mounting. They will also be able to chat with technical experts and learn about the Mark Andy Print Products supply offerings for flexo, digital hybrid, and offset printing equipment. According to a press release, efficiency in pressrooms is the starting point for profitability, and the companies pride themselves on a thorough understanding of efficiency by partnering with industry leaders to offer customers top-of-the-line supplies.
“Equipment that we are showcasing at LabelExpo is available through Mark Andy Print Products and is supported by the most experienced technical supply experts in the industry. Learn about bringing your platemaking in-house and control the quality, deadlines, and cost. Myself and my team are excited to connect with converters at LabelExpo to find the platemaking and supply solutions that are right for their businesses,” Tom Alba, VP of Mark Andy Print Products, explained.
Some of the items that the companies will showcase include Mark Andy VPM400 Video Plate Mounter, DuPont Cyrel FAST 2000 TD thermal processor, and Esko’s CDI Crystal 4835 XPS system.
A standalone unit, the VPM400 offers an adjustable table, plate cylinder mounting rails, and laser pointers, providing fast and accurate plate mounting to benefit workflow efficiency. Live on-demand demos will be available during the show, supporting live label production at Stand 319. If you are wanting to become more educated on the plate mounting best practices and high-quality print, stick around for demonstrations of pairing DuPont Cyrel plates and tesa mounting tape.
Participants at the expo will get to see the FAST 2000 TD, a thermal solvent-free flexographic plate processor, to check out how it’s environmentally friendly because it has no solvents to handle, store, or recycle and has no drying time. The end result are high-quality press-ready plates in under an hour.
The newest Esko CDI Crystal 4835 XPS will be at the show for attendees to see the combination of flexo plate imaging and exposure to see the streamlined approach to platemaking that simplifies the traditionally five manual steps into one simple step. The goal with this process is to boost repeatable consistent plate quality and take away the uncertainty at plate quality control.
For more information of ways to streamline business, stick with AndNowUKnow!
MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC - Pharmaprix, a Loblaw company, is hitting the ground running this week. The company announced it would be launching an innovative approach to business, incorporating a new concept called Zone Marché at 11 of its drugstore locations by December. The addition of Zone Marché is unique in that it focuses on fresh food options to make customers’ search for quick and easy breakfast, lunch, and dinner options that are guilt-free and healthy.
“Given the strong connection between food and well-being, it quickly became apparent that expanding Pharmaprix's offerings to include fresh items was a natural choice,” said Éric Bouchard, Senior Vice-President, Pharmaprix. “We had already been offering certain types of grocery items to make shopping at our pharmacies more convenient. Now that we belong to the great Loblaw family, we've been able to take advantage of all this new expertise and go even further by offering everything our customers need to make healthier choices and more nutritious meals.”
This pilot project has a long road ahead, as new waves of the format roll out by 2020 in mostly high-density urban centers to attract its target clientele.
According to a press release, three different models will debut: a refrigerated counter, focusing on the fast and convenient options like fruits and veggies; a grab-and-go look, offering meal solutions; and a fully-enhanced version; presenting all of the above with more variety. Up to 750 new fresh items will be available to consumers roaming their local Pharmaprix store, depending on which store.
The following is a list of fresh items that can be expected at the newly reenvisioned stores:
- Fruits and vegetables, including bulk and pre-packaged items, organic items, prepared salads and pre-cut fruits and vegetables
- Simple meal solutions that are easy to prepare and serve, such as pasta, quiche and mouth-watering sandwiches, including vegetarian options
- Deli cheeses and cold cuts
- Pre-packaged fresh meats (poultry, pork and beef)
- Artisan breads, desserts and other sweet goods
To stay up-to-speed with competition, the company’s Zone Marché will offer prices similar to conventional grocery stores.
Will we see more stores like Loblaw's Pharmaprix turn to fresh for mealtime solutions in creative new ways? And with Loblaw making this strategic move to take over more space in the fresh realm, where to next? We’ll keep you updated with the latest innovations and more.
EDINBURG, TX - A lot can happen in a quarter century—six Jurassic Park movies, the lifetime of a millennial, and now, the duration of Frontera Produce’s reign in the produce industry. The Edinburg, Texas-based company is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, bringing on both a new logo and a new partnership with Continental Fresh.
“Twenty-five years in the produce industry is an achievement to be proud of,” said Will Steele, President and CEO in commemoration of the company’s anniversary. “We owe a debt of gratitude to our employees, customers, growers, vendors, and the entire produce industry for their continued support throughout our history.”
In addition to using the 25th anniversary logo throughout the year, Frontera shared that it will continue to roll out new announcements over the next several months. Most recently, the company joined forces with Continental Fresh, allowing for Frontera to offer a quality, year-round supply of mangos and limes to its customers.
“Moving into the next 25 years, Frontera will continue to advance our business by leaning on our core principle values of integrity, transparency, and excellent communication that have taken us this far,” said Amy Gates, Vice President. “One of the ways we will grow is to continue to expand the relationship with Albert at Continental by combining the diversified sourcing of Frontera with his team’s sales and marketing expertise.”
According to a press release, the partnership with Continental Fresh is a collaborative sales and sourcing effort that joins Continental’s deep rooted relationships in Brazil and Ecuador with Frontera’s current partnerships in Mexico and Peru. Hallmarks of the companies’ combined efforts are consistent volume and by superior customer service.
Cheers to Frontera Produce for its first quarter century in the books, and here’s to many more candles on your cake to come.