SANTA PAULA, CA - Teamwork makes the dream work, is what I always say. Proving that working together makes business stronger is Limoneira, which seeks to acquire a Chilean ranch and its related assets. The citrus company has entered the agreement to purchase the ranch—Fruticola San Pablo S.A. in La Serena, Chile, which sits on two parcels and consists of 3,317 total acres—for $13 million. Total, 247 acres produce lemons, 61 acres produce oranges, and 120 acres are up for the taking to produce even more lemons. In addition to the citrus production, the acquisition includes 500 acres of avocado production.
“The addition of the San Pablo ranch to our growing global presence is consistent with our long-term strategy to dramatically expand our agribusiness internationally as a global, year-round supplier of citrus,” Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a recent press release. “We have a very strong pipeline of potential acquisitions around the world, including the United States, and believe we are very well positioned to capitalize on this tremendous long-term growth opportunity.”
The California-based company expects to invest $2.8 million in fiscal 2018 and 2019 for new citrus plantings and better water infrastructure to expand citrus production to 650,000 cartons of lemons and 85,000 cartons of oranges annually once the ranch reaches its full maturity, according to a press release.
This acquisition of the San Pablo will increase Limoneira’s efficiencies and overall Chilean margins, especially considering the latter’s existing Pan de Azucar (PDA) sits in close proximity to San Pablo. PDA’s ownership of the Rosales packing business, in fact, aids in this transition, and now Rosales will pack and sell all of the company’s citrus in the region under Limoneira’s One World of Citrus™ marketing team.
“This acquisition enables us to utilize our existing packing operation in Chile to improve margins for San Pablo’s current and future production. In addition, we will immediately begin planting additional acreage for increased lemon production. We have known the management team at San Pablo for many years and are very excited to leverage our current assets to expand production and distribution within Chile and throughout the world,” Alex Teague, Senior Vice President, shared.
The acquisition is expected to close in July of 2018, and will add $.02 to $.03 in earnings per diluted share in fiscal 2018, and $.06 to $.08 in fiscal 2019, which is interesting when positioned with Limoneira’s recent announcement that it intends to offer and sell approximately $50 million of shares of its common stock in an underwritten registered public offering. In another press release, the company expressed that it expects to grant the underwriters for the offering a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15 percent of the shares of its common stock sold in the offering to cover over-allotments, if any. There can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed or the actual size or terms of the offering, as the proposed offering is subject to market and other conditions.
Proceeds from the offering, if completed, will benefit the company’s recent acquisition of San Pablo—particularly its capital expenditures in that venture, other potential acquisitions, and for general corporate purposes.
For more information on this public offering announcement, check out the press release here. For more fresh produce news, check back with us at AndNowUKnow.
BENTONVILLE, AR - The e-commerce space is starting to resemble a gladiator’s arena, with each face-off getting more intense as the year goes on. Walmart, a fierce competitor, has tried another tactic in its continued desire to up its e-commerce business. According to a report from VentureBeat, the company’s technology arm plans to hire approximately 2,000 “technologists” by the end of the year. Walmart Labs already employs around 6,000 technologists, all of whom work on the technology that powers the company’s stores and e-commerce business.
One might ask, what does a technologist do for Walmart? This role includes data scientists, engineers, and product managers. Most of the new positions will be in Walmart Labs’ offices in San Bruno and Sunnyvale, California; Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart is headquartered; Reston, Virginia; and Bangalore, India.
In an interview with VentureBeat, Walmart Labs CTO Jeremy King discussed the division’s hiring plans for the upcoming year, stating that Walmart’s expanding online grocery efforts required the company to hire additional technologists.
“Oftentimes we have 50 to 100 items in an order, and you know, we don’t send one picker out to the floor to pick one order and send it back—we’re really optimizing the pickup, and they’re picking somewhere between 5 and 15 orders at a time,” King said in a phone interview. “They’re actually fascinating machine learning problems.”
Amazon is considered by many to be Walmart’s most formidable competitor in the online grocery pickup space—which is also known as “click and collect.” Danny Silverman, the Chief Marketing Officer at e-commerce analytics firm Clavis, told VentureBeat that the algorithms data scientists develop to make grocery pickups more efficient will be critical in determining whether Walmart or Amazon gain a better foothold in the space.
"Most click-and-collect services are unprofitable to neutral for the retailer, and it’s more about the long-term value of the customer than making money on the [individual] sale," Silverman shared. "A lot of retailers don’t have real-time inventory management, so it’s very difficult for them to take an online order and then fulfill it successfully, so a big piece of customer satisfaction, and winning is going to be on how much they manage their inventory and deliver on [the order].”
Will this hiring move put Walmart in a position to get ahead of Amazon and other retailers in the competative space? AndNowUKnow will continue to report the latest developments.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - Looking to aid retailers with key strategic insights, Sun World International has announced findings that suggest black grape promotions can improve category growth, market share growth, and improved margins. Retailers employing a key strategy of running black only grape ads can reap significant rewards in a burgeoning area of growth.
“Currently, we see 40 percent of all grape sales are on promotion,” noted Executive Vice President Gordon Robertson, in a press release. “Customers that are running black only ads are seeing category lift and improved margins. These ads are not intended to replace a red or green ad, but to be a best practice of balancing the amount sold on promotion while improving sales and margin.”
According to that press release, most recent sales data from the 2017 domestic season shows black grape category share has grown from 6.3 to 7.1 percent over the past five years, and Sun World anticipates this growth will continue, if not accelerate. Today, the company notes, top-performing retailers have a 10 percent share of category for black grapes, and this is a trend, Sun World says, that demonstrates the best practice of promoting black only grape ads to drive category growth.
Sun World currently offers a lineup of proprietary black grape varieties including MIDNIGHT BEAUTY®, an early-season variety that impresses with large berry size and full-bodied sweetness; SABLE SEEDLESS®, known for their special Muscat and tropical flavor profile; and ADORA SEEDLESS®, a late-season, delicately sweet, and exceptionally large “two-bite” grape.
For more information about Sun World’s proprietary varieties, click here.
And for more fresh fruit and veggie news, stay tuned to AndNowUKNow.
UNITED STATES - While the Tour de Fresh may no longer need introduction, now embarking on its 5th year of putting salad bars in schools, it wasn’t long ago that this was an idea put to friends and colleagues in the industry by California Giant Berry Farms’ Anthony Gallino and Cindy Jewell.
Now, thousands of miles, nearly 200 salad bars, and more than a hundred participants later, there are five Legacy Riders who can say they have been there for every pedal.
“Cindy approached me at the PMA show the year before we started and asked, ‘Would you be interested to ride your bike with us to the PMA show next year to raise money for the Salad Bars in Schools program?’ I immediately told her she had me at hello!” Ray Connelly, Managerial Consultant for the fresh produce industry, was one of the first riders to sign on. “I love riding; I love fresh produce, and I love encouraging our kids to eat healthy. Our industry has huge potential to increase the focus on fresh food and get away from processed food products. I think every effort counts to raise awareness of the importance of healthy eating. TdF gives us a platform to promote healthy lifestyle choices.”
He is joined by Renaissance Food Group’s Raina Nelson, Church Brothers Farms’ Jeff Church, C&S Wholesale’s Mike Deusebio, and CHEP’s Adam Linder on the podium of Legacy Riders, seeing the potential before the seed was ever planted.
“The Tour de Fresh captured my heart the first year because I quickly realized this was an unparalleled platform that united our industry to bring fresh salad bars to the future of our nation,” Raina shares with me. “Cycling hundreds of miles alongside passionate industry colleagues creates a very strong and unique bond. We are all fueled by the mission to bring healthy produce to schools and we truly ride for the children. It’s an amazing event and I’m honored to have been involved since 2014!”
She speaks to my heart, having myself been along for the ride for what will be four years this July and seeing firsthand the family forged of the days spent on backroads, off the grid, rain or shine. Though, that could be just as much the cycling mentality as the produce one, which I have found are amazingly similar.
“First, I’m an avid cyclist and have traveled all over the world on my bike. So anytime I can spend seeing the countryside on a bike is a big plus,” Mike laughs when we speak of what got him hooked on the premier Tour de Fresh. “I’ve spent almost my entire career in the produce industry on both the retail and wholesale side, so the combination of the two makes it just a ‘no-brainer’ for me. It’s doing something I love and having the opportunity to give back to the industry I’ve called home for almost 40 years.”
Adam, too, is an avid cyclist who saw the writing on the wall as to what this event could become. He’s even had the opportunity to see students dig in to the fruits and vegetables he and his comrades have ridden for.
“I have always admired United Fresh’s Let’s Put Salad Bars in Schools campaign and when Anthony and Cindy of Cal Giant Foundation proposed the idea of TdF in 2013, I was all in!” Adam shares. “I’ve been fortunate enough to witness the fruits of labors (pun intended) in attending recipient schools’ first days of salad bars placed in cafeterias and seeing kids being able to make healthy meal choices while at school has made every mile worth the effort. CHEP has also been extremely supportive of TdF since its inception and recognizes the value of supporting such a worthwhile cause.”
Truly, where would this ride be without the crews, sponsors, and support of companies willing to part with their employees during PMA Foodservice prep to partake in this crazy fundraiser? But, as Mike also touches on, the people are what make this the addictive event it’s become.
“It’s also the people; riders, support crew, the behind-the-scenes personnel that I’ve now built a relationship with over the last 4 years and that I look forward to seeing again and again,” he comments. “But, it’s the gratification I get from the letters and photos I receive each year, thanking me for the donation of a salad bar to their school that really makes it all worth it for me.”
Jeff completes the thought perfectly, having said on his experience, “Tour de Fresh is truly a movement that marries the passions each individual in this industry possesses—agriculture, nutrition, and the future generations. Throwing in a secondary passion of cycling is the cherry on top of this cause as we’re accomplishing major strides when we fundraise for these salad bars. I’m honored to have the opportunity to participate in Tour de Fresh the past five years and look forward to the next five!”
These five have helped lay the foundation to what has grown to upwards of 50 riders per year, and as someone who has seen the sweat, mud, and grind of the program they pioneered, I tip my hat (or helmet) to them on helping grow what has now donated $600,000 total to date to put 180-and-counting salad bars in place at schools across the U.S. Of that, each Legacy Rider individually has ridden over 1,000 miles and raised more than $12,000.
Don’t forget to visit with these five amazing produce reps at the upcoming United Fresh Expo, June 25-27.
ATLANTA, GA - In order to continue to grow, create new opportunities to connect with ag and fresh produce brands in the Southeast, and to better serve existing clients with interests in that region, Moxxy Marketing is opening a new satellite office in Atlanta, Georgia. The company announced its new office’s opening this week along with the hiring of Travis Sharp, who will serve as Creative Director and Managing Partner of that office.
“I’m so excited about working with Moxxy that I’ve got butterflies in my stomach,” said Sharp, in a press release. “Over the years I’ve worked with every type of client you can imagine, but there’s something refreshing about Moxxy’s incredible roster of brand partners. These are the brands that feed America and the world—they’re not just selling a product; they’re making a difference. I’m glad to be part of that.”
Sharp has worked as an advertising creative leader for over two decades and has worked with a number of high-profile brands, including Coca-Cola, Toyota, Marvel, Delta Airlines, Playskool, Walt Disney, Georgia Pacific, Stainmaster, Bazooka Bubblegum, the PGA, and Wonderbread.
Sharp served as creative leadership at DDB New York and global digital marketing powerhouse Nurun and, over the course of his career, has garnered over 100 advertising awards on behalf of his clients. Moxxy noted in its press release that the company plans to harness Sharp’s world-class experience to bring a competitive marketing advantage to its agriculture and fresh-produce focused clients.
“Moxxy has shared our expertise with ag brands all over the country from our headquarters here in Salinas, California,” said President and CEO Karen Nardozza. “But we’ve also seen that some brands like to work with an agency with a closer geographic presence. So this new office in Atlanta should make Moxxy an even more appealing marketing resource for companies in the southeast and east coast.”
Congratulations to Travis, from all of us at AndNowUKnow, and to the entire Moxxy team, as well, on this auspicious occasion.
MURIETTA, CA - New offerings in avocados are always exciting and the hype surrounding the green fruit is real. At this year’s United Fresh Expo Organic Showcase in Chicago, June 25-27, West Pak Avocado, Inc. is going to unveil three new organic brands. The specialty display at the United Expo will provide a sneak peek at the global avocado supplier’s latest offerings: I Love Avocados Organic, California Gold Organic, and Lil’Cados Organic.
“We’re thrilled to offer an advance look at our new brands with this soft launch,” said Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Doug Meyer. “These latest releases are the cornerstone of West Pak’s dedication to the growing organic market and the impressive sales of bagged avocados. We’re fully committed to working with our specialized growers and providing premium, organically grown avocados to wholesalers, retailers, and foodservice worldwide.”
According to West Pak, the I Love Avocados Organic brand inspires health-minded people to live a life of wellness by offering new and exciting ways to enjoy nature’s original superfruit. California Gold Organic offers local-grove avocado goodness from the Golden State. Lil’Cados Organic are single-serving avocados that appeal to the mini fruit market. All three organic brands will officially launch on July 11, 2018 at the Organic Produce Summit in Monterey, California.
As society becomes increasingly health conscious, the company noted in a press release, the call for organic fruit grows. To meet the demand for wholesome, organically-grown avocados, West Pak stated that it is a fully certified and operational organic packing house. It is proud to handle, package, ship, and market organic avocados for its specialized growers and to provide natural green fruit goodness to the global community.
I'm definitely in the mood for some avocado toast now! Stick with us at AndNowUKnow as we continue to report on the latest organic fresh produce trends.
LEAMINGTON, ON - The Tomato Capital of Canada was full of winners this past weekend as the 11th annual Greenhouse Vegetable Awards, held at the Leamington Fair in Leamington, Ontario, celebrated greenhouse growers from across North America. One of those winners was NatureFresh™ Farms, who took home top accolades including People’s and Kids’ Choice Awards for 2018’s Hottest Tomato, the Tomberry®.
“The People’s Choice and Kids’ Choice Awards are such impactful awards to win because they have everything to do with the end consumer. They’re also incredibly important because children are the buyers of tomorrow—knowing that they choose NatureFresh-grown products above every other label is a huge testament to what we do and what’s in store for the future,” said Executive Retail Sales Accounts Manager Matt Quiring.
NatureFresh Farms took home awards in the following categories:
- People’s Choice Award for Hottest Tomato – NatureFresh™ Tomberry® Tomatoes
- Kids’ Choice Award for Hottest Tomato - NatureFresh™ Tomberry® Tomatoes
- Kids’ Choice Award for Coolest Cucumber – NatureFresh™ Mini Cucumbers
- Kids’ Choice Award for Perfect Pepper – NatureFresh™ Yellow Bell Pepper
According to a press release, NatureFresh Farms’ newest product, the Tomberry, won over consumers of all ages, leading many within the company to expect big things from the tiny tomato at this year’s award shows.
“The Tomberry is definitely one of the most unique tomatoes we have ever trialed in the Discovery Center. It performed beyond our expectations from the start, and due to its small size and sweet flavor, it tends to draw a lot of positive attention. People of all ages love the World’s Smallest Tomato, and we are very excited to now have it in our program full-time!” said Benny Teichroeb, a member of the Trial Development team at NatureFresh™ Farms.
And, this year’s Greenhouse Vegetable Awards weren’t only about the produce; all funds raised from the show go toward R.E.A.C.H. International, a local charity that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to build clinics and schools, drill water wells, and sponsor children in Uganda.
Congratulations, NatureFresh Farms on this big win! For more produce victories from across our industry, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
CHINA AND THE WORLD - Like the saying goes, it takes two to tango—or was that mango? Two companies are teaming up for an unlikely partnership to battle the constant threat that Amazon has become for the industry. Google is investing $550 million in Chinese online retailer JD.com.
“This partnership with Google opens up a broad range of possibilities to offer a superior retail experience to consumers throughout the world,” JD.com’s Chief Strategy Officer Jianwen Liao said. “This marks an important step in the process of modernizing global retail. As we celebrate our June 18 anniversary sale, this partnership opens a new chapter in our history.”
Retail solutions will be developed as the partnership takes shape, which will tend to Southeast Asia, U.S., and Europe retailers. Fusing JD’s supply chain and logistics expertise with Google’s technology expertise, the alignment seeks to create the next generation of retail infrastructure solutions that will be helpful and personalized for customers’ shopping experiences.
The Wall Street Journal posits that the the move will expand both companies’ retailing presence, and with this endeavor, JD will sell products on Google’s Google Shopping feature. In addition, this step will strengthen JD’s stance in the U.S. and Europe, as it moves beyond its competition in China.
"We are excited to partner with JD.com and explore new solutions for retail ecosystems around the world to enable helpful, personalized, and frictionless shopping experiences that give consumers the power to shop wherever and however they want,” Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said.
The Google Shopping capabilities permits retailers to show their ads for products above Google’s search results’ blue links. Further, Google has made other moves recently, including voice-enabled smart speakers and convenient home grocery delivery, according to the news outlet.
Walmart and Tencent Holdings are other shareholders that Google will now be joining. The latter of the three will receive 27,106,948 newly issued JD.com Class A ordinary shares. The shares are issued at $20.29 per share, which equals out to about $40.58 per ADS, based on the volume-weighted average trading price over the prior trading days, the press release shares.
Will Google’s partnership with JD boost interest in other tech companies stepping into the grocery domain, and, if so, will that interest shift the trajectory of business moving forward?AndNowUKnow will keep you updated with the latest happenings in our industry.
SEATTLE, WA - For Starbucks fans, summer usually means a new fruity and Instagrammable drink will be hitting menus across the nation, and this year is no exception. Starbucks has launched a new drink dubbed the Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refreshers®, which looks and tastes as tropical as it sounds. The new Refresher boasts a deep magenta hue loaned from pieces of real red-fleshed dragon fruit and a flavor reminiscent of the beaches of Central America where both of its namesake fruits can be located.
“People love both the flavor and the color,” said Alicia Binion, creator of the beverage and member of the research and development (R&D) team. “It’s bright and vivid; something you would want to take a picture of to share with friends.”
In its announcement, Starbucks touted the increasing popularity of the previously enigmatic dragon fruit, calling it “one of those up-and-coming flavors.” ANUK has previously reported on the rise of dragon fruit for 2018, even getting the co-sign from the dragon fruit purveyors at Frieda’s Specialty Produce.
“With several 2018 food trend forecasts pointing to Instagram-ready colorful cuisine and upscale non-alcoholic cocktails, the vibrant magenta-colored dragon fruit is poised for a big year,” said Alex Jackson Berkley, Senior Account Manager at Frieda’s.
Americans and Canadians alike will be able to indulge in the fruity sweetness of Starbucks’ latest beverage according to a press release, with the item joining the permanent menu for the company starting this week. Increased access to mango and dragon fruit merely blocks away from my office? That’s definitely a win to me!
HOOD RIVER, OR - We hear it so often because it’s true: the produce industry is one of relationships. For Twin River, it's safe to say that the growing brand, with a wide national and international network of small farms, has blossomed through a mutual love for growing, packing, and shipping berries.
I spoke with Ben Escoe, Managing Partner for Twin River South and Twin River Produce, to find out what sets the Twin River brand apart as the go-to for local and imported blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.
"We are a grower-based company with a slogan of 'products from small farms.' We started out as growers and decided to form this company because we wanted to vertically integrate and represent growers more than the class of distributors that were available to us at the time," Ben tells me. "We focus on the source of all of our products—the farms—and help our growers through the process of optimizing the supply chain and improving harvest, soil health, and transportation needs. We try to keep the direct connection between the consumer and the grower; there can be a lot of noise in between, but we are really trying to bridge that gap."
One way Twin River is bridging that gap is by ensuring supply chain transparency to retailers and consumers. Twin River highlights where its fruit is grown on its packaging labels by featuring the outline of the state or country of origin.
Twin River is a product of a relationship formed between three different families that were united by one shared vision. Initially, the Escoe and Weijohn families owned and operated farms in Hood River, Oregon, and Wapato, Washington, respectively, and distributed to their local farmers markets and grocery stores. Eventually, in an effort to balance small-farm quality with rising demand for quantity, the two families decided to partner and created a business together. Shortly after, the Escoes invited Miguel Leonetti of Argentina to join their team and expanded Twin River’s small farm network to ensure year-round offerings. Together they created both Twin River Produce, a U.S.-based blueberry packer and shipper that consists of 14 farms in Oregon and Washington, and Twin River South, an importer and distributor of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries from Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Peru.
As part of its emphasis on local quality, Twin River participates in the Fair for Life program. Currently, 80 percent of its operations in the States and 50 percent abroad are organic, with many farms in the process of transitioning away from conventional. Twin River's focus on organics and the Fair for Life program ensures its operations are always adding to the environment. Core values such as high quality produce, keeping small farms alive, and “healthy soil produces healthy berries” drive its never-ending effort to leave behind better ground than when it started.
“We work with Fair for Life to promote imported products and because we believe that it is important to treat our farm labor the right way. All of our products from Argentina are Fair for Life certified, and we work with farms to implement policies, like better housing, break rooms, and facilities, to encourage a positive work environment,” Ben explains. “We believe that a high-quality product starts at the source, which is our plants and the team that take care of them. If we have happy soil and team members who care about what they’re doing, that will translate into a better product. Further, if we can continue those positive relationships throughout the entire supply chain, then we have truly accomplished our goals!”
Twin River offers blueberries year-round as well as raspberries and blackberries seasonally. Its raspberry program ships from November through June out of Mexico, and blackberries from June through October grown in the USA. Twin River is currently working to extend both programs to year-round availability.
“We quickly realized that in order to support farming communities around the world, we needed to have a presence in the market all year long,” Ben shares with me. “Therefore, we have extended from the Pacific Northwest and Argentina to California, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. We continue to look for opportunities to work with farmers in new regions and time-frames. Maintaining a presence all year with like-minded growers working together to deliver high-quality berries to our customers will help us embody our core values.”
Distributing across the United States from Washington, Los Angeles, Miami, and Philadelphia, small-focused Twin River is making a big splash.