SPRINGDALE, AR - Industry veteran Dave Yeager has a new gig, taking on the role of Senior VP of Business Development of Schmieding Produce. With more than 28 years of well-rounded produce industry experience to his name, Yeager’s extensive knowledge in multiple categories, including tropicals, western vegetables, fresh-cut fruit, packaged salads, and, most recently, potatoes will be a great asset to the company.
His love of produce has only grown through his years of learning a variety of disciplines in the industry, according to a press release. Most recently, Yeager served as Vice President of Sales for Farm Fresh Direct, but he also has gained tenure in the areas of IT, customer service, sales, marketing, refrigeration, transportation, and forward distribution over his career.
“We’re excited to have Dave join our senior management team as we continue to grow and expand our many produce categories and services,” said Trent Woerner, President. “We have very aggressive growth plans and Dave will certainly help us meet those goals more quickly…I look forward to our future.”
Schmieding Produce touted Yeager’s ability to bring innovation to the produce industry and develop cutting-edge financial software using his degrees in both business and computer science.
Yeager has worked extensively in CRM and category management throughout his career, helping both retailers and suppliers make better informed decisions.
Congratulations to Mr. Yeager on this next big step in his career! And to learn more about big moves within the produce industry, keep returning to AndNowUKnow.
SALINAS, CA - These days, it’s all about personalizing fresh in our own way. With the encouragement of growing organic production, The Nunes Company launches its newest item, baby bok choy, which will sit under the Foxy Organic label. The item, which is available in 20 lb bulk packs, will make its way out to customers this week!
At this year's Viva Fresh Expo, I had a chance to chat with Foxy Organic’s Communications and Marketing Coordinator, Laura Hastie, and she offered unique insight into the fun happenings that the new item offers for retailers.
“With organic baby bok choy being a very trendy item, we’re excited to launch it this spring. We’ll be launching it with recipes, usage ideas, tips for consumers, and we’re really excited about that,” she tells me.
When I began to wonder how retailers can tap into the new product to boost sales, Laura didn’t leave me hanging. To ring in the new category, the company will engage audiences with instructional videos on Foxy’s website and social media channels, walking consumers through handling the hyped-up produce must-have. Social media influencers will promote the trending new inclusion to the Foxy lineup.
“With this addition, Foxy now offers almost 40 different organic items. We look forward to adding another great item to the Foxy Organic product line,” said The Nunes Company’s Senior VP of Sales and Marketing, Mark Crossgrove, according to a recent press release. He explained that, alongside the addition of this item, the Nunes Company looks forward to seeing the organic program grow throughout 2018.
Check out the interview above for more from Laura on this exciting new addition to the Foxy lineup and check back with us at AndNowUKnow for more industry news.
COALDALE, ALBERTA - After a successful first launch, Phase Two has begun on Whole Leaf’s Inspired Greens greenhouse program, bringing more locally grown, clean greens into the fold for its parent company, The Star Group.
“New varieties, new growing technology, and new packaging are all part of our commitment to being the most innovative company in the produce industry, and all grown pesticide free,” said David Karwacki, CEO of The Star Group of Companies’, according to a recent press release. “The ‘Inspired Greens’ project was a major commitment to a new approach for greenhouse lettuce that has never been done in North America. Now, based on feedback and response from our customers, we’re preparing to expand this unique operation and move toward production of 20 million heads per year.”
In the first phase, the company invested $30 million dollars in the project, which was completed in May of 2017 after two years of work, effectively introducing many industry members to the new greenhouse technology it has to offer. Top lettuce technology hailing from Asia, Europe, and North America is part of the exciting developments that the company is focused on in this effort.
Inspired Greens' greenhouse has kicked production up a notch, refining growing practices and ensuring efficient production of its high-quality lettuce makes it onto dinner plates throughout the year. To do this, the company has made moves to grow 11 million heads in its first year. Because of the ongoing efforts to meet demands, the company has about one million heads in production at any given time, proof positive of its operation’s growth.
“We are always thinking about giving consumers a great eating experience. Who knew lettuce could have such great taste? You don’t even need dressing!” Karwacki added.
Multileaf Trip, Butter, Batavia, Oak, and Romaine are just some of the unique varieties of lettuce Inspired Greens will offer consumers. Dressed to impress, the company’s goods are wrapped in eye-catching packaging that excites grocers and, eventually, the end consumer.
Potential customers of The Star Group can take a virtual tour of the facility at CPMA at its booth: #1031. To make sure you have a spot in this private experience, check in with Jessica Wells before April 20th.
For more fresh produce happenings, keep checking back with us at AndNowUKnow.
BENTONVILLE, AR - It doesn’t seem like retail behemoth Walmart is slowing down anytime soon in the online grocery race. The company’s latest move is to unveil a new Walmart.com with a refreshed look and streamlined services that keep the customer at the forefront of the grocery experience.
“Every single day, busy families trust us to make shopping faster and easier for them in stores and online. Today, we’re unveiling a first look at the new Walmart.com that does just that while also creating a cleaner and more modern digital shopping experience. It is a dramatic step change for us,” Marc Lore, President and CEO of Walmart U.S. e-Commerce, wrote in a company press release. “I know I am biased, but I think it looks amazing.”
To revamp the website, Walmart turned to customers and current and prospective brands for feedback and ideas. This not only helped the retailer build its assortment, but also provided an opportunity for Walmart to better tell companies’ stories on the new website and take a new approach to advertising within seamlessly integrated ads.
The new website will be available to customers beginning in May, and, according to a press release, the changes will include:
- An entirely new look and feel. To bring a more human element to the site, Walmart is featuring relatable photography that showcases real-life moments as a means to make the website a more exciting place for customers to shop. The retailer also expanded its color palette and added fonts to bring more vibrancy and depth to the site.
- More local and personalized elements. The majority of the homepage will be personalized in some way. Walmart is also introducing a new section to showcase the top-selling items from the customer’s physical location. The site also features customers’ local store profiles that includes the availability of services like Online Grocery order status and Easy Reorder, a feature that lets customers easily repurchase the items they buy most frequently in stores and online.
- A specialty shopping experiences. Whether its groceries or high fashion, Walmart wants each category to feel like shoppers are browsing through specialty stores and has plans to build out these specialty experiences for all categories starting later this year.
For a sneak peek at the company’s refreshed website, click here. For more of the latest moves retailers are taking to change the face of grocery, stay up-to-date with AndNowUKnow.
AUSTIN, TX - In an email to members of its loyalty program, Whole Foods announced that it will discontinue its rewards program, online accounts, and digital coupons beginning May 2nd. Rather than continue with its own loyalty benefits, the grocer will fold its program into Amazon Prime, according to MarketWatch.
“Stay tuned for additional announcements for Amazon Prime members,” the company teased on its FAQ page focused on digital coupons, rewards, and online accounts. “Any account benefits, including membership and/or unused rewards, will not roll into any future programs.”
Jeffries analysts commented on the potential impact of the shift, including those led by Christopher Mandeville.
“Having already observed reasonable success with recent actions, not to mention robust media coverage, investors should be mindful that pending announced of a Prime-based program would carry obvious headline risk for grocers and serve as a reminder of how competitive the market has become,” they wrote in a note.
Other analysts at Jeffries theorize that though Amazon initiatives, since the purchase of Whole Foods, may have disgruntled some suppliers, particularly local producers—as we reported on here and here—the efforts are indicative of an industry-wide shift towards a more consumer-focused business model. Another sign of this shift appears in Whole Foods', possibly related, move towards granting Amazon Prime members a 10 percent discount.
“Such news of Whole Foods Market’s point of sale finally being married with Prime, which would allow for Amazon to obtain greater purchasing insights and accelerate its strategy conveying value to core customers with unique offers, heightens competitive pressures for all grocers, in our view,” the Jefferies note said.
How will this move change Whole Foods? How will the rest of the market respond? Stay with us at AndNowUKnow as we search for the answers.
MIAMI, FL - Industry members, prepare yourselves—it’s the time of year where your company's powerhouse women are returning recharged and ready to go. If the 200-plus women who attended this year’s Women's Fresh Perspectives Conference (WFPC) are half as inspired as I am, our bosses are in for some ideas, thoughts, and opinions as we “Own It.”
"I am so proud to be a volunteer and a Co-Chair for the Women’s Fresh Perspectives portfolio," Dave's Specialty Imports' Vice President Leslie Simmons tells me. "This conference proves once again to be one of the most invaluable events for women in produce at any level in their career. High-quality speakers covered timely topics and, ultimately, gave us actionable tools to take ourselves and our teams to the next level. I am thrilled to continue pushing this program forward, and to work with both women and men to support our up-and-coming women leaders."
Perhaps one of the more powerful aspects of this year’s conference was the number of first-time attendees, myself included. This year, Leslie shared with me that she saw a significant boost in WFPC rookies, with upwards of 70 percent coming for the first time and the remainder being those who returned for more.
While a number of attendees were there to seek a mentor for their fresh produce careers, many of the new faces were not at all new to the industry.
“I was pleasantly surprised to see from the attendance at this conference, just how many smart and talented women we now have in our industry,” Grimmway's Vice President of Foodservice and Industrial Sales, Lisa McNeece, shared when discussing here debut experience. “I love the sisterhood.”
It was a sentiment that Sysco's Sr. Sales & Marketing Manager Nancy Johnston shared when she first took the stage on day one of the conference, telling us all that she could remember and name the five women in produce she remembers starting out with–a far cry from what I saw in the room we currently resided in.
Emily Murracas, Mucci Farms’ Director of Marketing, and I discussed the differences she saw in the conference, this being her third time returning to the event.
“I’ve noticed a lot of companies have started bringing multiple members of their team, which I think is really great,” Emily shared with me, adding that sending more than one team member could help both to come back and implement what they learned at the conference in their own businesses and lives. “The other thing that I’m noticing is that each conference is always very relevant with what is going on with current events. The PMA staff, Conference Committee, and Center for Growing Talent Team did a great job selecting their line-up of speakers—they were captivating and incredibly inspiring.”
I have to agree, having noticed that each speaker was not only passionate and great at evoking emotion in the room, but used real-life experiences to show how far women in male-dominated industries have come and how to go even further. Educational sessions offered relevant discussions that applied to three tiers of business levels, executive, mid-level, and emerging leaders, leaving no stone left unturned that I could spot.
I could likely talk about each amazing speaker individually and how their surprising background ended up being perfect for the discussion at hand, Stacy Blake-Beard with her background as a professor of business, Eileen McDargh’s expertise as an executive coach and consultant, Molly Fletcher as one of the first female agents in professional sports, and Colette Carlson’s expertise in human behavior and communication, but it would take another story or two. Suffice it to say, each should be researched by both male and female produce members looking to better communicate and further position the company for success as a whole.
In the past couple of days, I was:
- An extrovert in a room of introverts that learned how to communicate better with her team, thanks to Mary Shapiro in her workshop Successful Introverts in an Extroverts’ World
- Taught by Cynthia Kyriazis in Wander No More, Your Time Management GPS to better manage my time and maybe even pass along some tips to others
- Helped to confront conflict and difficult discussions in a productive way by Deborrah Himsel and Diza Sauers in An Uncomfortable Woman Walks into a Bar: Achieving Power and Parity Through Difficult Conversations
- Given the opportunity to pose a question to experts Vicki Cotter, Joan Craig, and Betsy Folan, as well as the room full of experts that was conference attendees, from the comfort of a chair or bean bag
Everything was brought to a close, which like some empowering summer camp brought both excitement for bringing back what we learned and a twinge of sadness at how quickly time flew by, by the very fierce Gretchen Carlson.
And none of this includes the meals, drinks, and breaks in which I had the opportunity to learn about incredible women in produce I had never met, as well as those I hadn’t had an opportunity to get to know better until now.
This was an amazing opportunity I am excited to share, and hope to inspire more first-time attendees–no matter how long they’ve been in our industry.
CHILE - Allowing lemons to meet specific requirements to enter the U.S. without fumigation, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture has announced the authorization of fresh lemons from Chile to be shipped to the U.S. market under a “Systems Approach” method.
President of the Chilean Citrus Committee Juan Enrique Ortúzar expressed that this opportunity is a great step forward for the Chilean lemon industry.
“With ‘Systems Approach,’ the cold chain will remain intact, so our lemons will arrive to the U.S. in the best possible condition,” Ortúzar said. “This is significant for both exporters and their customers, who will now be able to rely more than ever on the consistently high quality of Chilean lemons. We are appreciative of all the hard work undertaken by the authorities and the industry to make this a reality.”
By employing mitigation measures rather than fumigation with methyl bromide, “Systems Approach” allows for the safe importation of lemons from Chile, according to a press release. Products grow under this method will have a registered production area, certified as having a low prevalence of Brevipalpus chilensis by the Chilean Government. The fruit will also undergo a pre-harvest sampling at a registered site under the direction of Chile’s national plant protection organization. After harvest, APHIS-approved inspections sites in Chile will inspect the fruit. Each consignment of fruit that successfully passes through all these measures will receive a phytosanitary certificate and a declaration stating that the fruit was determined to be free of Brevipalpus chilensis through field and packing inspections.
“The timing of this confirmation is perfect, as we will start shipping lemons to the U.S. in May,” said Ortúzar.
The Final Standard was published on April 6, 2018, and it is effective in 30 days of its publication, beginning May 7, 2018. The majority of lemons shipped to the U.S. this season will be under the “Systems Approach” method, which is big news coming from a country that exported nearly 78,000 tons of lemons last year, 55 percent of which (43,000 tons) were shipped to North America.
To follow methodological shifts in the produce industry, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
JAPAN - While it may not quite feel like spring here in California after being pummelled by yesterday’s hail storms, for some Starbucks-obsessed Frappuccino lovers, at least their mouths can get a dose of sunshine. The coffee craftspeople are introducing a new spring treat with a producey-twist—the Strawberry Very Much Frappuccino.
Packed with strawberry pulp from sweet and sour varieties of the fruit and topped with a strawberry whipped cream and a special red powder, the Strawberry Very Much Frappuccino is filled to the brim with real produce. And what a better way to celebrate spring with a taste of the season. According to a translation from the Starbucks Japan website, the Strawberry Very Much Frappuccino is what happens when "sweet and sour strawberries and creamy blend together and spread over the mouth." Sounds weird, but I’m in!
Source Bustle even suggests that the Frapp could be spring's Pumpkin Spice Latte, but, alas—if you're in the U.S., you may have to wait for an act of mercy from stateside execs. It's only being sold at stores in Japan through May 29.
I don’t know about you, but I know I turned on my Google Flight tracker. Catch me strolling through a cherry blossom orchard with one of these babies in-hand.
SALINAS, CA - At Church Brothers and True Leaf Farms, we are committed to continuously improving our sustainability efforts from seed to plate. This year, we’re celebrating Earth Day by sharing our story on just one of the many ways we are improving our carbon footprint to secure the future of our land and the environment—every day.
Our Clean Power Station, built in partnership with Concentric Power, is an exclusive approach that provides a clean energy solution with natural gas cogeneration. The first-of-its-kind technology helps us create less emissions, gain energy independence, and re-engineer how we produce cold air and water for our salad processing facility.
By combining electric power and thermal energy at the same time, Concentric Power captures heat that would otherwise be lost during the production of electricity and, instead, provides a clean energy source and returns power back to the grid.
At Church Brothers and True Leaf Farms we celebrate and respect Mother Earth: 365 days a year.
Every day we are working on:
- Reducing #FoodWaste with our Imperfect product line,
- Managing our soil, water, and ecosystems through our farming practices,
- And reducing our waste at the field and plant level.
Learn more at ChurchBrothers.com.
CAMP HILL, PA - Amidst merger happenings with Albertsons, Rite Aid executives welcome a new train of thought when it comes to the culture of its U.S. retail market, differentiating it from its competitors with a fresh focus on “food, health, and wellness.” To do this, the company announced it will expand its new Wellness Stores.
Stand-alone stores will transform into the Wellness Store format that will offer organic and gluten-free food, clinical pharmacy services, as well as other health and wellness products, Forbes reports. This aligns with a recent fourth quarter announcement from the chain in which it detailed 38 stores that went through a remodel, amounting to a total of 1,805 Wellness Stores—or two-thirds of the overall store count.
This is not the last step in this remodel process; another 132 stores will make their way through remodeling during Fiscal 2019.
Rite Aid executives look forward to the merger with Albertsons, which is expected to close during the latter end of the year. The pharmacy chain continues to grow the relationship with Albertsons after transferring 1,900 stores to the Walgreens Boots Alliance at the end of March, the news source reports. This brings the total stores that Walgreens has received to 1,932, as well as three distribution centers. Since Walgreens was unable to purchase the entire array of Rite Aid stores due to antitrust issues, the purchase for the stores and distribution centers amounts to a whopping $4.4 billion, paid in cash.
Albertsons is purchasing, in a cash and stock deal, the remaining 2,500 Rite Aids, including EnvisionRX PBM. The deal was announced earlier this year, and it will offer Rite Aid shareholders ownership between 28 percent and 29.6 percent of the combined company, the news source conveys.
Now that the two are merging, Rite Aid and Albertsons, together, will have 319 health clinics and 4,345 pharmacies under the yet-to-be-named parent company, which will make its New York Stock Exchange debut sometime this year. As a result of the merger, Rite Aid pharmacies will find a new home in Albertsons groceries, including Safeway, Vons, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, and Carrs, as well as the New York-based meal kit company Plated, the news source relays.
In its Quarterly Report, Rite Aid announced $767.1 million, or 73 cents a share for Fiscal 2018’s fourth quarter, which ended March 3rd. This is a far cry from the company’s announcement for the same quarter during 2017, which provided a $21 million net loss, or two cents a share.
The road ahead looks long and promising for the chain, as the company’s executives expressed a keen interest in growing within Albertsons stores, as well as developing freestanding stores. It is with this growth in mind that the company endeavors to offer more health clinics and supermarkets, as CVS and Walgreens continue to make their mark on the industry.
How will this merger shape up and provide new opportunities to gain fresh offerings? AndNowUKnow is looking for answers and will keep you updated with the latest industry happenings.