KINGSVILLE, ONTARIO – Mucci Farms' team has taken home a truly impressive accolade this week; the Leamington Chamber of Commerce has awarded the company with the top honor in the Industrial/Manufacturing Excellence category at the 23rd Annual Business Excellence Awards held at the Leamington Portuguese Club on October 11th, 2017.
“We are really grateful to the Chamber for recognizing us for a second year in a row,” said Bert Mucci, Chief Executive Officer. “To win in two different categories is especially exciting because it tells us that we are succeeding in multiple areas. Investing in a passionate team and always having an innovative spirit are two areas we have identified as cornerstone pillars of our company.”
According to a Mucci Farms press release, the Industrial/Manufacturing Excellence award, sponsored by the Windsor Essex Economic Development Corporation, is given to the company who best exemplifies a commitment to product development and quality, expanding the market base, environmental commitment, progressive human resource policies, and skills development.
Mucci Farms noted that the company’s investment in their workforce and innovative spirit has shown no signs of slowing down. Mucci Farms recently completed an addition to their strawberry farm, and it continues to make substantial investments in state-of- the-art robotics and technology across the company’s footprint which totals over 200 acres.
Congratulations from the ANUK team to Mucci on this auspicious occasion!
SALINAS, CA – Taylor Farms and Sakata Seed America are coming together to give back to communities across the country. The two companies have partnered to participate in the Society of American Florist’s Petal It Forward flower giveaway event in Salinas, CA.
“We were thrilled to receive the invitation from Sakata Seed America and the Society of America Florists to partner on this initiative,” said Katrina Gargiulo of Taylor Farms. “We take great pride in giving back to our local community and appreciate the opportunity to partake in this special program.”
The initiative came to fruition with an event held on October 11th involving more than 273 cities across all 50 states. Participants surprised individuals on the street with two flower bouquets, Taylor Farms coupons in tow, and encouraged recipients to keep one bouquet and gift the other.
The two participating companies noted, in a joint media release, that the Petal It Forward program is designed to promote the understanding of the emotional value of giving and receiving flowers.
“At the core of our values, and as part of our 40th anniversary celebration, Sakata Seed America is committed to supporting activities that aim to enhance life, the environment and culture in our local communities, as well as across North America,” said Alecia Troy of Sakata. “Petal It Forward is a grass-roots, personal way to connect with others and spread the joy of flowers. Partnering with a caring company like Taylor Farms makes it even more meaningful.”
Accord to Taylor Farms and Sakata, university research has revealed that flowers have an immediate impact on happiness and a long-term positive effect on moods, and a recent survey indicates that, when it comes to flowers, it’s just as good to give as it is to receive. With this data in mind, the Petal It Forward team is not only spreading happiness to lucky Salinas residents who receive the flowers, but arming these recipients with the tools they need to Petal It Forward and spread happiness to others.
Taylor Farms and Sakata also express a special thanks to Kitayama Brothers and Green Valley Floral for donating flowers to the Petal It Forward project. Without their generous support, they noted, the event could not have happened.
AndNowUKnow will continue to report with more on the produce industry’s efforts to give back and foster ties with local communities.
MONTREAL, CANADA - Canadian grocer Metro Inc revealed it will be selling off a majority of its stake in Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. ahead of it’s recently announced $3.6 billion (C$4.5 billion) acquisition of chain Jean Coutu Group. The retailer said it will be using the earnings from the sale, estimated at around $1.20 billion (C$1.5 billion), to fund the Jean Coutu purchase.
Set to be sold in three separate deals, Metro said in a release that in total, around 27,112,000 shares will be sold at approximately $45.80 (C$57.17) a share.
About 11.4 million of the Couche-Tard shares will be sold to dealers led by National Bank Financial Inc. and BMO Capital Markets, as bookrunners, and will raise $520,562,000 (C$650 million). An equal number of shares will be sold to CDP Investissements Inc. et CDPQ Marchés Boursiers Inc., two wholly-owned subsidiaries of Caisse de dépôt et placements du Québec, for the same dollar amount. The third and final deal will see about 4.4 million shares sold back to Couche-Tard for about $200,275,000 (C$250 million).
According to Reuters, Metro is currently the third-biggest food retailer in Canada, which, as we previously reported, is looking to get even larger through its $3.6 billion deal to acquire Jean Coutu. Thomson Reuters data placed this value at 24 times forward earnings when the deal was announced, compared with an industry average of 16, which some analysts believed might be an effort to protect against risks facing the retail sector.
Will this be the start of a bit of a retail revolution in Canada like we’ve been seeing stateside? As Metro’s deal continues to be pushed forward, AndNowUKnow will continue to bring you the details.
SEATTLE, WA - Amazon is bulking up for the holiday rush, announcing plans to hire more than 120,000 seasonal workers, and retain thousands of those new hands in a full-time capacity. The hiring spans about 30 states nationwide, including fulfillment centers, sortation centers, and customer service sites.
“We prepare year-round for the holidays, and we’re excited to hire for over 120,000 positions this season to help delight our customers,” said Dave Clark, Senior Vice President of Global Customer Fulfillment. “We look forward to welcoming back holiday employees who return year-after-year to Amazon and welcome new faces to the team, many of whom will continue on with regular, full-time roles with the company after the holidays.”
In a press release, the retailer said that thousands of holiday positions were transitioned to regular, full-time roles after the holidays last year, with expectations to continue that trend.
In addition to highly competitive wages and health insurance, Amazon offers:
- Disability insurance
- Retirement savings plans
- Company stock
- Leave Share for employees to share paid leave with their spouse or domestic partner if necessary
- Ramp Back to give new moms additional control over the pace at which they return to work
The company also noted that it offers up to 20 weeks of paid leave in addition to benefits for new parents to have flexibility with their growing families.
The above benefits are egalitarian, or the same for fulfillment center and customer service employees as they are for Amazon’s most senior executives.
Amazon positions are available in several states, including Alabama; Arizona; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Illinois; Texas; Washington; New York; North and South Carolina and more. For a full list, click here.
As retailers continue to prepare for the busiest shopping time in produce and beyond, we will continue to keep you up-to-date on new and innovative strategies.
NASHVILLE, NC - At Nash Produce, sweet potatoes are our specialty.
We’ve been working hard to grow the world’s best sweet potatoes for more than a decade. With a focus on innovation, quality, and unrivaled service, here’s What’s in Store.
Our practice is to always meet our customers’ needs by providing consistently-available, superior products, with the highest level of service possible.
In fact, Nash Produce processes, packs, and ships 365 days a year. Our grower partners’ commitment to environmental stewardship is unsurpassed, and our focus on traceability and food safety ensures customers can expect a steady supply of exceptional sweet potatoes.
Collectively, our growers devote over 10,000 acres to sweet potato production, and we consider ourselves front-runners in a constantly evolving fresh produce industry, staying ahead of the latest food trends, technological advances, and food safety initiatives.
With a full service logistics operation, ample retail support, and sweet potatoes in all quantities, shapes, and sizes, Nash Produce is primed to meet needs and exceed expectations.
From our Mr. Yam’s line of value-added conventional and organic sweet potatoes to bulk and private label options, catering to our customers’ needs is our priority.
Nash Produce’s experienced management team works hard to create and maintain long-term partnerships with both growers and customers and bring the best spuds possible to market.
Thank you for watching What’s in Store.
BERLIN, GERMANY – Meal kit provider HelloFresh is making headlines with bold plans for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company, which calls itself “the only meal kit service of scale with an intercontinental footprint,” has targeted 250-300 million euros (approximately $290-355 million) to fund continued investment in its long term growth.
“The public listing marks the next logical step to further expand our business, to secure our position as the leading global player and to pursue our long-term growth strategy,” said Dominik Richter, Co-Founder and CEO, in a company release. “In 2011, we started with the mission to change the way people eat. Since then, we have built a dynamic, data-driven organization with scalable production processes across ten international markets. “We have established a brand loved by millions of loyal customers. We have experienced fast growth and have the strategic goal to reach breakeven across our group within 15 months. Now, the time has come to propel HelloFresh to the next level.”
HelloFresh currently operates in ten countries, including the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, and Canada. The company reportedly delivered roughly 33.7 million meals to 1.3 million customers in the second quarter of 2017 alone. According to its press release, HelloFresh employs more than 2,000 employees, offers millions of households the opportunity to enjoy well-balanced home-cooked meals without the associated hassle, and is “the largest player worldwide with #1 positions in all of its major markets outside the U.S."
The company has, it noted, established itself as a disruptive direct-to-consumer food company, based on a data-driven business model, a strong brand, and an innovative supply chain set-up.
“We have pioneered an entirely new category,” said Thomas Griesel, Co-Founder and COO. “Today, we are in an ideal position to seize the growing potential of our global market by capitalizing on our customer-centric product innovation expertise, our technology platform, our vertically integrated supply chain, and our scalable, state-of-the-art fulfilment capabilities.”
HelloFresh sources more than 50 percent of its offerings from local producers which allows for a streamlined structure and fresher food than competitors. The company has also built a significant infrastructure, with seven fulfilment centers around the globe primed to meet growing consumer demand. The company also noted, in a statement, that it is “one of the fastest growing players in the global EUR 7.5 trillion food market,” and with continued margin improvements, HelloFresh hopes to breakeven in 15 months.
“We have a very dynamic market development in our category, which we want to fully capitalize on by raising about 250 to 300 million euros of primary capital through an IPO,” added Christian Gärtner, CFO.
News source Reuters reported that, should HelloFresh’s plans succeed, the IPO flotation would value the meal kit company at up to $1.8 billion. The news source also added that the valuation would be a significant leap forward for the meal kit industry after a disappointing IPO saw Blue Apron’s valuation shrink to $980 million.
Will HelloFresh be the first unicorn in the meal kit category and crack the billion-dollar mark? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.
MORGAN HILL, CA - Sakata is going for the Triple Crown this year, as the company looks to adapt to the changing needs of growers, regions, and consumer flavor profiles. With the Southeast U.S. watermelon season wrapping up, Sakata’s Southeast Area Sales Manager Craig Howell, the company’s Watermelon Assistant Product Manager Cory Dombrowski, as well as Seedway’s Watermelon Product and Market Development Manager Chuck Elam, join me to dish on variety performance and Sakata’s R&D vision.
“This year we featured our Triple Crown Watermelons: Kingman, Unbridled, Secretariat and Charismatic, along with Eclipse, a new sugar baby-type seedless, and Belmont, our dark crimson mini watermelon,” Cory shares with me. “We also released two new pollenizers, Ace Plus and Wild Card Plus. It is an exciting time for the watermelon category.”
When I ask Cory what some of the key attributes of each are, and what performance challenges the team was addressing, he gives me the breakdown.
“These varieties offer a broad range of size, earliness, and rind color to meet customer requirements. For growers who need to hit an early market in challenging weather, Secretariat and Charismatic are good choices. Both are early maturing, mostly 45-count watermelons, with Charismatic having a darker crimson rind pattern than the more traditional crimson Secretariat,” he says. “For an all-around consistent performer, Kingman is hard to beat as a mid-maturity, traditional rind crimson watermelon that is broadly adapted, and has the potential for more 36-count fruit.”
Cory adds that Unbridled is also a larger watermelon that has mid-to-late maturity and the strongest vines of the bunch, can really produce, and has an attractive darker crimson rind. All of Sakata’s Triple Crown watermelons have small pips and an attractive interior, with good flesh firmness, even in the early varieties.
“Now, to get the best performance from a seedless variety, you need to choose the right pollenizer,” Cory notes. “Sakata is widely recognized as having some of the best pollenizers in the industry. Our pollenizers optimize the yield potential of all varieties, especially the early maturing. We began with Ace, which is early flowering, and extended the flowering period with Wild Card. Now we have added additional fusarium and anthracnose resistance to our new era of pollenizers: Ace Plus and Wild Card Plus.”
Craig adds that Charismatic produced above average yields with mostly 45-count and some 36-count fruit in the north Florida region. The shape was oval with good quality interior.
“Charismatic seemed to do better transplanted after the first planting. Kingman produced above average yields with mostly 36-counts and some 45-counts in the Georgia territory. The shape was oval with good quality interior. Secretariat produced above average yields with mostly 45-counts and some 36-count fruit. The shape was oval with quality interior. There were some growers that had grafted Secretariat. These growers have fusarium issues year after year; however, the grafted Secretariat held up well against the disease and produced good yields with good quality fruit. Unbridled produced high yields with mostly 36-count fruit,” Craig says. “There were some 45-counts. It had quality fruit with a mostly round shape. The crop was harvested in three picks. According to growers the round shape did not give them any problem packing or shipping.”
While the season was plagued with heavy rains that caused a significant amount of disease impact, which resulted in a short season, overall, Triple Crown collection performed well given the wet environment.
Chuck, who works with Seedway, one of Sakata’s main watermelon distributors, and a big supporter of these Sakata genetics, shared more on the grower benefits of this collection.
“Kingman really impacts the side of grower friendliness,” Chuck says. “As Kingman goes, we really were looking at just a clean crop of watermelons, almost cookie cutter type, and not much in the way of culls. In the case of Charismatic and Secretariat, both have qualities that would pay off for the grower. This season, both varieties really created large numbers on the farm. Several locations throughout the Florida and Georgia regions reported yields far better than other items on their farms. Both did what we thought and that was the earlier factor and yield.”
Chuck echoes that one thing that made a huge difference in Sakata crops were the addition of the new pollinators Ace Plus and Wild Card Plus. It added so much to the crops, in the way of healthier vines, simply more fruit and a longer harvest window.
“Every farm is different, and so is every season. By working with Sakata’s R&D team, the grower benefits by learning which varieties work best for their particular circumstances,” Cory tells me. “Growers also have the opportunity to preview new varieties before they become commercial, so they are a step ahead when a new variety is released. We are honored with the chance to learn what our customers are looking for, and can tailor our products to meet their needs.”
It sounds like a win-win situation to me, and as Craig shares, doing R&D in each key growing region or slot shows what varieties work well in that region.
“The data we gather from the trials yield information that helps us to guide the growers in the right direction,” he adds.
So, what message would Cory, Craig, and Chuck like to share to share with customers and potential customers? They thought I would never ask
“We want to share what we learn with the industry, and truly appreciate feedback. We are working in collaboration with our dealers and growers to constantly improve grower’s returns, through new variety development, new pollenizers and pollenizer combinations, and testing different rootstock combinations for grafted watermelons,” Cory says, adding that together, they can improve the watermelon industry for everyone.
Craig adds that the team can best match the variety with your planting slots and growing practices and the Sakata team is always willing and available to help.
“I would say to growers, do not get caught up in the fact that there was a lot of large fruit this season,” Chuck reflects. “Yes, we have had two seasons of weather that created large melons, but we should all know that this upcoming year we could have the complete opposite weather cycle. We cannot change the weather and the market is the market, so grow like you grow, and grow like you know. We will be here to help along the way.”
With a program in place that positions growers to succeed, Sakata and Seedway work hand in hand to address the changing and challenging produce landscape–one watermelon at a time.
JACKSONVILLE, FL - Retail eyes seem to be honed in on Florida real estate. Latest to expand its Sunshine State presence is Southeastern Grocers’ (SEG), which announced that it is continuing its rapid expansion plans with new Fresco y Más stores and Harveys Supermarkets opening next month.
“The unprecedented success we have witnessed over the past year at our Fresco y Más and Harveys Supermarket banners is a clear indicator that we are providing localized shopping experiences that resonate with our customers,” Anthony Hucker, President and CEO, said. “Rather than relying on one store model, we are entrenching ourselves in the communities we serve to better understand each unique landscape, and our customers’ shopping habits.”
SEG will welcome five new Fresco y Más stores in South Florida, opening on November 2, and three new Harveys Supermarkets, opening November 8, in West Florida. The move makes the banners the fastest growing in the company, according to a press release, which is the parent of Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie as well.
All 23 Fresco y Más locations will offer fresh, Hispanic favorites in produce, as well as meat and bakery, plus over 3,000 items lowered in price across the store. The new Harveys Supermarkets will open with its continued commitment to great value and great prices, offering over 3,200 items lower in price across all 80 stores.
SEG noted that its strategic conversion of Winn-Dixie stores to Fresco y Más and Harveys Supermarket locations emphasize the multi-format approach to its diverse retail footprint.
“More than ever, we are committed to providing our customers with quality, service, and value, and the overwhelming positive response from shoppers indicates we are earning their trust as we continue to unveil new Fresco y Más and Harveys Supermarket stores,” Hucker added.
The news breaks on the heels of an announcement from Sprouts for its own expansion that includes eastern stores, with an updated number of new locations in Florida as well.
As the dynamic buy-side continues to turn up the heat, AndNowUKnow will be sure to bring you the latest.
WATSONVILLE, CA – The start of autumn brings the start of school, and California Giant Berry Farms already considers this school year a success. After launching its first ever Back-to-School campaign back in August–a campaign set to entice college age students with an e-book chock full of easy-to-make food ideas and hacks, and offer a sweepstakes giveaway of two $150 and one $500 Visa gift cards–California Giant was overwhelmed by participation and feedback exceeded expectations.
“This program was really based on feedback received in a brief survey conducted on social media along with real world experiences from our Marketing Coordinator, Morgan Maitoza, a recent college graduate,” said Cindy Jewell, VP of Marketing, in a press release. “Timing of this type of promotion also hits home with many families here at Cal Giant with kids and grandkids going to college this year for the first time.”
By the end of the six-week campaign, California Giant Berry Farms received over 120,000 entries in the sweepstakes, 20,000 downloads of the e-book, and over 4,000 new contacts that opted in to the company database as new customers. Facilitated solely through social media channels and database contacts, these results showed the company that this audience is hungry for fresh solutions and wants a lot more information in the future.
The new Fresh Start: College Edition is just the beginning of a conversation between California Giant and young adults between 18-25 who are trying to find solutions on how to stay healthy on a budget and learn to shop on their own. The company plans to continue to engage this valuable consumer to better support their future shopping behavior and win their brand loyalty.
We look forward to seeing new California Giant campaigns, in the future. For more produce industry news, AndNowUKnow will keep you updated.
BARCELONA, SPAIN & KINGSVILLE, ON - Mastronardi Produce has announced a new partnership that will allow it to exclusively distribute Monterosa tomatoes in North America. This strategic partnership between Semillas Fitó, S.A. and Mastronardi Produce Ltd will be long-term, and will be key in Fito’s international brand sales strategy by bringing its proprietary Monterosa tomatoes to North American consumers.
“We’re thrilled to bring such a unique and flavorful tomato to North American consumers,” shared President Paul Mastronardi. “Our company is built on flavor and innovation, and I’m certain that Monterosa will be an incredible new addition to our offering.”
Monterosa is a cross between a pear tomato from Spain and a Costoluto Genovese from Italy, according to a press release, and has been obtaining excellent results in the national market (distributed through Gavà Group company) and in Europe (distributed through BelOrta in Belgium, Savéol in France and Cedior in Italy) since its commercial release two years ago.
The Monterosa tomato is characterized by its intense pink color, sweet taste, soft meat, and fine skin, making it a tomato with worldwide consumer appeal. Mastronardi, a fourth-generation family business, will now be the key driving force behind Fito’s new North American footprint, the company says.
Attendees of next week’s PMA Fresh Summit will be able to try the Monterosa for themselves for the first time, so check out SUNSET® booth #533 to sample and learn even more about what could be North America’s next big tomato craze.