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OCEANO, CA - Bejo Seeds, a North American subsidiary of Bejo Zaden, a Dutch breeding, seed production, product development, marketing and sales of high-quality commercial vegetable seed, has launched new tomato packaging made from tomato plant fibers.
"With these innovative new trays, Bejo is showing that it is possible to produce, pack, and consume, yet limit the waste of natural resources," Michael Ryshouwer, Field Marketing Manager, states. "We have had great feedback from United Fresh attendees and are excited to bring this new project to market."
Bejo Seeds Inc. has chosen solid non-virgin cardboard enriched with fibers from tomato plants, a product from Solidus Solutions, producer of solid cardboard and solid cardboard packaging. Because of this, Bejo Seeds Inc. will be one of the first US companies that will package its organic Tasti-Lee tomato in trays made with tomato plant fibers, making an important contribution to the recycling economy. With this, Bejo shows it is possible to produce, pack and consume, yet limit the waste of natural resources.
The solid non-virgin cardboard enriched with tomato plants from Solidus Solutions was announced as the winner of the Packaging Europe Sustainability Awards 2016.
What other packaging innovations will the produce industry reveal? Follow along with AndNowUKnow as we continue to report.
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Giumarra Companies is teaming up with family-owned Montana cherry provider Glacier Fresh to market the orchard’s harvest this summer.
“We are excited to partner with a like-minded company to expand our premium cherry category,” said Craig Uchizono, VP Southern Hemisphere of the Giumarra Companies.
Flathead Lake-based Glacier Fresh was founded in 2001. Its location in western Montana is, according to a Giumarra press release, an ideal cherry-growing microclimate with long summer days and cool nights. In accordance with the company’s name, Glacier Fresh’s cherry orchards are fed with mountain glacier water that helps produce exceptionally large, sweet cherries.
“Our farms have traditionally been focused on growing high-quality fruit for the export market,” noted Cody Herring, Owner of Glacier Fresh. “In working with Giumarra, we both felt it would be advantageous to introduce this fruit to retail customers in the U.S. We have a large team here every summer who help harvest our fruit, and we consider them part of the Glacier Fresh family.”
Glacier Fresh employs local students and teachers in its custom packinghouse each summer to help pack and ship its crop, and also hosts permanent field staff in cabins on nearby wooded property. The company will begin harvest of Rainier and Dark Red varieties in late-July, and soon thereafter, the company’s cherries will be available to domestic markets in bulk or packaged in Glacier Fresh-branded pouch bags.
“We are excited to see our cherries coming to U.S. stores this summer, as most consumers don’t know we grow such incredible fruit right here in Montana,” said Dusti Herring, Co-Owner of Glacier Fresh and wife of Cody. “We are very proud of our fresh cherry varieties and look forward to working with Giumarra to place them in stores both in our local area and across the country.”
Currently, Glacier Fresh works with local Montana growers to pack and ship more than one million pounds of fruit—more than 25 percent of the state’s annual cherry harvest. The company's press release also noted that Cody visited large growing operations in Europe and New Zealand during his most recent off-season and ultimately invested in sorting equipment with advanced computer software to digitally monitor size and quality on the pack line.
“We are expanding our growing operations annually to meet domestic and international demand, and it’s important for us to maintain quality and be competitive with large growers in the marketplace,” said Cody.
Additionally, the Herrings have announced plans to offer a farm stand to their ten-year-old son Quinn: “While we have not previously sold our cherries to the public, we decided our son is old enough to begin learning the business and this would be a great way to teach him the value of a dollar,” said Dusti.
The partnership marks the first time Giumarra has worked with a Montana-based cherry orchard.
“Cody and Dusti are excellent examples of progressive, young family farmers who are committed to growing their business using modern technology,” noted Hillary Brick, Senior VP Marketing for the Giumarra Companies. “We’re proud to include them in our family of growers as we work together to feed the world in a healthy way.”
Check in with us at AndNowUKnow for more on this and other important collaborative efforts in the produce industry.
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SHANGHAI, CHINA – Bringing futuristic concepts into the present, a fully-automated, self-driving grocery store has hit the streets in Shanghai. This new store concept entitled “Moby” operates without human staff, boasts no lines, and can steer itself back to a warehouse for resupply whenever necessary or convenient.
According to a report from Popular Mechanics, shoppers must first download an app in order to gain entrance to and pay for items in the mobile store. Consumers are greeted by a hologram and checkout is as easy as walking items out the door—at which point they are automatically scanned and charged to your account.
Moby is capable of operating 24-hours each day (excluding resupply times) and is powered, in part, by solar panels on its roof. The store is the product of a collaborative effort between an offshoot of Swedish company Wheelys called Himalayafy and China’s Hefei Unversity.
Despite its futuristic façade and its prototype being launched in cosmopolitan Shanghai, Moby was developed, in part, to service rural communities seemingly left behind by modernization.
"I grew up in the countryside in Northern Sweden," Wheelys Co-Founder Tomas Mazetti told tech news source Fast Company. "The last store closed there in the 1980s sometime, and after that, everyone just commuted into the city, but that takes an hour. A little piece of the village died. Now, suddenly, in a place like that, the village can team up and buy one of these stores. If the village is really small, [the store] can move around to different villages."
Popular Mechanics notes that a mass-produced mobile store like Moby could cost as little as $30,000—with additional logistics and support costs as well. The company also makes small mobile carts that cost only $1,800.
Could this innovative approach be the future of grocery retail, bringing fresh food to consumers 24-hours a day in futuristic fashion? AndNowUKnow will continue to report on this and other innovations in our industry.
BATAVIA, IL - Aldi is looking to expand its footprint even further across the United States, with new reports outlining the retailer’s interest in the competitive Texas market. Aldi will spend $66 million to remodel Texas stores over the next three years, with new locations and possible distribution expansions in the works as well.
As we recently reported, Aldi made headlines by announcing a $3.4 billion investment into U.S. markets, with 1,300 stores remodeled by 2020, and its total number of stores boosted to 2,500 by the end of 2022. According to The Dallas News, the North Texas division plans to open 5 to 10 stores a year, with more additions possible to its Rosenburg division.
Scott Huska, Division Vice President for Aldi’s Denton Region stated to Dallas News that Aldi currently has two distribution centers in Texas, in Denton and Rosenburg. At its Dention distribution center, the retailer owns 183 acres which would easily allow room for a future expansion as Aldi adds new stores to its servicing area, Huska said. The Denton distribution center currently services 54 stores, with room to take on more.
The Dallas News also reported that Texas stores are already underway for the proposed remodel, with one store in Rockwall finished and a Richardson store to be completed later this month. The remodel includes, among other things, 1,000- to 1,500-square-feet of room added for fresh foods.
Aldi just has had a number of new stores already under way in the Texas market. The Dallas News stated that the chain opened its fifth store in Forth Worth, a new store in Allen, and a second Denton location under construction right now. Later this year, Aldi will open stores in Rockwall, The Colony, and Little Elm.
With Lidl looking to enter the U.S. market and other retailers continuing to grow, what’s next for the buy-side sector? AndNowUKnow will let you know.
CHICAGO, IL - Women of the produce industry, I'm sure you're no stranger to being the unsung heroes of your operations, but with this unique networking event, those often behind-the-scenes powerhouses are being put on their pedestals.
United Fresh's Reception Honoring Women in Produce is one of my personal favorite networking events of each year, and usually is a one that brings a tear to my eye as I listen to the triumphs and challenges each year's honoree has faced on her journey to the top. This year was no exception, with Lorelei DiSogra, Ed.D., R.D., and Vice President, Nutrition and Health at United Fresh Produce Association, taking home the honor that has been given to such contemporaries as Karen Caplan, Julie Krivanek, and Teri Miller, in recent years.
"When you think about a person who is relentless, passionate, determined, and obsessed with increasing consumption for fresh produce, only one name comes to mind," Jan DeLyser, Vice President of Marketing at California Avocado Commision, smiled as she talked about this year's honoree. "When we think about Lorelei's mark on all of us on our industry, her contributions are meaningful, and quite frankly staggering."
Prior to her decade at United Fresh, Lorelei was the Director of the National "5 a Day" Program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) from 2001-2005, Vice President of Nutrition at Dole Food Company from 1991-2001, and the Director of Intervention for the California 5 A Day Campaign from 1985-1991. In total, Lorelei has been a three-decade veteran of fighting for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in the United States.
"We are still in the trenches fighting every single day, even after 30 years," said Lorelei, also known as the produce pit bull by the Washington DC journalists that covered her work with the federal government's produce initiatives. "My passion for fruit and vegetable consumption is not going to stop as of my retirement on May 31st. I've gotten an F so far in emotionally separating myself from my work and the issues that I care about. I thank you all for your work and everything you do."
We at AndNowUKnow would love to congratulate Lorelei for her amazing dedication to produce, and wish her well on her journey throughout her "retirement" going forward. And to all the women in the produce industry, thank you for all of your efforts for moving us forward as an industry.
PELION, SC – WP Rawl is expanding its Seasoned Sautés product line under its Nature's Greens® brand with one new flavor, and more on the way. Consumers will appreciate the convenience these new and innovative products offer, along with their health benefits as well.
“As early adopters to the plant-based protein concept, we were glad to receive such a positive response and see that others are just as excited about this concept as we are,” said Ashley Rawl, Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Product Development. “We are extremely excited to be launching a new flavor this month.”
Originally launched with three meal options in October of 2016, the company has developed new flavors to the line due to popular demand. The first of these, is a Seasoned Sautés Red Chard which features wheat berries, a classic Caesar flavor, and 17 grams of protein per bag. According to a press release, this upcoming generation of kits will also be available in 12 oz bags.
The company noted that its Seasoned Sautés offers consumer a perfect solution for their busy schedules, giving them a complete meal in three simple steps. Consumers simply need to heat, cook, and serve.
The company emphasized the success of its line as the basis of the new additions, and stated that Nature's Greens Seasoned Sautés stirred up excitement and enthusiasm from both retail customers, and consumers.
Keep tracking us for the newest updates from WP Rawl, and for all your produce news!
ORLANDO, FL - Grown globally and loved locally, the National Mango Board is ready to deliver a worldwide mango devotion straight to your store, with year-round availability that’s never out of season. Mangos are one of the most popular fruits in the world, which means huge opportunities for sales growth in the U.S.
To heat up your marketing potential, the National Mango Board offers a wide selection of tools and resources for retailers to educate their customers on proper techniques. Like Point of Sale materials so shoppers can learn how to select, ripen, cut, and use their mangos. Or, let your consumers take advantage of mango recipes, nutritional facts, and more as they shop.
Spruce up the mango know-how of your store associates with Training Materials and reference guides. Or check out the short series of Mango University videos, featuring the zany expertise of Professor Mango on the best practices for mango handling, merchandising, and ripening–from the first warehouse delivery straight through to the customer’s cart.
To entice your own mango associates into course completion, graduates who qualify will receive a customized diploma with the added bonus of a crisp, $10 bill.
After earning their spot as Mango University alumnus, keep your team refreshed on their mango tips with the National Mango Board’s high-graphic backroom posters, such as Mango Made Easy and Treat Me Like a Banana.
Still ripe for more? Go to mango.org for a treasure trove of tools, resources, recipes, and images to keep you and your store on the upside of category development, consumer research, mango varieties, promotion concepts, and more!
And that, mango friends, is What’s In Store for the National Mango Board. Visit mango.org/retail to sign up for newsletters and see how the National Mango Board can help you grow your mango business.
ROSEMONT, IL - With dietary restrictions, evolving principles, and ever-expanding taste preferences, US Foods has released its latest Summer Scoop™ 2017 to assist restaurants in appealing to increasingly diverse consumer palates. The release, entitled “It’s a Matter of Choice,” highlights 24 versatile options restaurateurs can bring to the table to captivate all diners, including 44 percent of adults who now say food restrictions, food allergies, or avoidance of certain ingredients dictate what they eat.
“From socially conscious consumers to the specialized diets of food tribes, it’s becoming harder for groups of diners to visit a restaurant and find something on the menu that appeals to each of them,” said Stacie Sopinka, Vice President of Product Development and Innovation, according to the press release. “Within a party of four, it’s not uncommon to find at least one diner who is gluten-free or vegetarian while the others want to explore bolder, trending flavor combinations. When restaurants can expand the choices they offer consumers with a few simple additions to their existing menu, they win.”
This new lineup comes with a delicious array of fresh produce, bringing the items to the center of the plate. Here are a few highlights the industry can look to for inspiration:
Spiral Cut Kohlrabi
A hearty, spiralized vegetable noodle, Kohlrabi has grown 1,165 percent on menus in the past four years. Light and neutral in taste, Kohlrabi can take on the distinct flavors of any unique dish as a pasta substitute or cold vegetable dish addition.
Riced Cauliflower
Full of vitamins and minerals, with major multi-use potential as a rice or starch substitute.
Battered Elote Corn Bites
A shareable appetizer or side dish inspired by authentic, Mexican street corn, Elotes has nearly doubled its presence on menus over the past four years. This product features charred corn kernels with lime, garlic, green onion, cilantro, chili, and smoked paprika mixed with a blend of five cheeses and fried to perfection in corn masa batter.
To look at the entirety of US Foods’ Summer Scoop 2017, click here.
As the buy-side continues to innovate and push fresh produce into the limelight, count on AndNowUKnow to report on the latest.