KINGSVILLE, ON - Mucci Farms is a greenhouse grower with innovation on the brain. As the company looks to broaden its scope beyond ubiquitous greenhouse categories, the company is going gaga over its Smuccies strawberries. I tapped Mucci Farms's Key Account Manager, Nick Williamson, to give me the scoop on this sweet treat.
"One of our most exciting items right now is the Smuccies strawberry, grown in Kingsville, Ontario year-round," Nick shared with me. "Right now we are growing under 12 acres of high-tech glass and we now have a plan to double that acreage for 24 acres of greenhouse grown strawberries in Canada!"
As Nick tells it, growing these strawberries in a controlled environment allows the company to deliver a final product that the company has full faith in.
Nick's enthusiasm for this line is contagious. To catch more of the strawberry buzz, check out my interview with him, above.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - Community is key for Grimmway Farms, and the Bakersfield-based company showed its commitment once again this week at a local baseball field. With paintbrushes and sanders in-hand, more than 205 Grimmway Farms employees took to the Greenfield Baseball Park to clean up and restore the neighborhood's landmark site. Greenfield Baseball Park was chosen as part of the company’s 4th Annual Community Cleanup Project.
“Grimmway Farms and its employees are deeply committed to the local community, and our Annual Community Cleanup Project is one of the important ways we demonstrate that pledge,” said Jeff Huckaby, the company’s President. “We’re pleased that the Greenfield Baseball Park was chosen as the cleanup site for this year’s event, and that the local little league, adult intermural teams, and others now have a refurbished baseball field.”
Grimmway’s employees, along with 25 Greenfield Baseball Association (GBA) volunteers, spent last Saturday morning sanding and repainting backstops, bleachers, dugouts, concession areas, parking-lot posts, picnic tables, restrooms, and storage facilities.
“The Greenfield Baseball Association appreciates Grimmway Farms and its employee volunteers for their generous time and efforts today helping bring new life to the Greenfield Baseball Park,” shared Brandon Lancaster, President of Greenfield Little League. “Founded in 1961, the GBA is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing local youth with the means to play America’s favorite pastime, and we’re grateful that area residents can now expect many more exciting years of competition here at the ballpark.”
Huckaby added, “I’m thrilled to see so many Grimmway Farms employees volunteering their time. The incredible turnout is a testament to our culture and that at Grimmway, ‘giving back to the community’ isn’t a slogan, it’s how we do business.”
Taking place each year, Grimmway’s Community Cleanup Project is one of the many ways the company shows how passionate it is about the community. Other Grimmway initiatives include contributions to an array of community non-profit organizations, including Kern CASA, Boys and Girls Club of Kern County, Kern Ag Foundation, Youth Connection, Bakersfield MARE, Bakersfield Homeless Center, and Bakersfield ARC, among many others.
CASHMERE, WA - Sliced apple provider Crunch Pak® is mixing up its sales and marketing teams as we head into the second half of 2017. As of May 22, four employees have gained the title of Senior Sales Executive, and Megan Wade has joined as Media and Brand Manager.
With regional contract employees having exited, Gene Woodin, Gary Zych, Jennifer Dietrich, and Jay Zimmerman, have now become direct salespeople for Crunch Pak as Senior Sales Executives. Each will now report to Bob Haarhues, Director of Sales and Marketing, and work out of Wenatchee, Washington.
“We are excited about the changes happening at Crunch Pak,” Haarhues said. “We have new innovation, new levels of customer service, new opportunities with production; and we have very talented passionate people who take pride in Crunch Pak’s success as well as our customers’ success.”
To further that mission, Crunch Pak is also introducing Megan Wade as the company’s Media and Brand Manager. According to a press release, Wade’s previous experience includes tenures at CMI Orchards and Columbia Fruit Packers. She is a also recent graduate from Humboldt State University, taking home a degree in business administration and an emphasis in marketing.
With these shifts in positioning and a further emphasis on customer service, we’ll be keeping our eyes on Crunch Pak. Until then, stay tuned.
PROVIDENCE, RI - United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) has turned a busy year of acquisitions into double digit sales increases, according to the company’s latest financial results. For the company’s Q3 2017, UNFI’s net sales increased 11.1%, hitting $2.13 billion for the quarter.
“I am pleased with our team’s ability to execute and manage our business well through a deflationary and challenging retail environment,” shared Steven L. Spinner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer upon the release of the report. “Over the past few months, we have worked diligently and made progress against our strategic initiatives, such as driving greater efficiencies across our internal operations, integrating our acquisitions, and having our united sales team sell across all of UNFI’s brands.”
As explained in a company press release, these net sales increases were in no small part due to several of the company’s recent acquisitions, including Nor-Cal Produce, Gourmet Guru, Haddon House Food Products, and Global Organic/Specialty Source. While net sales were up, the acquisitions were not a big enough driver to pull the company out of a deficit. Net income for the third quarter decreased 4.4% to $36.6 million, down from $38.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2016.
In addition to the notes above, UNFI also revealed the following highlights in its report:
- Gross margin increased 34 basis points to 15.46% compared to the same period last fiscal year
- Earnings per diluted common share was $0.72; Adjusted earnings per diluted common share was $0.77
- Cash flow from operations was $66.2 million and capital expenditures were $17.3 million, resulting in free cash flow of $48.9 million
- Completed the integration of Haddon House Food Products into UNFI’s distribution business
Looking for more financial news from our industries movers and shakers? Stay tuned as the news keeps rolling in.
CALIFORNIA - After coming out of a major drought via a remarkably wet winter, California water management is top of mind for the fresh produce industry. Looking to address the issue, major water agencies are working with California Governor Jerry Brown to take additional responsibility in order to close a $15.7 billion delta tunnel deal, named WaterFix, according to the Associated Press.
Initially proposed in 1982, and revisited numerous times in the decades since, the WaterFix plan seeks to modernize the 50-year-old water conveyance system throughout the state, but has moved slowly due to environmental concerns.
According to the source, two insiders speaking on condition of anonymity have shared that there are discussions of the state taking a step back and allowing a group of regional California water agencies consisting of the largest urban and agricultural water suppliers in the United States, coming together to work as a joint-powers authority, to assist with designing, building, and arranging financing for the project in order to speed up the process.
“Details have not been finalized, but our shared goal is a structure that assures the best design and construction talent and protects state oversight,” Nancy Vogel, State Spokeswoman, told the Associated Press.
The mega-project involves siphoning water from the northern river and shipping water south, serving as a safeguard in case the delta levees fall. The plan as it stands calls for 35 miles of two 40-foot-high underground tunnels. For more on the details of the plan, visit CaliforniaWaterFix.com
Will this proposal pass? Follow along with AndNowUKnow as we continue to report.
PHARR, TX - It’s a big day for California-based avocado distributor Index Fresh. Today, June 6th, marks the ground breaking for its new 60,000-square-foot packing and ripening facility in Pharr, Texas, with plans to finish before the year is through.
“I’m excited about the operational possibilities,” shared President and CEO, Dana Thomas. “This will allow us to more effectively use our California and Texas facilities in a complementary fashion. When our California facility is at full ripening capacity, we can ripen out of Texas, and vice-versa. It is a great opportunity to provide even better service to our customers.”
According to a press release, the new operation will provide a 300-pallet cold storage ripening facility once fully equipped, allowing the company to better serve its customers by efficiently providing ripe avocados to an even larger area of the country. In addition to state-of-the art ripening capabilities, the eight-acre Pharr facility will house nine truck offices for both operational and sales staff, as well as giving Index Fresh increased flexibility for both pack styles and re-packaging.
The move is part of a greater expansion for produce in the city of Pharr. Index Fresh will be the first occupant in the Pharr Produce Park, approximately one-quarter mile from the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. Thomas added, “We’re hopeful that we will be followed by other facilities, and that [Pharr] will become a destination for produce trucks.”
Prior to choosing a location for the new facility, which will initially create 15 permanent jobs in the city, Index Fresh conducted a number of economic and transportation studies to see if Pharr was an appropriate site to occupy. Before choosing Pharr, Index Fresh also looked to Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas, the company said.
“We also asked our customers where they would prefer us to have a facility, and they responded overwhelmingly that, right here—at the foot of the Pharr Bridge, where the majority of produce crosses into the United States—was where Index Fresh should be,” continued Thomas.
California-based Index Fresh distributes premium avocados from seven states across the country. Pharr will be its first facility in Texas.
Congratulations to Index Fresh on this exciting move, and happy ground breaking!
LIMA, PERU - This week started with a rattle for growers and residents of northern Peru, as Monday brought a strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake to the country. According to the Peruvian Geophysical Institute, the quake struck east of the city of Mancora at a depth of 18 kilometers (around 11 miles).
While this part of Peru is not heavily populated, source Temblor reported that shaking was felt in the city of Guayaquil, which is home to 3.5 million people. According to the U.S Geological Survey, shaking was mainly reported close to the epicenter and in Guayaquil, and that damage and fatalities are likely to be kept at a minimum.
While Peru sits on the so-called Ring of Fire, an earthquake-prone zone across the Pacific, the country’s last major earthquake was a decade ago, when a 2007 quake hit a magnitude of 7.9.
According to our grower sources, July is usually the kick off of peak season for both avocados and asparagus in Peru. The country also contains an active summer mandarin and citrus growing region. We have yet to receive word that growing, harvesting, or transportation will be affected by the quake, but our ears are to the ground for any updates to this story.
MILWAUKEE, WI - With massive shifts across the retail grocery market, Kroger is the latest to make strategic moves. Since May, the company has quietly closed six Pick 'n Save banners, operating under its Roundy’s subsidiary, which Kroger closed a deal to acquire in 2015.
The company cited streamlining its operations as a driving reason behind the decisions to shutter the six Pick 'n Save locations, according to source Milwaukee Business News.
“Our company policy is not to comment on any strategic actions that may occur in the normal course of operations,” said James Hyland, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc, according to the source.
The impacted stores are located at:
- New Berlin Sunnyslope store at 13995 W. National Ave
- Pewaukee store at 601 Ryan St.
- Shawano store at 190 Woodlawn Dr.
- Milwaukee store in Timmerman Plaza at 10202 West Silver Spring Dr
- Kenosha Uptown Brass Pick ‘n Save store at 1901 63rd St
- Sheboygan South Pick ‘n Save store at 2625 S. Business Drive
Late last year, the organization announced it would be making a $50 million investment in upgrading and remodeling the banner.
“We’ll spend well over $50 million starting to remodel the stores in Milwaukee in 2017,” said Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen, in an article published by local news source the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. “We’ll continue to expand the Metro Market concept as well.”
How will these strategic shifts continue to impact the produce industry? Follow along with AndNowUKnow as we continue to report.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - Since its inception a little over a year ago, Sun World Innovations, the technology and licensing arm of Sun World International LLC, has been making headlines, steadily acquiring new licensees, expanding the scope, and improving the function of its operations across the globe.
We tapped David Marguleas, President of Sun World Innovations, to see what makes the division so successful and such an integral part of Sun World’s operation.
“Over the course of the last 20 years, we’ve gone from having about 5,000 acres of Sun World varieties in production in California to having roughly six times that over the course of the last decade,” David notes. “Sun World grape and stonefruit varieties now sit on about 30,000 acres around the world.”
Sun World Innovation was established in December of 2015 with four key pillars, including:
- Fruit variety development
- Licensing
- International grape development and investment to ensure more reliable year-round supply
- Nurturing new ag technologies
“We have identified several opportunities in various southern hemisphere regions that excite us and that would enable us to meaningfully extend our supply capabilities,” David notes. “And, we’ve spent the past year assessing several new agricultural technologies on our own farms and elsewhere that we believe could have an important impact on our business.”
David notes that while market conditions have been amenable to growth in many of the company’s licensing regions, Sun World’s growth may be traced to the company’s proprietary varieties—their extraordinary consumer appeal and interest, “It all starts with the shopper and their desire for more flavorful fruit.”
“Our variety development efforts focus largely on fruit breeding and more specifically on developing better tasting, more productive varieties of seedless grapes as well as peaches, plums, nectarines, and apricots,” David explains.
The company’s process is, in a sense, as simple as supply and demand; provide delicious proprietary fruit to drive consumer demand, acquire licensees to meet burgeoning demand, and nurture new technologies, fruit varieties, and business relationships that best facilitate the company’s global operations.
David adds, “Many times retailers will encourage their producer-suppliers to plant our varieties to ensure they have reliable access to fruit supplies.”
And with 60 licensed marketers throughout the world, including from Sun World’s own California vineyards, retailers have plenty of companies from which to source Sun World stonefruit and grapes year-round.
For more on this and other exceptional produce companies, check in with us at AndNowUKnow.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Consumer demand for organic produce is growing at a record rate, threatening to outpace supply, and leaving retailers nationwide struggling to keep their shelves stocked with ample offerings of organic SKUs year-round. But 4Earth Farms, a leading Southern California supplier of conventional, specialty, and organic produce, is taking the organic supply challenge head-on, with a burgeoning year-round organic program.
“4Earth Farms is uniquely qualified to tackle the year-round supply challenge,” said Mark Munger, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “4Earth Farms was built on foodservice and retail program businesses that demands consistent supply and pricing. We have taken our program experience and methodology and applied it with great success to our Organics division, providing our customers with a consistently high year-round fill rate.”
Through research and development, testing, and its network of worldwide strategic partnerships, 4Earth Farms is offering more organic SKUs year-round than have ever been available before.
“Every month we are adding new items to our ‘year-round’ organic list,” added Dave Hewitt, Director of Sales. “We just added year-round organic Brussels Sprouts, which brings our year-round organic offerings to over 40 SKUs in the 4Earth Farms label!”
In addition to Brussels sprouts, the company has recently added sweet peppers and kiwifruit, with more offerings in the works. For grower/shippers like 4Earth Farms, expanding and extending the season for any organic program is a complicated undertaking. The process requires acquiring or reallocating certified organic land, testing ideal seed varieties to meet retailer specifications, and choosing the right climate to reduce bug and environmental pressures on organic crops.
Besides 40 organic SKUs produced under the 4Earth Farms label, the company also offers an additional 60 organic SKUs under other grower labels, over 150 conventional SKUs, and more than 100 specialty produce items—as well as providing value added services, private label packing, and logistics.
AndNowUKnow will continue to report as the company expands its product line and brings more year-round organic offerings to retailers and foodservice customers.