PALMETTO, FL – Sunripe Certified Brands is the latest company to receive certification by Eleven Rivers Growers for social responsibility and safe growing practices.

One of only three companies to receive the certification, Sunripe Certified Brands says that it chose Eleven Rivers over other desirable certifications due to the level of commitment required to maintain credential standards.

“We felt like Eleven Rivers Growers was the best certification because it was the only program that had consistent audits to ensure that companies maintain compliance with a rigorous set of expectations,” said CEO Jon Esformes in a press release.

Sunripe, also known as Vitanova Fresh Produce in Mexico, completed an initial entry audit for certification, and must now complete weekly audits to ensure high quality standards for safe practices and sustainable products.

“Anyone can study for a final exam, but we appreciate that Eleven Rivers Growers tests us weekly to validate our high standards of quality expectations on an ongoing basis,” continued Esformes.

Sunripe expects the long-term effects of the Eleven Rivers certification to measure the traceability of its products, and support the health and safety of its employees.

Find more news on industry standards, and safety and sustainability leaders at AndNowUKnow.

Sunripe Certified Brands Eleven Rivers Growers

ASHEVILLE, NC - Ingles Markets has announced that as of late last week, the company has added the role of CEO to the resume of long-time President, Jim Lanning. Having already served as President of the company for the past 13 years, the new title is in recognition of his value to the company, Ingles says. 

Jim Lanning began his career with Ingles at the age of 16 as a service clerk in 1975, continuing his employment by quickly being promoted to stock clerk, Grocery Manager, and then Assistant Manager. Later returning back to school to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Western Carolina University, Lanning continued to take on the challenge of managing larger stores and show results. In 1995, Lanning was promoted to District Manager, where he was responsible for the Northeast Georgia region, and, according to the Ingles website, proved successful in this role. In 2003, Robert Ingle selected Jim Lanning to serve as President of Ingles Markets.

“Jim has shown outstanding leadership qualities as President for the past 13 years. I am proud at this time to expand his role for the Company’s future growth, flexibility and development,” said Chairman of the Board Robert P. Ingle, II, in a statement.

Lanning will continue to work with and report to Ingle, who will both retain the title of Chairman and continue his day-to-day active operational role in the executive leadership of the company.

Ingles Markets

NORTH AMERICA - Spring is here and as we move into the warmer months, the demand for flavor-packed fruit continues to grow. With the spring holidays underway and Mother’s Day on the horizon, growers are reporting ideal opportunities for promotional programs and adding a splash of color to produce departments.

Jim Grabowski, Well•Pict Berries’ Director of Marketing, tells me that the company has been experiencing a surge in strawberry production in recent weeks, which is a big change from earlier in the year.

“Supplies were quite tight in the beginning of the season due to weather issues, but have increased in the last few weeks. Right now we have heavy production in Oxnard and Southern California fields along with increasing production out of Santa Maria,” Jim says. “Well•Pict’s proprietary varieties are experiencing excellent flavor and quality. Berry size is running large with full red color and good shaping.”

Moving forward, Well•Pict expects demand to increase to match supply as some of the Midwestern and Eastern markets’ weather warms. Well•Pict Berries produces year-round strawberries, as well as seasonal raspberries, through the natural process of cross-pollination with non-GMO proprietary varieties, and is gearing up for the spring promotion season.

With Florida strawberries wrapping up at the end of the month for some companies, Driscoll’s is looking to its operations in Central Mexico, as well as California’s Oxnard, Watsonville, and Salinas areas to fill orders for its retail partners.

“Its been a really good year so far for berries, and where we saw some soft markets in early March, the market seems to be rebounding nicely and we will have good, solid demand as we get further into spring,” Chase Renois, Director of Strawberries, tells me. 

Throughout March, Chase saw periodic rain throughout the company’s Northern California growing regions which has had more of an impact on Driscoll’s Watsonville and Salinas operations, than Oxnard.

“Weather has helped to temper volume and our program growth will be dependent on what weather California brings over the next couple months,” he adds. “As of now, the rains have really helped enhance the plant health and strength and created great quality strawberries with full flavor.”

Driscoll’s is anticipating good volumes through April and May, and supply to continue to pick up into June if the weather holds. 

“May is a great time of year for strawberries. With Mother’s day and peak volumes slated, the month is perfect for promoting a berry spread, front and center, at retail,” Chase says.

Driscoll’s offers its proprietary genetics to retail partners as the company continues to share its flavor-forward messaging and consistent quality and supply.

As the demand for berries as a healthy snacking item and household staple continues to grow, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for the latest updates.

Well•Pict Berries Driscoll's

MORELOS, MX - Central Mexico saw its Popocatepetl Volcano erupt early this morning, shooting ash more than a mile into the air and affecting a more than seven mile radius.

The volcano is 43 miles southeast of Mexico City, one of the region’s 14 active volcanos, and has not erupted since 2014 when ash and smoke caused chaos at local airports.

So far, besides officials warning locals to look out for falling debris and to breathe cautiously through moist towels, the Daily Mail reports that flights in and out of the nearest airport in Puebla are currently running on time.

Pilots, however, have been put on alert to fly with caution while in the area, with ash having been sent 6,500 feet in the air.

Officials have also put a seven-and-a-half mile cordon in place around the volcano itself to keep anyone from getting to close while it is active.

While the region is very active in agriculture, no reports have stated the volcanic activity should have any effect on the area’s crops.

Keep checking in with AndNowUKnow, however, as we continue to follow the situation and report on any further developments that could impact the produce industry.

SALINAS, CA - River Fresh Farms disclosed today the addition of veteran, Lisa Robyn, to lead its sales team.

“I’m excited to join the River Fresh Farms team to provide a flexible, responsive link between buyers and the year-round, fresh produce they are looking for,” said Lisa Robyn in a press release.

Robyn’s industry expertise comes from past positions in roles such as procurement and marketing manager, sales liaison, and product manager for a number of large-sized foodservice and retail distributors including Alpha Fresh Marketing and Danaco Solutions.

“I worked with Lisa for 15 years at a major fresh produce processor. She brings vast agricultural experience, in-depth knowledge of industry trends and a dedicated work ethic to our company,” announced company CEO, Vince Ballesteros.

Robyn brings over three decades of agricultural experience in Salinas Valley and Sacramento to River Fresh Farms. The company touts that Robyn’s specialties include produce forecast monitoring, industry relations, and consolidation of purchase and transportation for faster produce delivery.

“As River Fresh Farms continues to expand, she will ensure customers have access to a consistent year-round, single-source supply of quality produce,” continued Ballesteros.

River Fresh says it brought Robyn to the team to work directly with buyers, and remains confident in her ability to form strategic future partnerships in a continued effort to support company growth.

“With the distinct needs of each customer, our goal is to customize service and provide direct access to our dedicated family of domestic and international growers. We’re making it easy to get from field to market, faster,” said Robyn.

Find out more about grower-shipper River Fresh Farms at riverfreshfarms.com, and stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more industry news.

River Fresh Farms

GOODLETTSVILLE, TN - For Dollar General’s annual investor day on Thursday, the company announced a strategic plan for massive store growth in the coming years. Dollar General revealed that its plan is to open 900 new stores this year, and then another 1,000 in 2017. This would bring the discount retailer’s total all the way up to nearly 15,000 locations.

"Dollar General has a powerful strategic plan that enables us to drive both the top line and bottom line to deliver strong financial returns as outlined in our growth model over the long-term,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General's Chief Executive Officer in a press release, explaining that the company’s strong cash flow and an efficient capital structure, provides a compelling opportunity to invest for growth.

The success and growth of Dollar General stores, which typically are small enough to occupy a 7,400-square-foot space, may be part of the growing trend of small, discount retailers garnering increased market share. A prime example of this type of store gaining strength is Aldi and its recent expansion into the Southern California market.

These discount retailers have been particularly effective at gaining traction against retail giants like Walmart, which opened a rival 15,000-square-foot store concept, Walmart Express, in 2011. As we’ve previously reported, that plan had been less-than-successful, with the retail giant closing all 102 Wal-Mart Express stores in January.

Dollar General recently completed its 26th straight year of same-store sales increases. The company is targeting annual sales growth of 7% to 10%, with earnings per share growing 10% to 15%.

Dollar General

NORTHERN CA - Anyone living in Northern California can see the dramatic impact the season’s rains have had on the waterways. Even here in Sacramento the lake and river water levels appear drastically higher than they did this time last year, or even last month.

For the first time in what feels like years, I can see that the waterline has risen above the roots of the lowest trees along the Sacramento rivers. While this does not signal the drought's end and issue remains ever-looming, here in Northern California, we will take what we can get it.

Now reports have come in that, after years of pictures depicting little-to-no water, the region’s two largest reservoirs are now full enough that the state is looking to release water to maintain flood-control.

El Niño has delivered enough precipitation to Northern California in the form of both rain and snow that the Shasta reservoir has been releasing a significant amount of water over the last several days, according to the Sacramento Bee - the first flood-control releases in five years.

Right now, the Oroville reservoir is 83 percent full, 111 percent of this time of year’s average, while Shasta is at 86 percent, 110 percent of the average. Both are more than 30 percent higher than this time last year.

As someone who loves to snowboard and ski in the winter and float down the river in the summer this is wonderful news, but the state is still reportedly fighting the call for the agricultural industry to have more water access because California is still in a drought and the rainy season’s end is near.

Shane Hunt of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which runs Shasta, told the Sacramento Bee that Shasta’s releases are being dialed back due to the recent drier conditions.

The lake was releasing nearly 20,000 cubic feet per second earlier this week, according to the report, but volume is expected to fall to around 5,000 by next Monday, Hunt said.

“We become less ‘encroached’ every day just based on the calendar,” Hunt explained.

Even so, there is some hope for growers as the federal government’s Central Valley Project said last week that there is enough snowpack in the southern Sierra to deliver a 30 percent allocation to agricultural customers the Friant region of the San Joaquin Valley. An estimate for the year, however, has not yet been released.