WATSONVILLE, CA - The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) for 2015-2020 have been released, and they have a lot of produce companies smiling. The 2015-2020 DGA supports the adoption of healthy dietary patterns that are plant and grain focused, citing vitamin D, potassium, and dietary fiber as under-consumed nutrients—all which can be found in mushrooms! Companies like Monterey Mushrooms will help consumers incorporate these nutrients into their diets to meet the guidelines, the mushroom provider says.
“For us, this means more mushroom consumption across America and what better way to promote mushrooms than through their health benefits,” said Mike O’Brien, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “People are changing their diets for health reasons and that’s where mushrooms come in.”
Mushrooms respond to UV light in the same way humans and other animals convert a form of cholesterol into vitamin D, according to a press release. Monterey Mushrooms says that by exposing mushrooms to UV-B light for a short period of time, it assists the mushroom in producing precise levels of vitamin D in a natural way. As a result, mushrooms can provide 100% of the recommended value of vitamin D. Mushrooms are the only source of vitamin D in the produce aisle, the company says, and one of very few non-fortified food sources.
“We are excited about the opportunity to play an even bigger role in helping people achieve a healthy diet,” said John Kidder, Monterey Mushroom’s Vice President of Product Development. “What makes Monterey Mushrooms unique is that we’re the only commercial grower/packer/shipper who offers a full line of mushrooms high in vitamin D. Years ago we worked with the USDA to replicate what happens in nature when mushrooms growing in the wild are exposed to sunlight.”
O’Brien offered one easy way to incorporate mushrooms in your menu—blending them. Mushrooms and ground meat blend seamlessly to add an extra serving of vegetables to the plate and extend your portion size, providing a simple way to keep off the pounds.
GLENVILLE, GA - Bland Farms has appointed Jeff Bailey as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer, rising from his former position as the company’s Chief Legal Counsel and Director of Administration. Also just announced, Troy Bland has filled Bland Farms’ newly created position, Chief Operating Officer, having previously held the title of Director of Operations.
“We’re very excited about the fact we have Jeff coming over as CEO. With all his experience in the produce industry he will easily fit with what we’re trying to do here," Delbert Bland, President and Owner of Bland Farms tells me. "Jeff and Troy will be working hand-in-hand in their new positions, with Troy handling the operations and packing, and Jeff running the day to day of the company as CEO.”
Bailey has worked in various legal positions throughout his over two decade career, including a tenure of over 12 years as Associate General Counsel for Del Monte Fresh Produce, according to his LinkedIn profile. Most recently, his profile says that he was employed with law firm Ring Bender McKown & Castillo LLLP, where he advised companies on a broad range of corporate day-to-day legal matters, including commercial transactions, employment and labor related issues, corporate immigration matters, corporate compliance, and mergers & acquisitions.
“Our business has been expanding and growing, with the sweet potatoes being a huge plus for us. Sweet potatoes also continue to be successful,” Delbert added. “Whether its potatoes or onions, you know it’s going to be sweet if it’s from Bland Farms.”
The company says these new moves represent an organizational transition mapped out by Delbert Bland and Bryce Edmonson, Bland Farms’ previous CEO. Troy Bland’s promotion to COO sees a third generation of the Bland Family take on an executive level role at the company, started by his grandfather Raymond Bland more than thirty years ago, according to a press release. Edmonson remains with Bland Farms and will serve as Senior Vice President of Business Development, while Delbert Bland will continue in his current role as Owner and President.
LOS ANGELES, CA - It’s no secret that Californians have been doing rain dances and practicing drastic measures to preserve water for quite some time, like pouring a bunch of plastic balls into a reservoir to outsmart evaporation. If you happened to be in parched Southern California as water falls from the sky, however, you wouldn’t know that it was in answer to an entire community’s prayers.
You’d think natural forces of apocalyptic proportions were occurring.
BuzzFeed, a popular online social news and entertainment output, has put together a two-minute video of what happens to a typical L.A. office when a rain cloud passes over, and it may have looked a little familiar.
Still think this is an exaggeration? Even here at the offices of AndNowUKnow in Northern California, where precipitation isn’t quite as scarce, work has been known to pause as everyone stares in awe at water coming from the heavens. Yet we also understand there will be inevitable traffic and tension in the air at the possibility of lightning strikes or eardrum-shattering thunder.
The L.A. Times, too, saw a need for a public service announcement to help citizens during much-needed winter storms with this constructive video on how we should drive in the rain (Californians tend to forget such practices when the roads get wet.)
But while Californians may lose their heads during such occurrences we are assured are natural, at the end of the day we are grateful for the helping hand Mother Nature is lending us during a very serious drought.
This week has seen a series of storms throughout the state, with Fox News reporting stalls on the road, schools closed, and toppled trees. But more inches of water are needed before the West Coast is in the clear.
With more storms anticipated as the El Niño pattern continues to push towards its peak, check in with AndNowUKnow as we continue to practice how to function in the rain, because we could certainly use it.
WEST SACRAMENTO, CA – Raley’s is welcoming 20-year retail veteran Deirdre Zimmermann as its new Senior Vice President of Marketing.
Zimmermann will be responsible for leading the advertising, marketing, and external communications teams to further the company’s commitment to promoting health and wellness among consumers.
Prior to joining Raley’s, Zimmermann served as the Vice President of Marketing for various specialty retailers, including Brookstone and most recently White House Black Market, according to a press release.
“I believe a comprehensive customer-centric approach is imperative for acquisition and retention,” Zimmermann said. “Raley’s has a strong brand in California and Nevada and I am excited to bring my marketing expertise to the grocery industry.”
Raley’s COO Keith Knopf was also excited to bring Zimmermann into the Raley’s fold. In a statement, he said, “Deirdre’s extensive retail experience and unique perspective will ensure Raley’s is an even more customer centric organization focused on offering healthier choices for our customers at an affordable price.”
Deirdre enjoys spending time with her husband of nearly 20 years, and their son. She is an avid sports enthusiast who enjoys running, yoga, and swimming.
CAMARILLO, CA - Kevin Doran, COO of Houweling’s, has now been appointed in the additional role as the new of President for the company.
“I firmly believed when joining Houweling’s last year, that we had a strong foundation to build on in achieving our objective to elevate the company’s retail partnerships, by becoming a supplier of choice, in addition to maintaining our status as a world class grower.” Doran said in regards to his new appointment, according to a press release.
He joined the team in late 2014, and has since been instrumental in the company’s transition to becoming a vertically integrated grower and direct-to-market business. “I am proud of what our team has accomplished since I joined the business and thankful for the opportunity to continue to lead, empower our management group, and position the business for continued success.”
CEO and Corporate Grower Casey Houweling said that Doran’s marked impact, combined with his background as Managing Director of Greenery UK Ltd and a number of other The Greenery BV business units in Europe, made him the right person to take the reigns.
“In reviewing how to best position the business for generational success, the path was clear,” Houweling commented, adding that this also enables him to focus on areas of the business he is most passionate about; the growing and continued development and adoption of innovative, sustainable technologies.
The company has a number of operations in different states, including:
- Delta, BC
- Camarillo, CA
- Mona, UT
- Loveland, CO
With over 200 acres of greenhouse farms, Houweling’s Group is an industry leading greenhouse vegetable grower, as well as propagator and marketer, growing fresh tomatoes and cucumbers sustainably.
LOS ALAMITOS, CA – Fear No Fruit, the biographical documentary that walks the viewer through the success story of Frieda’s Specialty Produce Founder Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, continues to spread critical thought and awareness in the fresh produce and greater food industries.
This time, the documentary was a topic of discussion for James Beard Foundation’s 2014 Publication of the Year Civil Eats’ article How One Woman Changed the Supermarket Produce Section Forever.
“At the time I was working on a story about the future of the supermarket, and it seemed like such a coincidence to find this film,” wrote Civil Eats Journalist Larissa Zimberoff. “While watching it, I kept thinking what a cool woman Frieda was and that I wanted to share her story.”
According to a press release, Zimberoff was on a flight from France to New York when she picked documentary Fear No Fruit from the United Airlines in-flight entertainment selection and became impressed by the story.
“The film was incredibly engaging from start to finish, and it was inspiring to learn about the strong, family-run, and female-led company,” Zimberoff, who connected with the Caplans within hours of having viewed the documentary, said.
She added that it was not just the story of Dr. Caplan’s entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude that she found inspirational, but also the behind-the-scenes look the film gave into the produce industry itself.
“Today, the produce section is the most profitable part of the supermarket; in 2014, sales in fruits and vegetables amounted to approximately $7.34 billion,” the Civil Eats piece states. “The extraordinary selection found in the bins today is due, in part, to Caplan, who is credited with introducing the U.S. market to more than 200 fruits and vegetables—everything from fiddleheads to jicama and finger limes.”
The film, while based on and centered around Dr. Caplan’s lifetime achievements in the produce industry, features a number of key members like Rick and Tonya Antle of Tanimura & Antle.
Fear No Fruit will be available on DVD next week, January 12, through Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, BestBuy.com, and KinoLorber.com, and as a Netflix DVD rental. Streaming and digital download will also be available via the following mediums:
- iTunes
- HuluPlus
- Google Play
- Amazon Instant Video
- Xbox Video
- Vudu
- Vimeo on Demand
You can find out more about this film and this influential chapter in produce history by visiting FearNoFruit.com.
BOSTON, MA - When your money maker is your body, you don’t mess around with anything less than the best. That's why when superstar model Gisele Bundchen and her NFL husband Tom Brady pick out their menus they won't settle for anything but an 80 percent vegetable-based diet, according to their personal chef Allen Campbell.
Allen Campbell recently sat down with Boston.com to dish all the details about the diet that helps shape two of the world’s most beautiful bodies. The secret? Plants, plants, and more plants.
“Around the time I met them, I had started really focusing on plant-based diets, because that’s where all the nutrition is,” Campbell told the online magazine. “My philosophy is that a plant-based diet has the power to reverse and prevent disease.”
Both Bundchen and Brady eat plant-based diets with the remaining 20 percent allotment going to whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet, beans, and lean meats like grass-fed organic steak, duck, chicken (rarely), and wild salmon, Campbell says.
“It’s very different than a traditional American diet. But if you just eat sugar and carbs—which a lot of people do—your body is so acidic, and that causes disease,” Campbell continued. “Sugar is the death of people.”
Sugar isn’t the only product banned from the couple’s diets either, the chef says. It seems like he’s eliminated all processed goods from entering the temple of Gisele and Tom.
“No white flour,” he proclaims. “No MSG. I’ll use raw olive oil, but I never cook with olive oil. I only cook with coconut oil. Fats like canola oil turn into trans fats... I use Himalayan pink salt as the sodium. I never use iodized salt.”
What else? No dairy. No coffee. No caffeine at all.
Don’t get me wrong readers, I love a great vegetable-based meal, I’m even a frequent participator of Meatless-Mondays. But keep me away from cheese and caffeine for too long and I will be too miserable to enjoy my new Gisele Bundchen-esque bod.
All the more power to you, though, Tom and Gisele!
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Supervalu filed documents with regulators on Thursday further detailing its plan to potentially spin-off its Save-A-Lot business into a publicly traded company.
According to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Supervalu shareholders would own approximately 80% of the newly separated company. At this time, however, it is unclear whether the spin-off will actually occur or if there will be any other changes in the company’s overall operations.
“We believe that separating Save-A-Lot from Supervalu so that it can operate as an independent, publicly traded company is in the best interests of both Supervalu and Save-A-Lot,” said Supervalu President and CEO Sam Duncan.
It was only last summer when Duncan initially brought up the possibility of splitting the Save-A-Lot business, believing that such a move would allow the retailer to better focus on its own operations.
“We believe Supervalu will be able to focus on providing wholesale distribution services to independent retail customers and operating its five regionally based traditional-format grocery banners. Save-A-Lot will continue to be a leader in hard discount grocery retailing in the United States,” Duncan continued.
As we previously reported, however, there were rumors that the company could also be considering selling Save-A-Lot in its entirety. Several private equity firms were reportedly interested in the banner, but no further details have been shared.
Eric Claus, the recently appointed Save-A-Lot CEO, told shareholders that he believes Save-A-Lot could more effectively focus on its growth and operating objectives and specific businesses characteristics as an independent, publicly traded company.
As of September 12, Save-A-Lot operated 441 retail locations and provides wholesale distribution to 901 stores that are operated by licensees under the Save-A-Lot banner.
If the move is given the green light, shares would be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Each Supervalu shareholder would receive one share of Save-A-Lot common stock for every share of Supervalu common stock held by such stockholder on the record date. There was no indication of share price, however.
Save-A-Lot said in the filing that it plans to continue growing its footprint through the opening of both corporate and licensed stores.
“We believe the United States can support more than 3,500 Save-A-Lot stores under our existing store concept and layout. We expect this total number of potential stores could expand over time as the Save-A-Lot concept evolves. We plan to open approximately 90 stores per year in fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2017, and to maintain mid-to-high single digit rates of annual new store growth in future years,” the company said.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to follow any further updates.
ORLANDO, FL - Do you know somebody who has what it takes to be a leader in the mango industry? The National Mango Board (NMB) is encouraging industry members to participate in the upcoming nominations process to become a board member and shape the future direction of the NMB programs in upcoming years.
The NMB is made up of mango importers, a first handler, domestic producers, and foreign producers who dedicate themselves to the mission of the NMB, all in the name of increasing consumption of fresh mangos in the U.S. through innovative research and promotional activities. The NMB says that new board members will work closely with staff to carryout marketing, research, and communications programs to benefit the mango industry.
The NMB is currently seeking nominations for six board member positions to serve a three-year term beginning January 2017, according to a press release. Positions currently open on the board are two importers in District III, one importer in District IV, and three foreign producers. Candidates must meet certain requirements to be eligible and be willing to serve the mango industry by fulfilling board member roles and responsibilities.
The deadline for nominations to be received at the NMB office is February 23, 2016.
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture will make all final appointments to the board from a final slate of nominees. For each importer, domestic producer, and first handler positions, two nominees will be forwarded to the Secretary of Agriculture. To narrow the selection from many nominees to the two required for submission, mango industry members in that district will vote to select the two nominees per position from which the Secretary of Agriculture will choose.
Nominations to fill two foreign producer seats will be submitted by mango foreign producing organizations or themselves. All nominations for these positions will be forwarded to the Secretary of Agriculture for a final decision on the appointments.
Industry members who are interested in serving as a member of the NMB should visit mango.org/nominations for complete details, updates, and the necessary forms. Questions about the nominations and appointment process can be directed to Anna Deschamps-Polonia at [email protected] or by phone at 407-629-7318 x112.
OXNARD, CA - Freska has its consumers thinking about more than mangos. The company is diving into the avocado market head first, ready to kick its operations into high gear for the demand surrounding the fast-approaching Super Bowl 50.
“With our strong leadership position in the mango category, we see tremendous synergy opportunities with our year round Hass Avocado program for our customers,” Hector Soltero, Avocado Sales Manager, tells me. “Freska has always been focused on excellent service and product innovation, helping our customers to continue growing their business.”
And the room for growth in the coming weeks is immense, as Hector explains that American consumers are expected to eat 278 million individual avocados leading up to the Big Game - up 13% from last year’s numbers.
“We expect both volume and quality to be in perfect position to take advantage of the amazing avocado demand that leads up to the Super Bowl,” Hector says. Currently Freska is importing Mexican Hass Avocados packed under the Freska Label, providing weekly arrivals to its Forward Distribution Centers in McAllen, Texas and Nogales, Arizona. “Our weekly production is focused on our retail and wholesale customer demands for Hass Avocados.”
And though there is a definite spike in demand in light of the weekend football parties, Hector says that the company is seeing interest in Hass Avocados for more than just the Super Bowl. “We have seen that Hass Avocados are no longer popular just during Super Bowl Sunday parties, now we have data that points towards what has become a month long celebration and excitement for Hass Avocados.”
He added that much of this excitement is driven by the wonderful nutritional messaging, with consumers now placing Hass Avocados at the top of the list for a “Super Food for the Super Bowl.”
As we previously reported, the company recently added to its avocado reach by acquiring Harvest Time Produce in Oceanside, California. Hector shared that Freska will soon begin harvesting and shipping out of that newly-purchased facility. “Expanding our footprint with California Hass Avocado production allows us to provide year-round service for our customers in a variety of packs and grades throughout the year.”
Overall, Freska is excited to be providing fruit perfectly ripe and ready for those hungry football appetites, offering ideal maturity and flavor to this annual American tradition.