YAKIMA, WA – Suzanne Wolter, the former Director of Marketing for Rainier Fruit, has announced the foundation of FreshFit Solutions, a new business venture designed to assist the produce industry with sales, marketing, and strategic planning goals.
Wolter was inspired to establish FreshFit Solutions after her colleagues had encouraged her to utilize her sales and marketing expertise to assist other producers, receivers, and industry suppliers.
Over the past two decades, Wolter has helped various produce companies significantly increase their brand recognition and execute various successful go-to market strategies.
Doug Pauly, Northern Fruit’s General Manager, said in a press release that Wolter’s industry experience adds “perspective and expertise” the company doesn’t have internally. That experience, he said, is “invaluable in evaluating Northern’s current marketing program and generating ideas for new directions.”
“As a competitor, we admired Suzanne’s marketing leadership at Rainier over the past decade,” he said. “Suzanne also serves as a valuable mentor for newer members of our sales team.”
Wilcox Fresh CEO Jim Richter echoed this sentiment, saying the Wolter has a “proven track record of innovation, leadership, and results.”
“She has the unique perspective from working at top companies that will help you differentiate your business from the competition,” said Richter.
Wolter will continue her volunteer association with the US Apple Association, fulfilling the role of Education Committee Chair. She will attend the PMA Fresh Summit expo in October and looks forward to reconnecting with industry friends and colleagues.
PELION, SC – WP Rawl welcomed Disney Channel to its headquarters this past summer to film a segment for the Emmy award-winning series, “Make Your Mark,” featuring Katie Stagliano, Founder of Katie’s Krops.
Joined by her fellow young gardeners, Stagliano gave Disney Channel a brief insider’s look into her inspiration behind Katie’s Krops Camp and her desire to feed the underserved. You can see the 90 second segment below.
Ashley Rawl, Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Product Development, said that the company thoroughly enjoyed hosting Disney Channel at this year's camp and that he looks forward to seeing "Make Your Mark" come to life.
“Over the past three years, we have had the pleasure of hosting over 40 Katie’s Krops growers. Katie is just as much an inspiration to these growers as she is to us and we feel so proud to be able to support her,” Rawl added.
As Stagliano explains in the segment, she got her start in produce in 2008 by growing a 40 pound cabbage in her backyard, which she later donated to a soup kitchen. That cabbage ultimately helped feed 275 people. That experience helped shape the foundation of Katie’s Krops, which currently funds 83 youth-run gardens in 30 states from which the fresh harvest is donated to the underserved, according to a press release.
The segment began airing Friday, September 25 on Disney Channel.
VANCOUVER, BC - Following Canada’s opening up to the Andean-grown market blues, Peruvian grower-exporter Camposol became the first to provide the country with Peruvian blueberries.
The milestone took place last week, according to the company, having dispatched on September 22 to Western Canada.
“We are proud to be the first exporters of Peruvian blueberries to Canada,” Javier Morales, Camposol’s General Manager for fruits and vegetables, said in a press release. “This achievement, which is not only Camposol’s—but indeed our entire country’s—is extremely gratifying.”
The shipment, which originated in Chao, Peru, was attended by National Service of Agrarian Sanitation (Senasa) authorities. Both Camposol and its marketing partner The Oppenheimer Group attended the marked occasion, stating that they are enthusiastic about the opportunity it represents.
“It’s an honor to be part of this achievement,” John Anderson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oppy, said in the release. “As one of Canada’s oldest companies, we appreciate the significance of historic moments like this one can have on growers, retailers, and families throughout the supply chain. We are glad our partner Camposol was able to serve the market so readily with high quality berries, and are looking forward to the successful future of this program.”
Morales added that the future for Peruvian blueberries is very bright, with the anticipation of having 3,000 acres in production by 2018. ”Camposol is prepared for this great challenge, which means an increase in job opportunities and a better quality of life for as many as 10,000 Peruvian people.”
Oppy markets in season blueberries grown in several different countries, including Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, and now Peru.
ISSAQUAH, WA - Costco has announced its financial results for its fourth quarter 2015 and fiscal year 2015, showing better-than-estimated earnings and increased membership sales.
The company also announced that it will further emphasize fresh produce and organics, providing more of its walk-in cooler spaces. When asked about Costco’s proposed remodels, SVP and CFO for the company, Richard Galanti, explained, “At just our Costco across the street we’ve added 10 to 15 thousand feet and greatly expanded the walk-in coolers for produce and dairy. When you’re doing $300 million in some of these units, you can really drive incremental and good sales by expanding and adding refrigeration and fresh foods.”
Galanti also added that organics will also be a piece of that expansion.
Net income for Q4 rose 10 percent to $767 million, or $1.73 a share, the company’s report said Tuesday, while analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters projected a profit of only $1.66 a share on revenue of $36.21 billion. Costco’s sales rose 1 percent to $35 billion, helped by a 2.2 percent gain in membership fees.
The company has 686 membership warehouses around the world and boasts a loyal membership with a renewal rate of about 91% in the U.S. and Canada and about 87% worldwide as of 2014, according to a regulatory filing. The company said it plans to open up 12 additional warehouses (including one relocation) before the end of calendar-year 2015.
Other highlights from the report include:
- Net income for FY2015 was $2.38 billion, or $5.37 per diluted share, compared to $2.06 billion, or $4.65 per diluted share in FY2014.
- Net sales for Q4 were $34.99 billion, an increase of one percent from $34.75 billion in fiscal 2014.
- Net sales for FY2015 were $113.67 billion, an increase of three percent from $110.21 billion last year.
Keep following AndNowUKnow for more industry financial news.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - After almost a decade leading Meijer Inc., President James Kevin "J.K." Symancyk has decided to resign.
MiBiz reports that the longtime executive, who worked a variety of leadership positions with Meijer before ultimately taking the up the post as President three years ago, has been with the company since 2006.
Symnacyk is reportedly moving on from both Meijer and the produce industry, having accepted a position with academy sports and outdoors company Academy, Ltd. as its new President and CEO.
"The future for Academy Sports + Outdoors is truly limitless, and I'm eager to ensure we continue offering customers convenience, a broad selection of quality products and exceptional customer service as we strive to remain the low price leader in our category," Symancyk said in a statement, according to an MLive report.
“While we will miss working with J.K., we are very grateful for the nine years that he gave us his talent and leadership, during which the Meijer team has produced record sales and profit, as well as increased market share,” a spokesperson for Meijer wrote in an email to MiBiz. “We wish J.K. and his family all the best as he takes on this new challenge.”
Meijer has pursued a $750 million expansion plan into Wisconsin with Symancyk at the helm, and while the company has not yet released any candidates to succeed him it stated it will continue to focus on furthering its growth.
“In the near future, we will be sharing more information about our path forward,” Frank Guglielmi, Spokesman for Meijer, wrote, according to MiBiz. “We have a great senior team and we know our continued focus on serving our customers will allow us to continue to grow and prosper.”
Symancyk's last day with the retailer is October 9th. AndNowUKnow will continue to report on this story as more details develop.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - Sun World International, LLC and Executive Vice President David Marguleas announced the company will be expanding its proprietary stonefruit line by adding six more companies as licensees, creating greater availability and distribution reach for products like BLACK DIAMOND®, HONEYCOT®, SUPER STAR®, and BLACK GIANT®.
The newly appointed stonefruit licensees include two Australian marketers, three Israeli packer-marketers and a Chilean distributor, and will also now be able to market Sun World’s branded stonefruit that was mentioned above, Marguleas said.
The new licensees consist of six marketing companies:
- Servicios Chilfresh Ltda., is based in Chile’s Region VII in Curico, is owned and managed by Andre Luteijn. The company was founded in 1993 and specializes in Asian markets.
- W.A. Farm Direct, is a Perth-based horticultural marketing company owned and managed by John Mercer, his son Bradley Mercer, and daughter Jenny Mercer.
- Mercer Mooney, also based in Perth, has bee in business for 100 years. Headed by General Manager Paul Neale, the company has around 800 growers supplying a diverse range of fruit and vegetable lines.
- Ayelet Hashahar, a Kibbutz (collective community) in northern Israel, was established in 1915 and grows, packs and ships apples, pears, avocado, pomegranate, almonds and stonefruit. Its manager is Eyal Carmi.
- Rafkor, located in Rosh Pina in northern Israel, has been in business for 43 years and is managed by Gruner Benbenisti. It is privately owned by its grower members and packs and markets stonefruit, pears, citrus, pomegranates, and kiwifruit.
- Rani and Shai Barness, a third generation family grower-packer-marketer located at Moshav Bitzaron in south-central Israel that handles low-chill stonefruit as well as pomegranates, avocado and persimmons.
“These leading stonefruit companies, along with their producers, will ensure that supermarkets and consumers have even better access to our branded lines of proprietary fresh apricots, plums, peaches and nectarines,” Marguleas said, adding that the six new appointees join 19 existing Sun World stonefruit licensees operating in most major fruit growing regions of the world.
Sun World's fruit licensing program involves more than 1,500 producers and marketing companies, according to a press release, and operate in most of the world's major fruit-growing regions.
OXNARD, CA - Kale aficionados, rejoice! National Kale Day is just a week away, and to celebrate, San Miguel Produce is making it rain kale across California as part of its second annual “Give ‘em Kale” campaign.
San Miguel Produce is setting its sights high this year by giving away more than 12,000 bunches of free kale, a feat that would more than quadruple last year’s record. Last year, the company handed out 3,000 bunches of free kale in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties.
Check out the video recap below.
To help reach its goal, San Miguel has initiated a three-prong approach. First, the company partnered with Food 4 Less Los Angeles, Fresh & Easy Los Angeles, and Safeway San Francisco to give away kale at five participating locations from each retailer. Secondly, members of the Ventura County Farm to School Collaboration will be giving away kale to students and parents at local schools. And finally, building off their success last year, employees from San Miguel will hit the streets in the Ventura and Los Angeles Counties to once again hand out kale to morning consumers as well.
“I think we really brightened up everyone’s morning commute and had a lot of fun interacting face-to-face and on social media,” said Garrett Nishimori, Marketing Manager and Corporate Chef for San Miguel. “We are excited to build on last year’s events and are fortunate to have such great partners donate their time and effort to help us celebrate this grassroots movement for a healthier America.”
You can help spread word of the campaign by using the hashtag #NationalKaleDay and #KaleDay2015 and tag @cutncleangreens and @sanmiguelproduce on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
NORTH AMERICA - With blueberry growers wrapping up their North American production and getting ready for the transition into South America, now is an ideal time for retailers to lock in supplies during the transition. With local supplies in both the Pacific Northwest and Michigan winding down, a tightening market and higher pricing have been a notable side-effect of the transition.
Mario Flores, Director of Blueberry Product Management at Naturipe Farms tells me that production in Michigan is in its final two weeks of production, making it an excellent time for retailers to take advantage of late supplies to bridge the gap between Northern and Southern Hemisphere production.
“Before the South American season, Michigan Blueberries could make for a very good situation for retailers to bridge the gap between North American season and South American,” Mario says. “Demand has still been great despite the wind-down, and we’ve been seeing the high line of FOB pricing for blueberries even without strong promotions.”
The USDA reported blueberry prices on flats 12 6-oz cups with lids out of Michigan at $28.00 - $32.00, as of September 29, 2015.
Lori Hickey, Marketing Manager for HBF International, has also seen higher pricing during this transitional period, she tells me.
“We have for the most part finished up our Northwest season at this time and will be transiting to our Argentina program over the next few weeks,” Lori says. “As supply domestically has dropped off over the past few weeks the price has been going up. We will project seeing that continuing to be the case for the next few weeks as we wait on the weather challenges that have hit the Argentina growers.”
Lori explained to me that Argentinean blueberry production has been delayed due to rain and cooler weather, but should be running strong in about three weeks which will help prices stabilize once that fruit is ready for harvest and supply picks up.
Driscoll’s is also anticipating a stabilization of market prices in the next few weeks, John Johnston, Driscoll’s, Director of Blueberry Business tells me.
“We expect market prices to decline in October as supplies from both South America and Central Mexico increase. For now, demand continues to exceed supply and blueberry pricing is increasing due to rapidly declining supplies in the Pacific Northwest, as the season ended two weeks earlier than normal this year.”
John tells me that the initial quality of Driscoll’s fruit out of central Mexico, Peru, and Chile has been excellent, and the company anticipates strong supplies from late September through March from these regions.
For more on the upcoming blueberry season and what to expect out of South America, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
BELLINGHAM, WA - While many Haggen employees are struggling since the chain announced it is completely withdrawing from the Pacific Southwest Market, those that joined the retailer from Albertsons and Vons could see a measure of relief.
Santa Barbara Independent reports that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved Albertsons' application to rehire the employees that Haggen inherited when it first purchased 146 stores earlier this year. The ruling dissolves the antitrust restriction that would prohibit Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions from employing former workers until one year after the 2015 divestiture.
According to the report, pharmacy staff still cannot be re-hired by their former employer, however, the union representing Haggen’s employees, UFCW Local 770, said in a press release that it continues to work with the FTC on lifting the restriction completely.
As we previously reported, Haggen recently announced that it was working with Albertsons to achieve this goal on the behalf of its employees, despite a recent feud between the two chains involving a law action filed for over $40 million in inventory unpaid and and a counter action of $1 billion in damages.
Now the report confirms that the FTC’s ruling could benefit as many as 6,000 Haggen workers who would otherwise be unemployed if the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approves the chain’s large scale closure, or would have been in violation of their original contract with Haggen.
We will continue to update you on the chain’s movements, as well as all other influential retail news, as it develops.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Phoenix Produce Company, based in Chicago, Illinois, for failure to pay for produce.
According to a USDA press release, the company violated the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) when it failed to pay $987,843 to 17 sellers for 405 lots of produce. As a result, Phoenix Produce Company cannot operate in the produce industry until June 16, 2017, at which time it may reapply for a PACA license.
The company’s principals, Jason L. Cyscon and John A. Cyscon III, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee until June 16, 2016, according to the release, and then only with the posting of a USDA-approved surety bond.
In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 4,250 PACA claims involving more than $77 million. Its experts also assisted more than 7,000 callers with issues valued at approximately $110 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.