BOULDER, CO - Natural food grocer Lucky’s Market has announced new stores in both Florida and Missouri will be opening this year.
First, in its second foray into the St. Louis area, Lucky’s Market has plans to open the 155 employee location this August 19th, with a “bacon cutting ceremony.”
This location in the Rock Hill shopping center was originally announced in 2013, but the opening was delayed while the shopping center's developer, Webster Groves-based Novus Development Co., sought a funding agreement with Rock Hill that includes a community improvement district.
Later this year, Lucky’s Market will open another 32,000 square-foot store in Coral Springs, South Florida, making it the first in the area.
"We are thrilled to open another store in Florida to help bring more affordable quality, local, organic and traditionally crafted foods to the Coral Springs area," Bo Sharon, who founded Lucky’s Market in 2003 with his wife, Trish told the South Florida Business Journal. "We look forward to being an integral part of the Coral Springs community.”
Lucky’s Market currently is a 13-unit grocer that sells local natural, organic and gluten-free foods. It has one Florida store already in business, and others in Kentucky, Iowa, Kentucky, Wyoming, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan and Colorado.
ATLANTA, GA - Seald Sweet has teamed up with Farm Star Living to create a full week of Farm-Fresh Lunchboxes just in time for back-to-school.
Each lunchbox the company has showcased includes both a vegetable and a sweet fruit that serves as dessert, like Seald Sweet’s fresh, juicy citrus, according to the company, offering a kid-friendly, nutritionally balanced lunch that helps build a strong immune system, brain and body.
“We have planned a full week of lunch boxes with ‘sweets’ that are quite nutritious, which is perfect for parents who are seeking some farm-fresh inspiration,” Mary Blackmon, Founder of Farm Star Living, said in a press release.
Oranges and mandarins offer a wide range of nutritional benefits, such as combatting fatigue, providing energy, yet still are refreshing and delicious. The high vitamin C helps fight colds and increases immunity, and Seald Sweet’s South African navel oranges and Mandarina’s™ exceptionally sweet, “easy-peeler” mandarins, included in the Farm Star Living lunch boxes, are seedless and simple for kids.
Mandarina’s™ mandarin varieties include varieties such as Murcotts and Clemengold® mandarins, a proprietary variety from some of the finest growing regions in South Africa. They are available through limited suppliers, such as Seald Sweet, in late August through October, just in time to help boost children’s brains after a fun summer.
OUTER SPACE - It may be a small bite for the crew members of Expedition 44, but it’s a pretty big leap for agriculture. Astronauts on the International Space Station are eating the first space-grown salad made from their "Outredgeous" red romaine lettuce, a product of NASA’s Veg-01 plant experiment.
"Microbiological food safety analysis looks very good on the first Veg-01 crop of romaine lettuce," Dr. Gioia Massa said in a NASA press release. Dr. Massa is the NASA Payload Scientist for Veggie at Kennedy, having both worked on the unit for certification in space and on the necessary steps to get approval for the produce to be eaten by the crew.
The process of this salad is a tentative one. The astronauts will clean the leafy greens with citric acid-based, food safe sanitizing wipes before eating anything, and are to only eat half of the crop harvested. The other half is to be set aside, packaged, and frozen on the station until it can be brought back to Earth for scientific analysis.
According to NASA, Veggie will be a resource for crew food growth and consumption as it moves toward long-duration exploration missions farther into the solar system. Veggie is also a good way to support astronauts psychologically as well as physically on their travels.
"There is evidence that supports fresh foods, such as tomatoes, blueberries and red lettuce are a good source of antioxidants,” Dr. Ray Wheeler, lead for Advanced Life Support activities in the Exploration Research and Technology Programs Office at Kennedy, said. “Having fresh food like these available in space could have a positive impact on people's moods and also could provide some protection against radiation in space."
Whitmire said Earth studies have shown plants are associated with well-being and optimal performance. Massa agreed, but fresh means fast consumption is necessary. Being able to grow food can magnify what crews already get.
“The crew does get some fresh fruits or vegetables, such as carrots or apples, when a supply ship arrives at the space station. But the quantity is limited and must be consumed quickly."
The historic appetizer is to be eaten today, August 10th, and the Kennedy and Johnson team expressed hope that Veggie will lead to a valued feature of life at the space station, and someday on Mars.
JAPAN & SINGAPORE - $12,000 melons, $3,000 mangos, and now $2,800 for grapes? Hearing about all these expensive Japanese produce purchases, you may think to yourself, “How can these fruits be worth almost as much as a car?” You may just be able to find the answer from Singaporeans, who are clamoring for Japanese fruits today more than ever.
News source Straits Times recently went in depth to interview Japanese supermarket, Isetan’s Division Merchandising Manager Lim Tay Beng, who estimated that Singaporeans, in particular, make up 80 to 90 percent of its produce customers. He says that many of the Singaporean customers buy them as corporate gifts.
"They are big names in the business scene. They usually purchase hundreds of dollars worth of Japanese fruits per visit," Lim told the Straits Times.
Kurihara Satoshi, Manager of Isetan Supermarket's fruit section, added, "We just had a regular customer who bought 12 boxes of muscat grapes at $229 per box.” This roughly equals $2,800 just for one purchase of grapes.
As it turns out, it’s the sweetness and the growing practices of these fruits that truly makes them unrivaled in the world of produce.
Shiraishi Shinji, Head Chef and Owner of Japanese restaurant Shiraishi at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore hotel, said it is the natural sweetness of Japanese fruits that makes them so delicious. He explained, ”To produce fruits of such high quality, Japanese farmers will prune off excess buds so that each plant or tree produces a limited number of fruits. For example, a melon plant may have 20 buds, but farmers will remove most of them so only eight remain. This means the fruits will get the maximum amount of nutrients."
Jessie Kok, a Singaporean mother said she chooses Japanese fruits for her family because they are sweeter and one can be assured of their quality. Even her 15-month-old son can taste the difference, she told the Straits Times.
"The first strawberries he tasted were Japanese, and he enjoyed them," she said. "But when we bought American strawberries, he made a very funny face after eating them.”
Will the United States be the next country to sing the praises of this expensive Japanese produce? If Singapore is any indication, it may happen sooner than you think.
HOUSTON, TX - Shares in Sysco Corp. were trading up about 2.19% on Monday shortly after the release of its fourth quarter and full-year 2015 financial results.
Sysco beat analyst expectations on adjusted earnings, which jumped 6.1% to $0.52 for the fourth quarter. Sales also increased 0.9% to $12.4 billion, but missed expectations.
For comparison, Thomson Reuters consensus estimates were reported at $0.51 for EPS and $12.7 billion in revenues.
For fiscal 2015, Sysco’s sales increased 4.7% to $48.7 billion, while adjusted earnings were also up 5.1% to $1.84.
In June, Sysco President and CEO Bill DeLaney decided not to pursue the company’s merger with US Foods, saying that it was in the best interests of all of its shareholders to move on. That same month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the FTC, citing a “reasonable probability that the proposed merger will substantially impair competition in the national customer and local broadline markets,” said Judge Amit Mehta.
Shortly thereafter, DeLaney said that the company will continue to search for strategic acquisitions that will enhance its shareholder value over time.
“I am pleased with our results for fiscal 2015 and particularly encouraged by our performance in the fourth quarter,” DeLaney said in the earnings report. “For the year, we delivered solid earnings growth on an adjusted basis by providing our customers with excellent service, growing our business with both our locally and corporate managed customers, and stabilizing our gross margins by successfully implementing several value-added commercial initiatives.”
Sysco stated that food cost inflation for the quarter was flat, with modest inflation in the meat, poultry, and frozen categories, offset by modest deflation in the dairy, produce, and seafood categories. For the fiscal year, food cost inflation was 3.7%, driven mainly by inflation in the meat, dairy, and poultry categories.
Sales from acquisitions from the past 12 months contributed 0.6% to sales for the full year.
Gross profit was $8.6 billion, an increase of 4.5% compared to the same period last year, for the fiscal year. For the quarter, gross profit increased 3.0% to $2.2 billion.
Other highlights for Q4 2015 include:
- Gross margin increased 35 basis points to 17.9%
- Adjusted operating income increased 5.8% to $509 million
Other highlights for Fiscal 2015 include:
- Adjusted operating income increased 3.4% to $1.8 billion
- Cash flow from operations was $1.6 billion, and free cash flow was $1.0 billion
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to follow Sysco’s financial performance.
WENATCHEE, WA - Stemilt’s Lil Snappers® apples and pears will be making their way back into kids’ lunchboxes this fall just in time for back-to-school promotions.
According to Nielsen scan data from the 2014/15 season, Lil Snappers 3 lb. pouch bags outperformed other pear pouch bags in the marketplace.
In 2012, Nielsen data showed that the average size of pears to be 1.7 pounds per trip. During the 2014/15 season, Lil Snappers 3 lb. pouch bags of pears had an average retail of $1.59 per pound while 2 lb. other brand pouch bag pears averaged $1.78 per pound, according to a press release. At three pounds, Lil Snappers pears averaged $4.77 per bag at retail, while 2 lb. pouch bags of pears averaged $3.56 per bag. The larger package size of Lil Snappers results in 25 percent increase in dollars over 2 lb. pouch bags of pears.
Roger Pepperl, Stemilt’s Marketing Director, explained that Lil Snappers boost the purchase size for pears and ensures dollar sales increase in the category as well.
“The data shows that Lil Snappers 3 lb. pouch bag pears return the highest retail dollar transaction size of all pear pouch bags in the marketplace,” said Pepperl. “In 2014/15, Lil Snappers 3 lb. pouch bag pears also moved 7 times more volume than 2 lb. pear pouch bags.”
The Lil Snappers line offers the following apple varieties: Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Pinata®, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady®. There are also four pear varieties available, including: Bartlett, d’Anjou, Bosc, and Red Pears.
“Bulk displays will be the main merchandising vehicle for apples and pears this season, but with greater volumes of premium, kid-sized fruits available, Lil Snappers are a great line to carry to attract today’s busy parents who want to give their kids healthy snacks and school lunches,” Pepperl continued.
Pepperl also took the time to comment on the apple and pear harvest in Washington State. An early spring and warm summer temperatures have led to an early harvest this season. Gala apples and Bartlett and Starkrimson pears are among the first varieties harvested each August. Washington’s apple crop and the Northwest pear crop are both down in volume over last year, but with Lil Snappers offering smaller fruit in its 3 lb. pouch bags, promotional opportunities are still abound.
“The warm temperatures we experienced in the Northwest this summer tend to slow down the size development of apples and pears, and as a result, we expect these fruits to be down a size from last year,” Pepperl said. “This adds volume of premium kid-sized apples and pears, making our Lil Snappers line a great promotion vehicle, especially during the fall as the new crop comes off the tree and parents are thinking of what to put in lunches as their kids head back-to-school.”
Each Lil Snappers 3 lb. bag features a sturdy handle and a press-to-close re-sealable ziplock. There is an average of 9-11 apples or pears inside each bag, which is the ideal size for fruit purchasing households with kids.
DELANO, CA - With an early kick-off to the grape season, new packaging, and using new technologies to promote grape usage and consumption, Columbine Vineyards is lined up for a busy season.
“We are off to the races and out the gate fast! We were ten days earlier than normal and we are having a bountiful and abundant harvest,” Anthony Stetson, Sales Manager at Columbine, tells me. “Yields are up across the board due to larger berry size and quality is excellent.”
Right now the company is currently offering Thompsons, Majestics, Summer Royals, and Red Globes, with its proprietary Milano® just around the corner.
“Milano® will start the first week of September,” Anthony said, adding that it is named after one of the founding fathers of Columbine Vineyards, Milan (Mila) Caratan.
Not only did Anthony say that this grape is unique in itself due to its delicate flavor profile, but it will also be coming out wearing a new outfit to the grape packaging line. “We are looking forward to launching this tasty treat in our new high graphic logo stand-up eco-friendly bag!” he said.
Columbine’s new petite bag offers a different option from the standard grape bag size for retailers and consumers alike when it comes to the fall product mix. According to Anthony, it fills a niche for retailers with higher FOB varieties by reducing the cost per bag to the consumer.
“Retailers like the smaller bag due to a lower ring at the register per bag and consumers love the convenience of a smaller portion to snack on. Across the board, we have received wonderful comments and positive feedback regarding our new packaging.”
Columbine also provides informational, colorful POS and POP materials to give retailers the tools to best utilize grape promotion opportunities, as well as unique cooking and information videos for grape usage and the growing process like the one below.
The company is showing off all things grapes, from how to use them to life through its eyes.
“We have also began to broadcast live videos via Periscope under the CoVi Grape Girls!” Lauren Olcott, Marketing Representative for Columbine, tells me.
To see the newest videos from Columbine Vineyards, check out this YouTube channel here.
Keep checking in with AndNowUKnow for all the latest packaging and product updates for the produce industry.
PLANT CITY, FL - “Robotics are changing the game. Our automated strawberry picker will be able to work at least 20 hours per day, including weekends,” Gary Wishnatzki, Co-Founder of Harvest CROO and Owner of Wish Farms, shares with me as we discuss the latest patent pending technologies that are gaining interest from strawberry growers.
This technology will allow growers to avoid picking during the hottest part of the day when berries bruise the easiest. “In this sense it will take less time and energy to cool the fruit by picking in the evening hours and will allow for better utilization of cooling facilities and increase throughput by spreading out the load of warm incoming fruit over longer harvest hours,” Gary adds.
Gary also tells me that shippers could add acreage without having to purchase additional cooling resources. Since the volume would be more spread out, there is also the potential to double the capacity that coolers can accommodate.
While they have yet to name the strawberry picker, they have created a logo to accompany the new harvest technology and appropriately dubbed it Harv.
Essentially this patent revolves around the concept of a picking wheel. Named after Gary’s Harvest CROO partner and Chief Technical Officer, Bob Pitzer, the Pitzer Wheel utilizes “conservation of motion principles” with robotic picking heads that can achieve 360 degrees of rotation and will decrease the amount of movement the robot has to accomplish. A series of claws on the wheel pick berries. They will then be transferred to a packing area, where they will be inspected and packed into consumer units.
See the entire video of the Pitzer Wheel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1JiVGTBo8
The picker uses Stereo Vision with two cameras mounted on the harvester with the lead camera situated to identify the berry’s color, mass and size to decide whether or not it should be harvested. The second camera uses triangulation to pinpoint the berry for the claw to gently pick and place in the packaging.
The benefits are far reaching for the grower, Gary tells me. “Essentially we will be lowering harvest costs by increasing the speed and duration at which it can pick and pack berries in the field.”
Gary adds, “Weighing packages will be a huge savings to growers, as well. Strawberries are currently packed visually until full. Over-packs can be 10% or more. Larger packs are estimated to be over-packed by even as much as 20-30%. On the opposite side of the spectrum, this technology can also eliminate rejections due to being short weight.”
Growers can also possibly reduce the usage of plastic by over 30%, by using a film lid versus a clamshell pack which the program plans to provide. In regards to precision agriculture, the machine will also be involved in scouting as it travels through the field, taking images of plants which will then be aligned with a database of hundreds of images that can provide early warnings of things like pest presence which will help growers manage and even reduce pesticide usage.
NEW YORK, NY - In a partnership with Roundy’s Supermarkets, BrightFarms has officially broken ground on the BrightFarms Chicagoland Greenhouse in Rochelle, IL. The BrightFarms Chicagoland greenhouse will be 160,000 square-feet and grow over 1,000,000 pounds of fresh produce exclusively for the Roundy’s chain.
“Consumer demand for local is growing exponentially—and for good reason: long distance produce hurts the environment and compromises freshness, quality and taste,” said BrightFarms Chief BrightFarmer (CEO), Paul Lightfoot. “This greenhouse farm will allow Roundy’s to provide its customers with year-round produce that is not only garden-fresh, but that conserves land and water, eliminates agricultural runoff, and reduces greenhouse gas emission."
Slated for completion in early 2016, the company expects the greenhouse to become the most productive farm in the Chicagoland market, the most sustainable source of year-round baby greens and tomatoes in the state, and among the most productive salad greens farms, per square foot, in the world. According to a press release, it's expected to create permanent green collar jobs, significantly reduce food miles, and improve the environmental impact of the food supply chain.
The BrightFarms Chicagoland greenhouse will provide salad greens, herbs, and tomatoes using 80 percent less water, 90 percent less land, and 95 percent less shipping fuel than conventional produce companies and, on average, 64 percent less energy to grow its products than the items it replaces on supermarket shelves. Furthermore, all produce will be pesticide-free.
"We're thrilled that our stores will be able to deliver consumers the freshest, most local greens, herbs and tomatoes possible,” said Bob Mariano, CEO and Chairman of Roundy's Supermarkets. “BrightFarms is a model for the future of food and we look forward to exemplifying, together with them, what that future should look like."
Rochelle Mayor Chet Olson also chimed in about BrightFarms’ new development, saying the city is honored to be involved with the project. Olson also revealed that by 2016, the project will have created over 23 local green collar jobs and over 100 local construction jobs, meaning more dollars for the Rochelle community.
MONTVALE, NJ - The A&P saga continues. The Wall Street Journal reports that the retailer’s plan to sell 120 stores and close 25 more has hit a roadblock from those that depend on a successful conclusion.
To read Joseph Checkler’s full report, click here.
As we previously reported, the chain announced its intention to file its second bankruptcy in five years, as well as selling or closing more than half of its nearly 300 stores as quickly as possible.
“Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. is facing opposition to its plan to quickly sell or close nearly half of its stores in bankruptcy court, including from landlords and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.,” Checkler wrote.
According to the report, pensions for 25,815 A&P multi-employer plan workers are currently underfunded by $302.5 million, as listed in the PBGC’s filing.
In order to account for the bidder assuming that a portion of pension liabilities would reduce the PBGC’s claim made in the case, the corporation calls for a change in A&P’s auction procedures to “encourage assumption” of pension liabilities by a proposed buyer, the WSJ reported.
“The global bidding procedures should require all bidders to expressly state their intention with respect to the pension plans,” PBGC lawyers said in their filing, according to the report.
A group of landlords for some stores being sold are also wary, with concerns that they will not be properly informed of possible new tenants before next week’s hearing. Checkler wrote that the landlords’ lawyers only request enough time and information, and are currently working with the counselor’s council to make sure their needs are met.
AndNowUKnow will keep you posted on this story as it develops.