MONTEREY, CA - This past week’s PMA Foodservice Conference & Expo 2015 went off without a hitch, bringing together buyers, sellers and suppliers for three days of networking, education and entertainment.
This year's show set a new record with 1,870 attendees, plus a new record attendance of wholesalers and distributers with 484. Over 200 foodservice operators came out, as well as more than 150 of the 189 registered attendees for the Women's Fresh Perspective Reception.
The conference kicked off with the PMA Foundation Joe Nucci Memorial Golf Tournament and the winning first place foursome:
- Anthony D’Amico
- Peter Wilder
- Anthony Valdez
- Joseph D'Amico
For more winners from the Joe Nucci Memorial Golf Tournament, click here.
The conference then wrapped up Sunday with an intimate and busy expo floor.
New products, flavors, and innovations abounded at this year’s Monterey, California show with a select few taking home PMA’s coveted foodservice awards.
Best Product Promo: Misionero Vegetables
Sensory Experience: Mann's Packing Fresh Vegetables
Best of Show: Jacobs Farm
Another exciting highlight for me, were the education sessions held Saturday which offered attendees everything from getting to know your consumer base, to one of my favorites, The New Food Generation Culture: How Consumer Trends are Shaping Your Business.
The guest speaker was Top Chef Judge, James Beard Award-winning author, and restaurateur Hugh Acheson who shared his perspective on the new and trending flavors in fresh produce and food. As produce continues to innovate the center of the plate Hugh shared some of his top picks for produce as well as the consumer’s growing desire for a story to accompany their food.
“They want authenticity and the want a sense of place,” Hugh told the packed room of attendees. “The story of where you come from, what you are growing and why you do it. That’s what they want to hear.”
Hugh also spoke about some of the latest items he has been using in his kitchen and noticing on his favorite menus, everything from foraged vegetables and green strawberries, to sea beans, bitter greens, edible bamboo, sweet potato greens, turnips and cauliflower leaves. Pickling is also taking off in foodservice and helps to differentiate and enhance the flavor options of a dish.
The PMA Foundation Women's Fresh Perspectives Reception on Saturday also drew quite the crowd, and offered the opportunity for women and men to mingle with experienced executives, young professionals and university students participating in Career Pathways. Jill Overdorf announced that Alex Jackson from Frieda’s will be co-chairing with her, as they plan the 2016 event in Del Mar, California.
I’d also like to congratulate the top tier runners who took part in this year’s PMA Foundation 5K Race for Talent with a record 440 registered, the highest number yet!
Stay tuned as we bring you more highlights and some of our favorite products and pictures from PMA Foodservice Conference & Expo 2015.
FRESNO, CA - As Famous Software celebrates its 40-year anniversary, the company is not only focused on its customers, products, and technology—it is focused on leadership. Today, Famous is announcing Heather Hammack as the company's newest President.
Through four decades, Famous Software has been led by two presidents, Wayne Holm (1975-1998) and Kirk Parrish (1999-2015), and both have been committed to serving agriculture and the fresh produce industry. Hammack, the company says, also embodies the same commitment to agriculture and the fresh produce industry as her predecessors.
Kirk Parrish, Famous Software’s CEO commented, “Heather is a talented leader that is able to manage the day to day challenges without losing sight of our strategic initiatives. In spite of her success, Heather remains very humble as she is extremely focused on achieving results through those around her. Famous Software is in great hands as we enter the next decade.”
Heather is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and received a degree in Agricultural Business with a Finance Concentration and a minor in Crop Science, according to a press release. Beginning her career at Famous Software in 1999 as a regional Sales Representative, she then assumed the role of Sales Manager in 2004. In 2012, Heather was promoted to the Director of Sales and Marketing and took a lead role in the Strategic Planning process at Famous Software preparing her for her next role as the President of Famous Software.
Heather serves and has served on various PMA and United Fresh committees focused on technology and the exhibitor advisory committee. Supporting the Foundation for Industry Talent as a mentor, Heather enjoys the opportunity to work with the next generation of leaders in the produce industry.
OVIEDO, FL - Locally-grown produce from Duda Farm Fresh Foods took center stage in a host of recipes during brunch at the Food and Wine Conference in Orlando last weekend.
The brunch, which was hosted by Duda Farm Fresh Foods, featured popular family recipes such as greens with Dandy® radishes, celery, and citrus vinaigrette; fresh Dandy® fruit skewers with clementines, grapefruit, and oranges; and dessert made with Dandy® Meyer lemon tarts.
Nichole Towell, Director of Marketing for Duda, explained in a press release that it’s important that the company participates and supports bloggers that are working to encourage American families to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, like eating dinner together on a Sunday night.
“For us it is about enjoying healthy food with the people that are most important to you. If we can be part of something this important, it is an honor and a pleasure,” said Towell. “This movement has developed quite a following and we want our fresh ingredients to serve as an inspiration for bringing families together around the country.”
The Food and Wine Conference is part of the Sunday Supper Movement started by Isabel Laessig, better known as Family Foodie. The first virtual Sunday Supper was held by Laessig in January 2012 with eight bloggers.
Duda has been an active supporter of the conference since the beginning.
CALIFORNIA - We are now deep into the summer season, and the broccoli market is fluxing upwards.
"It definitely looks like there has been a jump in demand on broccoli as this week has progressed," Greg Heinz, Director of Foodservice Sales for D'Arrigo Bros. of California, tells me. "The market was lower over the last few weeks and we have had lighter supplies to coincide with the depressed broccoli market, but the demand seems to be getting stronger now.”
According to the USDA, as of July 23rd, the broccoli market is on the ‘slightly higher’ side, with crown cuts out of Salinas-Watsonville, CA priced from $13.00 to $16.55 for 20 pound carton loose, while coming out of Santa Maria, CA in the same packaging is about $12.00 to $13.95. Bunched broccoli in cartons from Santa Maria is priced at $11.00 to $11.85 for bunches 14s, with bunches of 14s broccoli out of Salinas-Watsonville ranges from $10.45 to $14.45.
The USDA also listed fairly good demand for crowns and very good demand for bunched broccoli.
Jason Lathos, Manager of Commodities for Church Brothers, tells me that though the market could go up about a dollar a day for a few days, he didn’t think amounts should get too high. And while he did state that the market is more quality-driven at the moment, demand from the export market is strong.
“We are getting really good demand from the export channel, especially where weather is affecting a lot of the ports,” he tells me. “As far as I know, though, no one is really flooding the market, which is affecting overall volume.”
Greg reiterated the strength in export demand, saying that this is normal for the summer season. “I believe there is an uptick in demand but it is more quality-driven at the field level,” Greg said. “During the summer months, like many commodities, broccoli can be adversely affected by the longer growing days and warmer nights, and some varieties are just more susceptible to these quality issues."
It is a sentiment that Jason echoed, reflecting the work growers go through to get the best quality product to the retail shelves.
“Right now quality is completely weather based,” Jason said, adding that growers can face a number of complications when maintaining a healthy crop, such as branchy instead of tight heads, some hollow stems, brown, yellow, and purple bead.
The key to this is combating weather issues, according to Greg, is to be selective on the field to make sure quality is maintained.
Even with the quality issues that most growers endure during the summer months in the broccoli commodity, and more selective harvesting being required in the field, D'Arrigo Bros. of California is projecting decent broccoli supplies the next couple of weeks.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for all the latest industry news.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - After many years of serving in Safeway’s top produce positions, it has come to our attention that former VP Corporate Supply Chain for Safeway, Scott Bradley, has joined Target as its new VP of Perishables.
Scott has spent many years in the produce and retail industries, most recently as Safeway’s VP Corporate Supply Chain where his focus was to aid the success of the company’s merger with Albertson’s. Other positions Scott held at Safeway include Group Director for the Produce Procurement team in Phoenix, Group Director of Corporate Produce, and VP & GM of Produce.
Known for his extensive knowledge of the distribution center and merchandising sides of the business, his insights will undoubtedly help Target on its mission to prioritize fresh foods.
"I'm sure it will come as a surprise to many people, just given Scott's lengthy tenure at Safeway,” says Rex Lawrence, President of Joe Produce. “He's a great guy and a consummate produce professional. Many of us remember Scott when he was in Safeway Portland with Jerry Decker and Carl Pfieffer. It’s been a joy to watch him ascend up through Safeway, and continue to remain humble, even as his confidence and responsibilities grew. Scott has a calming presence, and always listens closely what the other party is saying or presenting. And at least when you receive a no from Scott, one feels like he is being fair and thoughtful. Congratulations to Target for a great hire!"
AndNowUKnow would also like to congratulate Scott and wish him luck in this next leg of his career!
CANADA - New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Thomas Mulcair has introduced a commitment to protecting produce farmers and sellers, to the applause of both the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) and the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC).
“The produce industry is grateful for the NDP’s leadership to resolve this long-standing issue and trade irritant,” Ron Lemaire, CPMA President, said in a press release. “This commitment demonstrates they understand the risks that fresh fruit and vegetable sellers face and the importance of ensuring strong, equitable financial protection tools.”
Described by the Association as a Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA)-like form of trust protection, this is something that the press release states is the number one issue for fresh fruit and vegetable growers and sellers across Canada for the upcoming Federal Election.
On October 1, 2014, the U.S. revoked Canada’s preferential access to PACA protections due to its lack of similar trust protection and the lack of progress in fulfilling the Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) commitment to establishing a comparable approach in Canada. Now, Canadian companies trying to recover unpaid bills have had to post a bond of double the value of their claim to use PACA, which the association stated can be too expensive for many sellers. Not having PACA protection, however, enhanced exportation risks for the country’s produce industry companies, who currently send 40 percent of all produce grown in Canada to the U.S. Not being able to afford protection, CPMA and CHC said, has forced many growers and produce sellers to walk away from what they are owed.
“As summer passes, the industry expects to see a much larger impact,” CPMA stated in its press release. “With this announcement, the NDP have shown they recognize the importance of fruit and vegetable producers to providing fresh, healthy food to Canadians.”
The NDP plan entails negotiating with the U.S. to restore Canada’s privileged access to PACA protections in order to provide growers and produce sellers with protection without cost to the government. To learn more about the plan click here.
CPMA and CHC noted that they are both pleased by the NDP’s move to bring the issue forward in the lead up to the coming election, and welcome other parties to show their support of Canada’s produce industry.
SEATTLE, WA - Amazon announced its financial results for Q2 2015 with the revelation that the company is now worth more than any retailer, including competitor Wal-Mart.
Following Amazon’s announcement, shares jumped 17% to $562.52 in after-hours trading, representing a new all-time high for both the stock and value of Amazon, according to The Wall Street Journal. Amazon's market cap is now worth about $264 billion while Wal-Mart is worth $233.5 billion, Business Insider is reporting.
“The teams at Amazon have been working hard for customers,” said Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “We unveiled Amazon Business, opened Amazon Mexico, launched Prime free same-day, rolled out our ninth Prime Now city, broke our Black Friday record with the first-ever Prime Day, received 11 Emmy nominations for Transparent, debuted six new kids pilots…” Bezos goes on to tout many more accomplishments for the retailer as well.
CEO Jeff Bezos, who owns 83,921,121 shares in the company, made a gain of more than $7 billion just off the climb in share prices, CNBC says.
Net income for Amazon was a whopping $92 million in the second quarter, and net sales increased 20% to climb as high as $23.18 billion, according to the company’s financial report. These results did not include any earnings from the company's ubiquitous "Prime Day," either.
Other highlights from Amazon’s report include:
- Operating cash flow increased 69% to $8.98 billion
- Free cash flow increased to $4.37 billion for the trailing twelve months
- Common shares outstanding plus shares underlying stock-based awards totaled 488 million on June 30, 2015
- Operating income was $464 million in the second quarter
What more can we expect from this retail upset? Keep watching AndNowUKnow for the latest.
BANCROFT, WI - RPE and Michelin Star Chef Joey Elenterio will be debuting Tasteful Selections’ Sweet Surprise Mini Sweet Potatoes during this year’s PMA Foodservice expo.
Show attendees will be able to join Chef Elenterio during ‘Chef Talks: Strolling Lunch’ on Saturday, July 25, as he creates a flavorful chili and tomato braised Tasteful Selections Sweet Surprise potatoes.
Chef Elenterio was quick to praise Tasteful Selections' potatoes.
“It’s always a joy to work with a product you love,” said Chef Elenterio. “Potatoes are already fun and versatile to cook with, but the great flavor and small, uniform sizes of Tasteful Selections take it to another level.”
Tasteful Selections Sweet Surprise Sweet Potatoes are hand harvested and thin skinned, so no peeling is included in preparation, according to a press release.
Chef Elenterio received a Michelin Star in 2011 and 2012 during his tenure as Executive Chef at Chez TJ in Mountain View, CA. He was also honored in Zagat’s 30 Under 30 and with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Rising Star Chef award. He will be opening his own restaurant, Cadence, in San Francisco next month.
To catch a glimpse of these sweet potatoes, Tasteful Selections' conventional and organic lines, along with White Russet®, check out booth #37 on Sunday, July 26, at PMA Foodservice.
See you there!
SALINAS, CA - Traditionally, when summer hits Salinas, California, the lettuce market tapers off and suppliers start lightening their acreage. But come August, growers tell me we are in for an increase in both demand and price.
“Historically, we tighten our belts around this time, but we should start seeing the market become more active around August with schools starting earlier and the local deals winding down. We’re about to see a big increase in demand,” Jason Lathos of Church Brothers mentioned. “With the big storm that happened last week in this area, we’re already anticipating an increase in the market.”
According to the USDA as of July 22, iceberg lettuce out of Salinas-Watsonville, CA is priced at $7.00 to $10.55 for 24s and $5.50 to $8.55 for 30s.
“The market has been good ever since we started Salinas lettuce in the spring,” Peter Georgalos for D’Arrigo Brothers says. “Prices are down right now but now is a great time for retailers to focus on promotions. We’re only about halfway through our 7 and a half to 8 month Salinas deal.”
In May, we had reported on a lettuce gap that created both a tight market and higher prices for lettuce out of Salinas. The market for lettuce has been very active from May through the beginning of July, Salinas growers have mentioned, only softening this month due to competition from local crops. It seems that while that pricing has cooled down for the most part in July, we’re on schedule to expect it to come back up soon.
“This is something we’re used to and that we prepare for,” John Georgalos of Tanimura & Antle tells me about the current summer markets. “Right now demand for West Coast Lettuce has tapered off due to competition from homegrown areas. Although West Coast acreage is reduced this time of year, it's a perfect time to promote as supplies are very consistent due to our summer weather."
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to follow the lettuce market into August and beyond.
SALINAS, CA - Bill Munger is making moves this year as the produce veteran makes the transition to Executive Vice President of Salinas, California-based GreenGate Fresh, LLLP. In Bill’s new role, the new EVP will focus on driving sales in collaboration with GreenGate’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Jay Iverson.
“I am thrilled to join the GreenGate team,” Bill said. “GreenGate has experienced incredible growth and I look forward to being part of its continued success.”
With more than 31 years in the produce industry under his belt, Bill brings a wealth of knowledge to his role, working with companies such as Duda Farm Fresh Foods and, most recently, as President and CEO of Scottsdale, AZ-based Amerifresh, Inc.
GreenGate provides premium fresh-cut produce to the foodservice industry, according to a press release, from its locations in Yuma, Arizona and Salinas, California.
Congrats Bill, on joining the GreenGate team!