LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CA - The Allen Lund Company (ALC) is continuing to invest in the future by taking on four high school student interns for the 2015-2016 year as part of its ongoing partnership with Verbum Dei High School’s Corporate Work Study Program (CWPS).
“Being a part of the corporate work study program with Verbu Dei is rewarding in so many ways,” Pamela Koerber, Human Resources Coordinator for ALC, said in a press release. “These young men gain valuable work experience and are treated just like our regular work employees, becoming a part of the Allen Lund Company family.”
This marks the ninth year that ALC has partnered with Verbum Dei High, giving students entry-level clerical jobs at ALC’s headquarters where they work five full days a month on a rotational basis. According to the company, the program allows them to gain real-world work experience within its Carrier Resources, Marketing, Human Resources and Sales Departments while still carrying a full academic load.
The company has seen great success with the practice, according to the release, having hired back several students that have participated to come back and work during school breaks and as interns during the summer.
MORRO BAY, CA - With the finger lime season having just kicked off on June 1st, Shanley Farms is busy preparing for the rest of its 2015 season to grow in both volume and demand. I spoke with Administrative Assistant Lauren Taylor about how Shanley sees the future of the thriving commodity.
“The demand for finger limes in our off-season was high, so we anticipate moving an even greater volume than last year. As people learn about finger limes and their versatility the market demand grows,” Taylor tells me. “The market is definitely growing and reflective to how people understanding what a finger lime is exactly. Once people try a finger lime and get that burst of citrus flavor they are sold!”
As the company’s finger lime trees mature, they start producing much higher quality of fruit, Lauren says. Even at the beginning of its season, Shanley is already expecting high quality as they move into peak season during September-November. This great quality has occurred despite the harsh weather the company has been experiencing in California.
“Like many growers throughout California, the drought has made production more difficult,” adds Lauren. “Shanley Farms has efficiently allocated resources to maintain sustainability for all of our crops. The finger lime trees normally do not do well in freezing temperatures, but we did not experience any frost at all during the colder months.”
With more returning customers and more demand, the company expects to delve into new markets soon. This current season will last through January, Lauren says, adding that Shanley has also developed a machine to mechanically extract the citrus pulp. Shanley hopes to debut that pulp in the form of Citrus Caviar later this summer.
WOONSOCKET, RI - CVS Pharmacy, one of the largest drugstore chains in the U.S., is adding a new category to its inventory: fresh foods.
According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the chain has added a new brick to its road of healthier intentions - having cut off selling all tobacco items nationwide last September. Now it is adding a host of fresh foods and healthy snacks to its store content.
The report stated that company executives made the latest changes as a result of customer demand.
"Consumers used to eat three meals a day, and now they tend to be snacking through the day, and they're really looking for a convenient location which gives them access to healthier foods," CVS Executive Vice President Helena Foulkes told Crain.
The company also mentioned that this move could help spike sales outside the pharmacy that have dropped since tobacco sales ceased, adding fresh and refrigerated foods to about 500 of its 7,800 stores throughout the U.S., according to the report. CVS will also be adding healthier snacks chainwide, replacing the prime real estate front-store chips and candies with nuts and healthier items, moving the less nutritional ones to the back of the stores.
This is far from the first drug or supply store to venture into a fresh food and grocery format. As we’ve previously reported, 7-Eleven and Shoppers Drug Mart have both gone to the fresher side of sales, as well as Walgreens, Rite Aid, and more. Adding fresh foods and produce to inventory provides healthy items to a growing customer demand, as well as provides customers with a more “one-stop-shop” situation with more to buy in one location.
CVS Pharmacy is further incorporating fresh food to up its focus on the Hispanic demographic. According to Crain, the drugstore chain began adding groceries to select areas with few grocery options a few years back, and is now adding a dozen stores in the Miami area called CVS/Pharmacy Y Mas as the next step to those earlier trials.
Keep checking in with AndNowUKnow to see how this new strategy plays out.
MCLEAN, VA - Gladstone Land Corporation has announced it has recently entered into two purchase and sale agreements to purchase a total of five farms for approximately $35 million. These five farms include 3,519 aggregate acres of irrigated cropland in both California and Florida, and are expected to sell at a price of nearly $9,446.01 per acre.
"All the farms we own and are evaluating for purchase have very strong water sources and are in regions that, in our opinion, are at minimal risk of having any water restrictions imposed that would impact these farms," said David Gladstone, President and CEO of the Company. "If we are able to complete these mentioned transactions, it would double our total acreage and provide a strong boost to our operating revenues. We are encouraged by the year to date results of acquisition efforts."
The company also has its eyes on six additional properties that total 5,476 acres. These six locations are currently under signed non-binding letters of intent, and are throughout Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Nebraska. While the purchase price is continuing to be evaluated, it should be worth approximately $23 million, or nearly $4,200.15 per acre, according to a press release.
The company is working towards completing these transactions within the next couple of months; however, each purchase is subject to customary conditions and termination rights for transactions of this type, including a due diligence-inspection period, and there can be no assurance that these acquisitions will be consummated.
NOGALES, AZ - Ta-De Produce is launching a new artisan label of a fresh, purple garlic variety, grown out of the Rio Sonora valley.
“Natural garlic is not bright white. Ours has the unique striped coloring associated with a heritage-style product,” Robert Bennen, President of Ta-De, said in a press release. He added that many of today’s consumers are aware that white imported garlic is typically bleached, and this label specifically targets those “savvy consumers looking for better ingredients.”
Garlic is one of the few produce items noting substantial growth during the past few seasons, according to the press release, and Ta-De’s new purple variety is exclusively branded Rio Sonora Rose by this grower-shipper.
“Many commercial and home chefs prize the brighter, fresher flavor of the purple garlic,” Bennen said. “The fact that it’s grown so close to home is a bonus.”
Ta-De Produce’s launch of fresh garlic also has a new brand image. Grown a couple hours from its Arizona warehouses, the product is recognized by its deep purple striping, as well as having an average higher brix content than imported white garlic and robust size.
The Rio Sonora Rose’s 2015 crop began in spring, still available in 30-pound boxes. Ta-De also has plans in the works for expanding its production in the garlic variety, as well as into organic, next week. According to the company, it makes a good complement to its expanding lines of Asian cooking greens and reported a sold-out situation last season.
FRESNO, CA - President and CEO of Volm Companies Daniel Mueller took some time with AndNowUKnow to talk about the company’s newest distribution and service center in California.
“We have a great customer base here in California, and we decided that this is a logical next step for us to be able to go forward and to service our customers here the way we have everywhere else in the U.S.,” Daniel tells me.
The company’s ultimate goal is to be its customer’s “MVP”- Most Valued Partner. The services Volm provides with its automated equipment and packaging, Daniel said, has given it the ability to do that very well where these facilities have been raised. And now he is pleased to bring those services to the company's California consumers.
As we previously reported, the new California facility is 11,000 square feet of mostly warehouse space with a few offices available for field service technicians, account managers, and warehouse staff.
To see all that Daniel had to say, watch the 51 second video above.
WATSONVILLE, CA - Driscoll’s has announced a broad expansion of its organic nursery plant production, as well as a renewed commitment to provide all of Driscoll’s USDA certified organic growers with organic nursery plants.
“Since our first sales of organic berries in the late 1980’s, we’ve seen tremendous growth in our organic business due to increasing consumer market demand. We are committed to fully deliver on the spirit of the organic program across all our berries and see this process as a journey to an exciting future,” said Soren Bjorn, Executive Vice President of Driscoll’s.
Growing certified organic starter plants from the nursery to provide organic growers healthy, pest and disease free plants is a priority for Driscoll’s, the company says. Driscoll’s has developed and expanded an organic nursery program certified by CCOF for the last seven years. According to the company’s website, Driscoll’s currently maintains the only organic strawberry nursery certified by CCOF, the nation’s oldest and largest third-party certifying agency. The company says there are also no other known commercial organic strawberry start nurseries certified under the USDA National Organic Program.
Cathy Calfo, Executive Director and CEO of CCOF, Inc., commented, “In the nearly 20 years that CCOF has worked with Driscoll’s, they have truly lead the organic sector—expanding organic acreage, investing in new organic growers and supporting employee participation in organic standards development, including on the National Organics Standards Board. Driscoll’s commitment to developing organic nursery plants marks welcome leadership in the organic sector.”
Driscoll’s says it is proud of the seven years invested in researching the viability of organically grown strawberry plants, and that this accomplishment speaks to the long-term commitment for rolling out the program across all berries in the coming years. Today, approximately 10 percent of the company’s organic strawberry production in Watsonville and Salinas comes from certified organic plants.
SALINAS VALLEY, CA - Forbes Reinventing America: The AgTech Summit, the invitation only event that will gather many of the best of the Silicon Valley and global agriculture in California’s salad bowl, is quickly approaching, taking place July 8th and 9th.
As we previously reported, Bruce Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms, is among the speakers confirmed to present at the event, which will address some of the world’s most critical challenges, according to a press release, as well as showcase innovative technologies, and explore topics at the core of vital trends influencing the industry like biotech and precision farming.
Other key confirmed speakers include:
The AgTech Summit is slated to bring together several hundred of the smartest minds in both the agricultural and technological industries to tackle some of the world’s most critical challenges, according to Forbes.
“With the growing drought and water crisis in California, state officials recently announced that farmers with rights to California water dating back more than a century will face sharp cutbacks, the first reduction in their water use since 1977,” the company stated in its release. “The AgTech Summit will address how to avert a global water crisis and will also showcase innovative technologies and solutions.”
The event’s agenda includes:
Innovation Showcase
- July 8, 5-7 pm
- Featuring 20 innovative AgTech start-ups with Co-Founder of Code.org Ali Partovi.
- Constellation Winery, 800 South Alta Street, Gonzales, CA.
The Summit
- July 9, 8:30am-6:30 pm
- Taking place across from Taylor Farms.
- Historic Main Street, Salinas Valley
We hope to see you there as we count down to this innovating event.
FLORIDA - Lucky's Market has announced that they will be opening 3 new Florida locations. Currently the chain only has 1 store in Florida, which opened only this January.
“We are looking forward to opening a Lucky’s Market in Naples in Q4 of this year, and we are also looking at additional locations where we can expand in the Sunshine State. Lucky's Market offers an affordable assortment of locally-grown, organic, specialty and hard-to-find foods, and we are that one-stop-shop for people who simply love good food,” Ben Friedland, VP of Marketing for Lucky's Market, said in an email statement.
We’ve previously reported that the grocer was, “actively looking for more expansion opportunities in Florida,” and now that announcement has come to fruition. The Boulder, CO-based chain, plans to open one 38,300-square-foot store in Naples, FL, according to News-Press.com.
Lucky’s website also announces that 2 more stores in Coral Springs and Plantation, FL are also in the works for the near future.
For more information on this growing organic grocer, check out our interview with Peter Galantzis, Lucky's Market's Vice President of Purchasing and former twelve-year Whole Foods Supply Chain and Product Management Executive, from our Snack Magazine article by clicking here.
Stay tuned as we continue to update you on Lucky’s Market’s future expansion plans.
IRVING, TX - In the latest edition of AndNowUKnow’s print publication, The Snack Magazine, produce industry veteran and founder of DMA Solutions Inc. Dan'l Macky Almy lends her knowledge of one of the largest aspects of business managenent and promotions today: internet presence.
Check out The Snack article by clicking here, or read the full article below:
5 Simple Steps to Optimize Your Company's Website
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
Management expert Peter Drucker had a point when he said this famous maxim. Today, simply having a website isn’t enough. In this digital age, websites should be measured and optimized, ready to help a customer or consumer that may visit anytime, day or night.
While Mr. Drucker is speaking the truth, the advice he gives is not always the easiest thing for companies to absorb or correct. The fact is website optimization is something that is ever-evolving and the constantly changing technologies and algorithms can make the task at hand a challenge for marketers.
But it doesn’t have to be complicated. To start, I recommend that you dive into your website’s analytics. This will give you the information you need when considering how to optimize your company’s website. You might be asking yourself which website analytics you should be focusing on.
Great question!
At DMA Solutions, we recommend focusing on the following metrics that, once defined, will provide the information you need to know to adapt and optimize your website.
1) Traffic Sources – Where are your visitors coming from?
This particular metric tells you which digital sources are directing traffic to your website so you can nurture what’s working and fix what’s not. Some examples include: Direct, Referral, Social Media, and Email. Direct traffic defines the number of visitors that visit your website by typing your URL into their browser. Referral traffic relates to visitors that arrive to your website via another website or avenue, such as a clickable advertisement or hyperlink. Knowing the volume of traffic that you’re getting via social media is also useful because social networks can help increase your website traffic and connect consumers and/or buyers to your brand, story, and products. Emails can also attribute visits to your website, an indication that your marketing automation efforts are working. If you send automated emails to your target audiences on a regular basis, this number will tell you if your emails are useful in driving traffic back to your online assets.
2) Devices – Are your visitors using PCs or mobile devices?
A vast amount of search traffic is conducted via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. According to multiple sources like NBC News and MediaBistro, it turns out nearly 80 percent of smartphone users reach for their phone within 15 minutes of waking up. Knowing this statistic is critical when you consider how to nurture or delight your website visitor by providing them with a website on their mobile device of choice that is easy to navigate and read when viewed.
3) Bounce Rate – Is your content effective?
A “bounce” is when someone visits your site and immediately leaves upon entry without interacting with the page. If this happens often enough, your optimization opportunity may be content-related. Knowing the pages on the website that are experiencing the highest bounce rate will help you determine the content that is not working so you can produce content that will keep them wanting more.
4) Keywords – How are people finding your website via search?
Keywords help you understand the search terms that are used to bring visitors to your site via organic search engines. Understanding the top five to ten keywords that drive traffic to your site enables you to maximize the words that are working (by including them in more of your content) and identify the ones that aren’t (but should be included in your content).
5) Page Performance – How are your pages performing?
When you know the pages that most people visit, you quickly gain context about the information that is most important to your customer or consumer. For example, let’s say you sell fresh-cut produce and non-fresh-cut produce and both are available on your website. If you see that more visitors are visiting the fresh-cut content, this should indicate to you the topics that interest your visitors the most. This information puts you in a great position to optimize page level content for the areas of your website that are underperforming.
Once you have taken a closer look at these metrics, be on the lookout for trends and opportunities that you see when you compare your website’s performance over a time span of 3, 6, and 12 months. Whether a customer or consumer is seeking to connect with your brand or product/service, hosting an optimized website will increase your chances of them finding you, connecting, and returning after a good experience that encourages a repeat visit.
As a fresh produce marketer, I believe that our websites (and all of our digital assets) are an extension of our brands and, if optimized properly, can bring us one step closer to inspiring a purchase of a fresh produce item, one visit at a time.
More About Dan'l...
Dan’l Mackey Almy’s passion for fresh produce has paved the way of her dynamic career in the industry for 20 years. In 2004, her passion led her to start her own business and thus, DMA Solutions Inc. (DMA) was established. Today, DMA is a specialized marketing agency that works to increase the demand of fresh produce through creative and results-oriented work. Dan’l has brought together a diverse and talented team who all share a common commitment to quality, creativity, and deep appreciation for food that is grown. Together, they share their inspirations and ideas via The Core, a blog that is revered by fresh produce professionals as a helpful resource for marketing information and insights. For more information about DMA Solutions or to request a website optimization assessment, visit www.dma-solutions.com. To subscribe to the blog, visit http://thecore.dma-solutions.com/.