CHARLOTTE, NC - Disney’s Hollywood Studios® held a special one-night event, “Villains Unleashed,” which was a big hit with attendees thanks to some special help from Chiquita's Apple Bites snacks. During the event, which featured famous Disney villians, guests were encouraged to dress up like their own favorite villain and enjoy a night of specialty drinks, treats, fireworks and fun.
Guests who stopped by to see the Evil Queen from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were rewarded with a Disney-themed surprise thanks to Chiquita. Instead of a poisoned apple, these attendees were given a healthy snack to fuel their exploits throughout the rest of the evening: Chiquita Apple Bites.
According to a press release, other villains featured in the show included Cruella De Vil from Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmatians, the Evil Queen from Walt Disney’s Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, Maleficent from Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty and Hades from Disney’s Hercules.
Chiquita shared how it is proud to be the exclusive supplier of branded bananas and salads for Walt Disney World® Resort and Disney Cruise Line. The grower also supplies all runDisney events with healthy snacks in an attempt to promote a healthy and active lifestyle.
In addition to providing fresh produce for the company, Chiquita also sponsors the tropical fruit processing center themed “Crush ‘n’ Gusher Water Thrill Ride” attraction at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, as well as the “Living with the Land” Epcot® attraction which takes guests into The Land Pavilion’s greenhouses to explore advances in agriculture.
WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez argued that more companies should take a page out of Market Basket's book during a speech he delivered at the National Press Club on Monday. Specifically, he complimented how Market Basket fosters a family-friendly work environment, compensates its workers well and provides a comfortable retirement for them.
“They have done remarkable work,” Perez said in the speech at the National Press Club. “They really have captured the imagination of the nation. What we really need is more companies like Market Basket.”
“They have demonstrated you can do good and do well,” he continued. “To [Demoulas], worker voice wasn’t a threat to the company, it was an indispensable asset.”
The industry witnessed first-hand the profound loyalties this mindset can create between worker and company. Arthur T. Demoulas owes his reinstatement to this very fact.
“These guys risked everything because they believed a Market Basket without Arthur T wasn't really a Market Basket,” Perez explained.
I encourage you to watch the speech for yourself in the video below:
In addition to his speech, Perez also hosted a roundtable discussion on Monday with leading academics, labor unionists such as the AFL-CIO’s Secretary Treasurer, and five key Market Basket store managers and employees. James Fantini, the man who designed the We Are Market Basket website, which protestors used to organize the movement, was also in attendance, according to the Boston Globe.
“We’re here because of what happened up there,” Fantini said. “It’s not just a supermarket. It’s a symbol for something really great, which is what the secretary said is shared prosperity...When you have such a great profit-sharing plan, you really have skin in the game.”
Is the Labor Secretary right? Could more companies profit by emulating the Market Basket labor model? The question remains an open one, but considering the influence this labor model has wielded in our industry, it is one which certainly warrants further inspection.
For now, Arthur T. Demoulas' focus remains fixed on reestablishing Market Basket's place in the industry and growing the company for the future. His first order of business is to close the $1.6 billion buyout he negotiated with the rival side of his family. According to the Boston Globe, he was working on this matter during Monday's roundtable which is why he was not in attendance.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for any future updates on Market Basket and its role in the retail industry.
ANAHEIM, CA - At this past weekend’s PMA Fresh Summit, Village Farms brought some fun to the expo floor with its Garden Fresh Flavor Challenge.
Visitors to Village Farms’ booth were given the chance to take a blind taste test on three of the company’s most popular varieties: Heavenly Villagio Marzano, Lip Smackin' Grapes and Sinfully Sweet Campari. After the taste test, participants voted on their favorite.
Helen L. Aquino, Marketing Manager for Village Farms, says, "PMA participation in the Garden Fresh Flavor Challenge was overwhelming. Everyone loved sampling our flavorful varieties and voting on their favorite. The experience assured us in the end everyone is an engaged consumer when it comes to knowing what they like."
According to the company, Garden Fresh Flavor Challenge participants who had their picture taken with the Garden Fresh Flavor Girls can view pictures on Village Farms Instagram @Village_Farms under hashtag #gardenfreshflavor.
With the data from the taste test being calculated now, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow to find out the results for the Garden Fresh Flavor challenge.
IRWINDALE, CA - Ready Pac Foods was honored for its philanthropic efforts during The Midnight Mission’s Golden Heart Awards Gala. The gala celebrated Ready Pac for receiving the stewardship award in 2002, wherein the company was recognized for donating fresh produce and supporting The Midnight Mission and people it serves, according to a press release.
“Ready Pac is proud to be included in the recognition of The Midnight Mission’s honorees,” said Tony Sarsam, CEO at Ready Pac. “The sheer impact this organization has on our community is undeniable. We are inspired by the conviction and success the Mission has demonstrated. The Ready Pac team is proud to have had the opportunity to help provide resources that can remove obstacles faced by those experiencing homelessness and pave paths for better lives.”
This year’s gala, held on September 30th at The Beverly Wilshire Hotel, celebrated the service organization’s centennial anniversary. The Midnight Mission has continued to serve as a community platform for those faced with homelessness and in dire need of compassionate support.
Congrats on this recognition, Ready Pac!
The following was copied verbatim from a press release:
San Francisco, CA (October 21, 2014) – Roasting is one of most flavorful ways to cook potatoes, while also being one of the healthiest. And roasting has special appeal for Millennial shoppers, who are 30% more likely to prepare potatoes by roasting than the average U.S. consumer (U.S. Potato Board Attitudes & Usage Study 2014). So what other trend could make roasted potatoes even more appealing to this key shopper demographic? Adding bold, unique seasonings sourced from around the globe to create a healthy, delicious dish bursting with flavor!
The new Side Delights® Roastables line draws inspiration from these two trends to deliver the most exciting new potato product that retailers have seen this year. Available in rad little reds, awesome little yellows and a combo pack with both red & yellow potatoes, Roastables come packed in a unique 1 pound clam shell container with the special metal bottom for either oven roasting or grilling. Each container includes delicious, innovative seasonings from Montana Mex, made with pure sea salt and delicious ingredients like Mexican oregano, garlic and ancho chile.
“Consumers crave potatoes and new ways to prepare them,” said Kathleen Triou, President and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network. “We set out to target Millennial shoppers with a “hot” new item that is simple to prepare, needs no clean up and features bold, global flavors to spice up their favorite side dish. And with the help of the flavor expertise from Montana Mex, Roastables far exceeded our objective.
The perfect potato seasoned with delicious Montana Mex seasoned salts delivers a burst of flavor in its own convenient roasting tray. Roastable potatoes are triple-washed, so they’re ready to cook, season and eat. Instructions right on the package tell consumers to just add oil and the special seasoning blend included right in the package – that’s it!
Retailers should merchandise Roastables in the convenience section of their main potato table, near creamers, smaller bags and steamable products. Plus, the unique packaging & savory taste profiles make Roastables perfect for cross merchandising in the meat department or for impulse-oriented secondary displays at the storefront.
Side Delight Roastables made its debut at the recent PMA Fresh Summit and earned enthusiastic praise from retailers and produce industry members alike. With the formal launch of Roastables officially underway, retailers should place their orders now to ensure an adequate supply so that they can be the first in their area to offer this “new way to love potatoes” to their shoppers!
HERMISTON, OR - River Point Farms executives Bob Hale, CEO, Delbert Gehrke, VP of Farming, Bill Dean, VP of Quality Assurance & Sustainability, and Craig Green, CFO/COO, join AndNowUKnow to offer an exclusive, inside look at the company’s operations and upcoming 75,000 sq. ft. packing facility.
The company is dedicated to ensuring the optimal onion crop while staying focused on sustainability. Currently, River Point tests approximately 200 onion varieties each year, and only 2 varieties are selected to carry forward in production for a 5-year period of time.
As part of its sustainability program, River Point uses a variable speed drive for its irrigation system to minimize energy use.
Looking forward, the company is just weeks away from breaking ground on its new packing facility. The building will be completed by March 2015, with all equipment installed by July 2015.
“We’re very excited by this opportunity and what it means for our customers and our employees,” Green tells us.
For all this and more, check out our exclusive video above.
AUSTIN, TX - Between Hunter Pence's two-run home run and Madison Bumgarner's gem, Whole Foods hit a postseason milestone of its own during Game 1 of the World Series, launching its first national advertising campaign. In case you're not a baseball fan, I recommend checking the commercial out for yourself in the video below:
The ad is a significant departure from Whole Foods' traditional marketing strategies, which have for years eschewed national advertising in favor of word of mouth and local outreach in order to grow its brand. As long as Whole Foods enjoyed little competition in the organics market in the United States, such methods were fine, but WGBH News notes how Wal-Mart's excursion into the organics department has forced the company to reassess this strategy.
According to the Washington Post, Whole Foods says that it plans on spending $15-$20 million on its “Value Matters” advertising campaign. The advertisements were designed to capitalize on the growing body of customers who value the way their food was grown just as much as how good it tastes.
“They care about themselves, our planet; they want to trust their [food] sources; they’re seeking information to make meaningful choices,” shared Jeannine D’Addario, Global Vice President for Communications for Whole Foods, in the Washington Post.
"There's no question that people are increasingly moving to use their dollars for political, social, ethical, [and] humanitarian [purposes],” added Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn on Boston Public Radio when asked to comment on this consumer trend. "We will use our wallets in a way that we know commands attention."
Whole Foods likely hopes that these customers will use their wallets at its stores if it can successfully share its story with them, fostering a connection between customers and the farmers and ranchers who raise their food. That aim strikes at the heart of the Value Matters campaign.
The same could be said of Whole Foods' new produce ranking system which rolled out earlier this month. The key is more information, more story, more answers to the “why this” question behind the purchase decision. With these initiatives Whole Foods is seeking to tell the story of its food, to show where it comes from and why the customer would want to be a part of that story.
If Whole Foods can do this successfully, the hope is that it will be able to cement its standing and customer base in the organics market even with the approach of Wal-Mart.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for any future updates on Whole Foods and the evolution of the organics market.
WATSONVILLE, CA - In this educational video, Well-Pict is teaching retailers how the get the freshest, best tasting berries to customers by ‘Protecting the Cold Chain’ to increase profits in the produce aisle. Check out the video here:
The cold chain refers to the process of keeping the berries at 33 degrees from the cooling house to the supermarket. Well-Pict’s growing partners pick, package and ship the 100% proprietary berries. Within 4 hours, they are packed fresh in the field into ready to ship clamshells, according to the video.
They are then palletized and trucked to the nearby cold storage facility where they are immediately cooled to 33 degrees, the perfect temperature to ensure peak freshness for storing berries. This is where the cold chain begins.
Well-Pict loads the berries into refrigerated trucks within hours for domestic deliveries. Temperature probes are put into select packages in the field that record the data through the whole trip. They are then checked in the retail shop. The goal is to maintain the 33-degree temp throughout the entire process. For any 1-hour break in the chain, it means 1 day less in the store.
Retailers should immediately unload the shipment into the backroom cold room. Ideally, berries should be kept in refrigerated cases for optimal freshness. According to Well-Pict, the most profitable berries come from the cold chain.
NEW KENSINGTON, PA – Yerecic Label has been honored with the Environmental Leadership Award at the 2014 Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute, Inc. (TLMI) Annual Meeting on Monday, October 13th. Yerecic Label has long been a leader in sustainability, having diverted 99.4% of its waste away from landfills in order to become landfill free as far back as February 2013.
“Becoming landfill free was a big initiative for Yerecic Label in 2013,” said President Art Yerecic. “Consumers and buyers are becoming more conscious of environmental issues and are seeking products with sustainable business practices. It’s important for us to be able to assure our customers and end-users that we are dedicated to preserving the environment.”
“As a company, we are passionate about making our practices sustainable and eco-friendly,” agreed VP of Manufacturing Brian Hurst. “Since 2010, we have taken it upon ourselves to remove solid waste, eliminate chemical waste and reduce energy usage in order to create measurable environmental benefits.”
Hurst plays a big part in Yerecic's suitability initiatives as the leader of its Label Initiative for the Environment (L.I.F.E. ®) team, a TLMI program which the company has been a certified member of since 2010. He leads a cross functional group of 10 associates from all departments within the company. According to a press release, the L.I.F.E. Program assesses a company based on a variety of criteria which include clean production techniques, waste numbers and the organization’s commitment to the environment.
In addition to its landfill free initiative, Yerecic Label has also:
- 2011: Purchased 20% of its electricity from renewable sources.
- 2012: Changed from halogen lighting to T-5 high efficiency lighting, decreasing energy usage by 34% the first year, and an additional 10% in 2013, based on the square footage of the facility.
- 2013: Installed a new compactor which has diverted 2.5 million pounds, or 1,264 tons, of landfill from waste to energy. An evaluation of the BTU's generated showed this waste-to-energy program has produced enough heat since its inception to supply 290 houses for an entire year.
Yerecic Label makes it a point to help others take the same strides which have brought it so much success. An active participant on the TLMI Environmental Committee, it shares its knowledge and best practices with other TLMI members and the rest of the label industry. Yerecic Label has in fact assisted three label converters in their successful attempts to gain L.I.F.E.® certification through the L.I.F.E.® mentor program.
Congratulations on the well deserved Environmental Leadership Award, Yerecic Label!
WENATCHEE, WA – CMI has rolled out its new pouch bag line for Queen Bee Honeycrisp™ apples.
The program began early this fall as a test and was almost immediately expanded nationwide due to strong demand from retailers.
“The CMI Queen Bee Honeycrisp™ project was developed this summer,” said Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing for CMI. “With a large crop we knew there would be a big opportunity to drive additional Honeycrisp sales. At the same time, our national analysis of scan data results revealed that there was a big retail opportunity to increase dollars by creating options for supermarkets to devote more shelf space to Honeycrisp.”
Check out this promotional video from CMI that features the new packaging:
With only one PLU number, is can be difficult for retailers to add Honeycrisp SKU’s without the use of poly bags. Luckily, poly bags have historically been used to attract value-oriented shoppers, according to Lutz.
“Our research revealed that particularly with Honeycrisp, rather than focus on value there was an opportunity to entice consumers to actually increase transaction size by providing high quality pouch bag packages that better align with the Honeycrisp image,” Lutz added.
For this new package, CMI’s marketing team focused on solutions that would ultimately boost supermarket performance by offering new options to accommodate a variety of retail price tiers. According to a press release, the team settled on three new high graphic color packages, a 2lb and a 3lb pouch for snack-sized fruit, and an industry-first with the two-count package for jumbo fruit.
In terms of dollars, Honeycrisp is the number 2 apple in the U.S. behind Gala.