CHELAN, WA - Chelan Fresh is naming Jeff Niesz to its sales staff in Chelan, WA. A lifelong Washington resident who has been living in the Chelan area since 1996, Jeff grew up on a family-owned orchard in the Wapato region. He earned a degree in Agriculture/Economics from Washington State University and has experience in all phases of tree fruit production, including farming, packing and shipping, retail relations and import/export in both conventional and organic categories.
According to a press release, Jeff has previously held positions with Beebe Orchards and with Chelan Fruit Cooperative.
Jeff and his wife, Jennifer, have two children. Their daughter, Haley, is currently studying at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and is completing her senior year as a Marketing and Packaging major. Their son, Benjamin, is a senior at East Wenatchee High School.
Congratulations on this exciting new position, Jeff!
Friesland, Wisconsin, October 10, 2014 — Alsum Farms & Produce, Inc., is partnering with the Green Bay Packers to invite fans to share a photo of their best tailgating dish for a chance to win an Alsum Grillmaster prize pack. Now thru November 1, 2014, Packer fans can submit their tailgating photos at http://www.packerseverywhere.com/gallery/whats-on-your-grill.
Fans can simply submit a photo gathered around their grill -- at Lambeau Field or anywhere else -- featuring some of their favorite gameday eats. Whether it be delicious sides of grilled Wisconsin potatoes, flavorful veggies paired with mouthwatering specialty meats, fans will have a chance to win tailgating essentials from Alsum Farms & Produce. Complete sweepstakes rules can be found at the contest site.
“Alsum Farms & Produce is excited to partner with the Green Bay Packers this season,” says Heidi Alsum-Randall, National Sales and Marketing Manager of Alsum Farms & Produce. “The interactive “What’s on your Grill?” promotion encourages football fans to elevate their grills with nutritious, homegrown Wisconsin potatoes and create awareness of Alsum brand potatoes.”
For this promotion, Alsum is focusing on the 4-pack of gold foil wrapped Russet Grillers that can be found at Midwest grocery stores and national retailers.
One lucky fan will win the Ultimate Alsum Grillmaster Tailgate prize pack that includes a new gas grill, a $100 gift card to a retailer grocery partner to purchase meat, potatoes and other vegetables for their next tailgate party along with an Alsum apron, BBQ tongs and signed autograph picture of farmer, Larry Alsum.
For more than four decades, Alsum Farms & Produce has been a leading grower, packer and shipper of locally grown potatoes, onions and provider of fresh, quality produce.
To learn more about Alsum Farms & Produce, its full-line of products or for delicious potato recipes, visit www.alsum.com.
This text was copied verbatim from a press release.
SALINAS, CA - Coastline Family Farms (CFF) is debuting its new Nutraleaf Burgundy Leaf Lettuce and Nutraleaf Burgundy Romaine lettuce varieties at this year's PMA Fresh Summit event. Eminent plant scientists at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, originally created these varieties through natural breeding methods. Coastline immediately recognized their potential for the North American market and is now in the enviable position of being the only U.S. grower/shipper to market the new line.
“We began work on these new products over 18 months ago,” said Steve Henderson, President. “We’ve done our homework - incorporating multi-district growing trials, engaging the consumer and developing innovative packaging and cooling techniques. The formal launch is at 2014 PMA Fresh Summit so make sure you stop by our booth #2368 to see these burgundy beauties.”
This new line already has drawn the interest of nutritionists for its unique health profile.
“The nutritional benefits are exceptional! We started by examining test results performed by Rutgers and then ran several additional nutritional analyses on our own field grown lettuces. The net result is that the Nutraleaf Burgundy lettuces are at least twice as high in certain important antioxidants as blueberries – long the gold standard for antioxidants – and as regular red leaf lettuce,” said Coastline Vice President Phil Adrian. “Because the lettuces can be labeled as Nutrient Rich, meaning they have many nutrients for very few calories, we know that these deeply-colored lettuces are going to stand out in the produce section, on menus in restaurants and will attract media and consumer interest.”
“We have both lettuces available in Salinas through November and then will follow the sun to the Imperial Valley throughout the winter months,” he continued.
In order to raise awareness about this new product line, Coastline is planning to:
- Launch a social media outreach campaign with its Registered Dietitian Nutritionist contacts and Fresh Summit bloggers.
- Provide recipe and menu ideas with product samples at Fresh Summit.
- Partner with David Grotto, RDN to promote the nutritional profile and health benefits of Nutraleaf Burgundy lettuces.
- Introduce Nutraleaf Burgundy lettuces at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo from October 19-22 in Atlanta.
- Work with Chef Andrew Hunter, a specialist in introducing new products to restaurants, to integrate the new varieties into foodservice menus.
“With an exceptional team of experts, and a communications plan unlike any other in the produce industry, we believe we have a great start introducing these all-new lettuces to the US market,” concluded Henderson.
Remember to stop by booth #2368 at PMA Fresh Summit to see these new varieties yourself.
Congratulations on this exciting product debut, Coastline Family Farms!
GULFPORT, MS – Dole Fresh Fruit Co. is expected to sign a new lease with the Port of Gulfport in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Jonathan Daniels, the Mississippi Port Authority Executive Director and CEO, told the Sun Herald that the company’s lease is expected to last for at least 13 years and has renewal options that extend through 2037. "It's great news for the port; it's great news for the region as a whole," Daniels said.
“Dole has been a valued member of the Port of Gulfport family for 50 years, and we look forward to many more years of partnership and success,” MS Governor Phil Bryant said in a release. “The progress currently underway at the Port will enhance Dole’s ability to complete effectively in a global market and allow them to expand their economic footprint in the Gulf Coast region.”
Dole currently occupies more than 140,000 square feet of warehouse space as well as 24 acres of open storage and container parking space on the port’s east pier, according to a press release.
With this new agreement, Dole will move to the west pier, which encompasses almost 40 acres and will allow the company to increase container storage capacity by almost 50%. The new warehouse complex will increase dry storage capacity and includes construction of 20,000 square feet of temperature-controlled space.
Barry Jung, Director of North American Terminal Operations for Dole Fresh Fruit Company, added, “We are confident that our decision to stay in Gulfport will maintain Dole’s position as a leader in the fresh fruit market and Gulfport’s geographic location, ease to market, combined with our new terminal, creates a highly efficient environment for our import and export activities.”
Dole’s current lease was set to expire in 2017. Congratulations on the expansion!
NEW YORK - The retail game is in for a massive shake-up this holiday season as Amazon.com opens its first-ever brick-and-mortar store in New York. Incidentally, AmazonFresh, the company’s online grocery subsidiary, is reportedly expanding the service in New York City – its first move to the East Coast. Coincidence? Perhaps, but it begs the question: Will we soon see fresh produce line the aisles at Amazon’s physical store?
Amazon has been tight-lipped on the new site so far in terms of size, length of the lease, or its selection and amount of inventory. From the few details we can gather, the physical store will be located at 7 West 34th Street, across the Empire State Building in midtown Manhattan, and according to Wall Street Journal, the store would “function as a mini warehouse, with limited inventory for same-day delivery within New York, product returns and exchanges, and pickups of online orders.” Couriers can also use the site as a distribution center with two loading docks located at the back of the building.
It seems like an odd move, but this isn’t the first time Amazon has thought about traditional retailing. About two years ago, the company scouted locations in Seattle before nixing the idea, citing poor foot traffic, the Journal said. That won’t be a problem on Manhattan’s 34th Street.
“Foot traffic on 34th Street is unparalleled,” Chase Wells, Executive Vice President at SCG Retail, a real-estate-service company, told the Journal. According to the 34th Street Partnership, the Empire State Building drew 4.3 million visitors to its observatory last year, while Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square, Amazon’s new neighbor, attracted 20 million shoppers.
Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies, told USA Today that this holiday experiment can give Amazon “the kind of feedback it needs to see if it wants to expand,” especially with that kind of traffic.
Meanwhile, analyst Ken Perkins of Retail Metrics Inc. told Los Angeles Times that Amazon’s new physical store “certainly means more pressure and more competition for other retailers, particularly big-box retailers.”
AmazonFresh has already been making waves in online grocery retail. If AmazonFresh looks to accommodate its produce selection in a new home, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see the company using the store as a physical location to sell produce to shoppers in the real world. It’s certainly an exciting prospect, but it also brings in another big-name competitor into the retail mix.
Will Amazon’s experiment in traditional retailing be a success? And if so, would you want your brand represented? Let us know by voting in the survey questions below.
For more updates on Amazon’s move into the brick-and-mortar business, keep it here on AndNowUKnow.
MIAMI, FL – Crowley Maritime Corporation’s liner services group and Seaboard Marine Ltd. have reached a new vessel sharing agreement (VSA) for the Dominican Republic trade lane. The companies have also changed their current vessel sharing agreements for Panama and Costa Rica.
“The cooperation between Crowley and Seaboard in both the Dominican Republic and Panama/Costa Rica trade lanes will allow both companies to continue providing exceptional service at competitive rates in the ever-changing Caribbean and Central American markets,” said Tony Otero, Crowley Vice President, Caribbean Services. “It also reduces certain environmental impacts by significantly removing additional emissions.”
“These two arrangements permit us to gain efficiencies while enhancing schedule integrity to our customers. Transit times to and from Costa Rica, as an example, will be improved,” agreed Edward Gonzalez, Seaboard Marine President and CEO. “We are also pleased that we can reduce our carbon footprint by making these changes.”
According to a press release, the new VSA will go into effect in mid-November. It will provide both companys' customers with a reliable, weekly service on larger ships moving directly between Port Everglades, FL, and Rio Haina in the Dominican Republic. Each Wednesday, a vessel will discharge and load in Port Everglades before departing for Rio Haina. It will reach its destination on Saturday where it will dock again before heading northbound again on Sunday.
Seaboard, however, will still continue to offer Sunday shipping from Port Miami to Rio Haina. Likewise, Crowley's Sunday services from Port Everglades to Rio Haina will remain unchanged.
Crowley and Seaboard will share equal vessel space, although each company will still continue to provide its own full complement of equipment types and other services to its customers. Sharing space will allow the two companies to maintain their high levels of service, while increasing efficiency and decreasing carbon emissions from their operations in these trade lanes.
The existing VSA between Seaboard and Crowley to Panama and Costa Rica will now call only Port Miami starting in mid-November. Both Seaboard and Crowley vessels will dock each Tuesday evening at Port Miami before sailing southbound on Friday.
Congratulations on the accomplishment of this new vessel sharing agreement, Crowley and Seaboard!
VENTURA COUNTY, CA - In conjunction with PMA Fresh Summit, the growers and distributors of Ventura County are inviting industry members into their backyard for the Ventura County Sustainability Exchange (VCSE). The aim of this unique collaborative event brings the region's top growers together for one common cause, which will be to showcase Ventura County to the industry as a one-stop-shop for sustainably grown produce.
“Buyers from all over the country will be impressed to see the substantial investments that Ventura County producers have made to incorporate sustainability into producing their products,” said John Chamberlain, Director of Marketing for Limoneira. “The Ventura County Sustainability Exchange will firmly establish the county as the one-stop-shop for sustainable produce.”
Invitees to the event will experience these growers’ operations first-hand as companies like Limoneira, Calavo, San Miguel Produce, Agromin, Deardorff Family Farms, and Houweling's Tomatoes invite them along for tours of their fields and facilities, according to a press release.
While at the event, VCSE attendees will have refreshments provided by Nobu mixologist Brian Leon in Limoneira’s orchards and a dinner catered by Chef Jason Collins, who will be using local produce from Ventura County to create the meals. Also, renowned comedian and illusionist Patrick Martin will be entertaining.
Agricultural Commissioner, Henry Gonzales, Food Share Inc. President, Bonnie Weigel and Kathleen Phillips, Supply Chain Sustainability Manager for Pro*Act will all be attending the event as guest speakers.
This two-day trip is going to give VCSE attendees a first-hand look at this county known for being a leader in sustainability.
The VCSE was sponsored by Cool Planet, Agromin, Driscoll's, Houweling’s, San Miguel, Deardorff, Limoneira, and Calavo.
MORGAN HILL, CA – Sakata Seed America is debuting and officially launching its ‘Tasty 10 by Sakata’ Collection at PMA Fresh Summit in Anaheim.
The company invites Fresh Summit attendees to visit its booth (#3012) to learn about the collection, a medley of fruits and vegetables that includes:
- Infinite Gold Long Shelf Life cantaloupe NEW!
- Secretariat watermelon NEW!
- Sweet Hearts grape tomato
- Classic bell pepper
- Atlas butternut squash
- Sweet Treats cherry tomato
- Celebration Swiss chard
- Broccolini® baby broccoli
- Touchstone Gold beet
- Alamo turnip green
“Sakata offers a range of appealing varieties that were bred not only for yield, adaptability and disease resistance – but for FLAVOR, too!” declares Alecia Troy, Senior Marketing Manager. “As consumers become more and more specific about their taste bud needs, we know a tasty product can make all the difference.”
In addition to the Tasty 10 by Sakata, the company will also be launching its new stable of seedless watermelon, according to a press release. The R&D effort has led to a resurgence of new triploid varieties including Kingman, Secretariat, Unbridled and Charismatic.
Infinite Gold long shelf life cantaloupe will also be making its Fresh Summit debut. This LSL melon has been bred for firm flesh and long shelf life without a sacrifice in flavor or fruit quality. According to a press release, a third-party sensory analysis panel rated Infinite Gold higher in flavor and quality attributes than the leading competitors.
“Infinite Gold was bred to provide quality, firmness and flavor to the grower, retailer, and all the way down to the consumer,” Zachary Wortiska, Area Sales Manager-SJV/Bakersfield and Asst. Melon Product Manager said. “We are excited to bring the ‘Next Big Thing’ in cantaloupe and look forward to talking more about this variety at PMA.”
To celebrate the launch, Sakata is running a contest where Fresh Summit attendees can tweet about their favorite Tasty 10 and be entered to win a gift card. Learn more at Sakata’s booth #3012.
STOCKTON, CA - Concord Foods is introducing a new addition to its line of easy to make smoothie mixes – KALE & APPLE SMOOTHIE MIX.
It’s easy to make delicious and nutritious Kale & Apple Smoothies using Concord Foods new mix. Just add 1 cup of fresh kale, 1 apple, water and ice. The smoothie mix is enhanced with protein and calcium and contains a very clean ingredient statement. Ingredients include honey powder, natural flavors, ground ginger, vanilla extract, lemon juice powder and celery seed.
According to Charles Olins, V.P. Sales and Marketing at Concord Foods, “Consumers are aware of kale’s great health benefits; they are seeking tasty ways to add more kale into their diets. Concord Foods has responded by developing an easy-to-make smoothie mix for kale and apples. This smoothie mix can be used as a snack or meal replacement. It has some wonderful health benefits - As prepared the smoothie is a good source of Protein, Calcium and Vitamins A & C”.
Consumers will be able to purchase the KALE & APPLE SMOOTHIE MIX in the U.S. starting in October 2014. The mix is packaged in an eye catching 1.11 oz. pouch and it will be displayed in super market produce departments. The suggested retail is $1.29/pouch. These pouches are available to retailers in 18 pack cases, 48 pack clip strips or 72 pack floor shippers.
This press release was copied verbatim.
AURORA, CO - Avocados From Mexico has partnered with Category Partners, LLC, a retail category management service provider, to increase demand and consumption for avocados nationwide.
“We are extremely proud and excited to be working with Avocados From Mexico,” said Category Partners CEO Mac Johnson. “Not only do they have a great product, within an exciting category, but their team has years of experience, but more importantly, enthusiasm, and we have no doubt will leverage our support to exceed their goals.”
Category Partners takes a strategic approach to category management and category development in working with its clients and retailers to ensure the information and data is actionable and executable, according to a press release.
“Retailers are seeking more and more information about sales trends, promotional support, planning, and category insights, and the information they want needs to be fact based,” Johnson concluded.
Congrats on the partnership, Avocados From Mexico and Category Partners!