WENATCHEE, WA - Alongside its new signature apple, Rave®, Stemilt Growers’ has traveled 1,756 miles, with the #RaveRoadTrip entering its final stop in New Jersey today. Over the past three weeks, Stemilt has been introducing consumers to this one-of-a-kind apple variety.
“Every stop has been a new adventure and an awesome experience,” said Brianna Shales, Communications Manager. “Our team had a blast interacting with consumers on a personal level to drive trial and increase brand awareness of Rave apples. It’s cliché to say, but we heard so many raves about this apple. People love its Honeycrisp texture and super refreshing flavor. One consumer even told us that it tastes better than any apple she’s had before!”
Along the way, Stemilt reached over 10,000 consumers, a press release noted. Not only did pop-up events and the colorful Rave-mobile draw shoppers’ eyes, the bold color of the brand itself was a beacon. Throughout the journey, Stemilt documented the trip using the hashtag #RaveRoadTrip on social media, which upped consumer awareness. Throughout the #RaveRoadTrip, Stemilt was running geo-targeted social ad campaigns and working with influencers to spread the news about the apple’s availability nationwide and build brand recognition. This outreach work has led to more than 250,000 impressions for Rave apples in one month.
“People loved hearing about Rave’s unique Honeycrisp-MonArk parentage, how the variety was developed, and where we farm it today,” stated Shales. “As the growers of this apple, we love sharing that story. It was also fun to bring the #RaveRoadTrip to social media and share the amazing experience that Rave was having with our fans located near and far from the friendly cities we visited.”
While sampling Rave apples, Stemilt had an orchard-themed porch swing to inspire Instagram photos (color me jealous!). Consumers also had a chance to enter a sweepstakes to win gift cards to local attractions at most city stops.
“Tapping into our influencer network is another way we introduce consumers to Rave apples,” Shales remarked. “With about a month remaining in the apple’s short season, we’ll do another push to share Rave with top-tier food media outlets in hopes of keeping the raves coming.”
Stemilt also noted that this is the third year Rave has been on the market, with its biggest crop to date. Prior to this season, Stemilt introduced Rave apples through various marketing efforts, including a media and influencer dinner featuring the apple and a Rave apple pop-up shop located in the Big Apple.
“Rave is a fun brand to market and this #RaveRoadTrip was quite the adventure to take an apple on,” said Shales. “The consumer response has been overwhelming. We look forward to continuing the positive momentum on Rave as it is featured in produce departments across the country over the next several weeks.”
Exciting news for the Stemilt team! Keep reading AndNowUKnow for all that’s happening fruit-side.
AUSTIN, TX - The H-E-B-backed delivery company, Favor, recently announced the appointment of a new executive, Fernando Trueba, who was appointed to the position of Chief Marketing Officer. Favor, which was acquired by H-E-B in February 2018, currently operates in over 130 Texas cities. In this new role, he will both lead and develop the company’s marketing strategy throughout the next stages of growth.
"Favor's remarkable growth amid the continually evolving on-demand space has been impressive to watch," said Trueba. "I am excited for the opportunity to continue building Favor's brand alongside such a talented and passionate team dedicated to achieving market leadership in Texas."
According to a press release, Trueba joins Favor with a proven track record in marketing, having worked in the sector for 16 years. He was most recently the CEO and co-founder of Luv.it, a technology company focused on building a more sustainable and transparent fashion industry.
Prior to founding Luv.it, Trueba led eBay's geographic expansion to launch eBay Marketplaces in over 18 markets across Latin America, positioning the site as the leading e-commerce destination for cross-border trade in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. His previous experience also includes a stint at Microsoft, where he designed and implemented the competitive strategy for Windows 8 devices. He also worked at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products, where he led the successful launch of Splenda in Mexico and business expansion in Latin America; as well as RedBull where he led marketing efforts for the leading energy drink brand in Mexico.
"This position is a natural step in further establishing Favor's presence across Texas and we are thrilled to have Fernando leading our growing marketing organization," said Favor President, Steven Pho. "I am confident his leadership and expertise in building brands will help propel Favor's brand and growth forward."
The press release noted that Trueba is joining Favor as the company continues fueling its growth with strategic marketing efforts across Texas, including the recent launch of Favor's first statewide brand campaign featuring television commercials, digital brand media, streaming services, strategic sponsorships and out-of-home media.
Congratulations to Fernando on this new role!
GRAND FORKS, ND - Black Gold Farms historically appoints members of the Halverson family to executive roles, but it just announced the addition of a non-Halverson to the Board. Doug Kling will occupy a position on the company’s Board of Directors, supporting other members as well as nurturing Black Gold’s mission to maintain healthy family relationships within the stock ownership group.
“I’ve met Eric and Leah through different industry organizations, which has peaked my interest as to what they were doing—as a family and as a progressive potato production operation,” said Kling. “I’ve been impressed with their commitment to growth, innovation, and their ability to keep family harmony. Having all of that is not easy and it takes work. I’m looking forward to digging deeper and helping them in any way I can, as a company and as a family, to achieve their goals. And, knowing them, having some fun along the way.”
According to a press release, as Kling steps forward to his position on the Board, he joins CEO Eric Halverson, COO John Halverson, Marketing Director Leah Halverson, and Chairman of the Board Gregg Halverson, along with CFO Bob Hoffert.
“Working with Doug while serving on the United Fresh Board of Directors has really showed me that Doug is not afraid to challenge the status quo or speak up,” explained Eric Halverson, CEO. “This is exactly what we need as a family organization. Someone to push us and help us make the difficult decisions.”
Black Gold’s newest Board member is currently the President and CEO of Kling Strategic Partners. Prior to this, Kling served in Senior Strategic Leadership positions at Village Farms International, Cadbury Schweppes, Johanna Foods, Life Savers, and other Fortune 500 consumer product companies. Congratulations to Doug Kling on his new position!
MONTEREY, CA - Mark your calendars for “Sustainability In Action,” a meeting taking place on Thursday, September 26, in Salinas, California, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the CSUMB City Center. It’s an invaluable experience for agricultural producers and processors that would like to get started in building out their sustainability programs or streamline those that already exist.
Not only will this meeting offer practical suggestions and connections to help move your operations' sustainability program forward, it will offer attendees a chance to gain insight into how retailers and buyers are approaching sustainability and how to leverage those information requests into valuable internal management tools for growers and handlers.
We heard from multiple industry leaders about why this event—and sustainability—is so important:
Nikki Rodoni, Founder, Measure to Improve
“Choosing sustainability is a smart business decision, and if you ask today's consumer, it is a necessary one. From the way they shop to their shifting values, consumers are shifting their choices when eating fresher produce and putting more pressure on buyers for that produce to be grown, packed, and shipped in more sustainable ways. Retailers and buyers are responding with more and more requests for information on how their suppliers are managing sustainability. Many growers and handlers are building internal sustainability programs that support improved management and tell the story of how they are working to continually improve, but there is a lack of consistency in measuring and reporting these results to buyers, regulators, and consumers. We welcome all those interested and those looking to further streamline their already innovative programs in place.”
Alison Edwards, Director & Facilitator, Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops
“SISC is excited to collaborate with our members to support members of the fresh produce industry with practical tools to build out their sustainability programs. This meeting will offer practical solutions to support growers, packer/shippers, and handlers to track and implement sustainability actions in their own operations. If you’re interested in starting a sustainability program, or you’re looking to build out your existing program, this event offers great value.”
Kelli McCune, Project Director, Sustainable Conservation
“Agriculture in California is facing some big challenges, like a changing and more unpredictable climate, and stressed and impaired water supplies. As one of the meeting organizers, we’re excited about continuing to build collective action in the important Central Coast region where many of our nation’s fruit and vegetables come from. Achieving a sustainable-food future is possible if we all—farmers, consumers, food companies, NGOs, and others—unite around common-ground solutions for stewarding the land, air, and water we all depend on, and doing so in ways that are just and make economic sense.”
Hank Giclas, Sr. Vice President, Strategic Planning, Science & Technology, Western Growers
“As our population increases it brings increasing pressure on our limited resources and a higher demand for safe high-quality food. It’s now more important than ever that we take proactive steps to refine our abilities as an industry to measure and communicate performance. Western Growers is proud to lead this landmark event to share cutting-edge sustainability tools and ideas that will assist farmers to showcase how they continue feeding the nation and world, all the while protecting our Earth.”
Keep reading AndNowUKnow as we cover the latest industry events!
LOS ALAMITOS, CA - Halloween is one of my all-time favorite holidays, so any time I hear about spook-tacular produce opportunities, my little spooky heart starts to flutter like the wings of a bat. I’m not the only shopper that gets excited about Halloween and all the recipes that comes along with it. Courting this love of Halloween, Friday’s Specialty Produce recently announced the launch of its Spooky Foods promotion. Excite shoppers throughout October with Frieda’s Spooky Foods promotion!
“Our clients love this promotion, so every year we are dedicated to finding the best-quality items to help create a Halloween produce set,” said Director of Procurement Allen DeMo in a press release. “Take, for example, our jackfruit. This year we have partnered with an amazing grower who is supplying us with the highest-quality, GLOBALG.A.P.-certified and best-tasting jackfruit.”
Ways in which retailers can build upon the appeal of spooky foods is to feature Frieda’s jackfruit, Kiwano®, rambutan, blood oranges, and red dragon fruit together. Go a step further and carve spooky faces into apples, Kiwanos, or blood oranges and give shoppers a healthy way of celebrating the holiday. (We all know how easy it is to fall into the candy trap!)
Adding festive decorations from other departments will help create the full Halloween effect.
There is really no better time than Halloween to display some of Frieda’s most unique items to inspire shoppers and their kids to try something new in the produce department. So, what are you waiting for? Get spooky!
Keep reading us here at AndNowUKnow for the latest in retail promotions and more.
MCLEAN, VA - If it seems like it was just yesterday that Gladstone Land Corporation snapped up new property, that’s probably because it was. Tuesday morning, the company announced its acquisition of berry farmland on the coast of California; today, it announced the addition of a 366-acre vineyard in Napa, costing the company $32 million ($87,431 per acre).
“It’s rare that opportunities for a beautiful vineyard like this one come along on attractive terms, but our team did a great job of finding this one and negotiating its purchase,” said David Gladstone, President and CEO. “We now have an excellent vineyard with an outstanding tenant in Napa Valley, California. This acquisition expands our vineyard holdings and adds another very strong, long-term operator to our tenant base. Entering Napa Valley also adds a new growing region to our list of farm-growing areas, further diversifying our farmland holdings. Diversification is a key element in our desire to reduce risk and build a farmland REIT that can pay steady dividends to stockholders.”
We’re curious as to how Gladstone is finding so much success as of late, but it might have to do with the 10-year, triple-net lease agreement made with this seller prior to the deal’s finalization, as reported by a press release.
“This is an exciting acquisition for us,” said Bill Reiman, Managing Director. “We are entering a new region and beginning a new tenant relationship with one of the leading wine companies. Having a presence in the premium wine grape growing region of Napa really helps to solidify our position within the California wine industry. We look forward to many more opportunities here and throughout other wine grape growing areas.”
Is this a sign of a plethora of buy-ups to come for the company, which has been relatively quiet since 2017? We at AndNowUKnow patiently await.
SHANGHAI, CHINA - There’s nothing like opening your doors to wrap-around lines and hours of parking to make a retailer feel welcome. Such was the case for Costco’s debut in Shanghai last week, encouraging the company to assure it will work toward opening its second location “as soon as possible,” according to news source China Knowledge.
While there were already high expectations, the turnout to Costco’s first store in the country exceeded its anticipations.
Images of Disneyland at Christmas come to mind when reading reports of opening day: with cars circling or waiting three hours to park and residents with their shopping carts waiting in two-hour-long lines to check out. China Knowledge noted that traffic on the roads around the Costco store were temporarily “paralyzed,” forcing Costco to suspend business on the afternoon of the opening day. This did not stop Costco from seeing a record number of new member registrations, though.
All in all, the reception prompted Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti to assure construction on the next location is coming, adding that the company is optimistic about the long-term success of its stores in China and will continue to bring high-quality, exciting, new products to its members around the world.
As more plans are made known toward that growth both here in the U.S. as well as in other key markets beyond our borders, AndNowUKnow will report on the latest.
MADERA, CA - There are several summer treats that include kiwis, but that doesn’t mean you can only sell those fuzzy delights June through August. With California kicking off in the market, Catania Worldwide is assuring retailers can keep summer alive all year long.
This year, the company is focusing its efforts on one of the hottest segments in fresh produce.
“Our conventional volumes remain quite similar to last year, but our organic crop is growing every year,” Kurt Cappelluti, Sales Manager of Catania Worldwide subsidiary Stellar Distributing, said in a press release.
Set to harvest at the beginning of October, with the grower forecasting product on the shelves October 20, Catania said that the weather this year may delay harvesting by one week, but the sizing is much more desirable than this time last year.
“The growth on the vine looks strong this year and we’re excited to pick and pack,” Cappelluti said.
When it isn’t growing kiwi directly in Madera, California, Catania maintains a year-round status as a global citizen of the kiwi world—importing product year-round and growing its program every year.
You can learn all about Catania’s kiwi season and more by meeting with the crew at PMA Fresh Summit next month in Anaheim, California, when you swing by booth #179. See you there!
GAINESVILLE, FL - With AmazonGo continuing to change the retail landscape, competing grocers are looking at new formats and strategies to steal back market share. Kroger is stepping up to the plate with a new style of shopping set to appeal to on-the-go consumers.
According to a report from The Gainesville Times, which was then picked up by AP News, Kroger has been looking into a format in which hand-held scanners will be implemented, meaning fewer cashiers and an overall different store vibe. The technology is currently being tested at the Gainesville Kroger Marketplace, underneath an aptly-named “Scan, Bag, Go” system. Customers bring their own bags—or use the store’s—and pick up a scanner upon entrance to the store, meaning they’re prepped and raring to go right out the gate.
How the shoppers are then charged for the transaction was not specified.
One of the managers at the Gainesville store told the source that, “It’s just another option. I think it was created just to give people another option.”
These “other options” have grown exponentially in recent years, enfolding in its arms stores all the way from Giant Eagle and Walmart.
Is this “Scan, Bag, Go” format the next big retail revolution? AndNowUKnow will keep you posted.
BAKERSFIELD, CA - Grimmway Farms continues to prove itself a leader in the produce industry and an indispensable cog in the wheel of U.S. agriculture. Most recently, the grower welcomed United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky, Deputy Press Secretary Alec Varsamis, and Senior Congressional Advisor Veronica Wong to its headquarters in Arvin, California. The visit was conducted under the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, and signified one of many listening sessions the Deputy Secretary is participating in to learn more about important issues facing California farmers.
“We were honored to host Deputy Secretary Censky to discuss the issues facing our operation and others in California,” said Jeff Huckaby, President of Grimmway Farms. “We had productive discussions with the Deputy Secretary and were able to show him firsthand how current legislation impacts our industry and the regulatory pressures farms face today.”
According to a press release, the topics discussed during the session included everything from immigration to water rights, and Huckaby met with Deputy Secretary Censky to discuss concerns regarding guest worker programs, global trade and tariffs, and the impact that water will have on farmers and the rest of the country.
After the listening session, Huckaby led Censky on a tour of local farmland and facilities, highlighting organic vegetable harvest operations and carrot processing technology. Huckaby provided first-hand insight on the growth of the organics sector in the produce industry, and the production developments needed to meet the growing demands of the category. Also representing Grimmway leadership, Brandon Grimm was on hand to speak with Censky about how the Food Safety Modernization Act and the new FDA audits are being implemented at Grimmway and Cal-Organic Farms facilities.
Following the visit, Deputy Secretary Censky, Congressman Kevin McCarthy, and legislative team members held roundtable discussions with California farmers where they shared struggles and successes felt across the entire agriculture industry.
For more updates on other industry-leading companies and events, keep reading AndNowUKnow.