PLANT CITY, FL - When it comes to berries, one great bite can be the difference between a one-time purchase and a shopper coming back for more. That consumer experience is exactly what Wish Farms has in its sights as the industry gears up for the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Global Produce & Floral Show, and the grower is already planting the seeds for even more category-building opportunities to come in 2027.

Ahead of the show, I caught up with Amber Maloney, Director of Marketing, and Nick Wishnatzki, Public Relations Director at Wish Farms, to get a closer look at what the company is bringing to the floor. From proprietary berry varieties and AI-powered quality management to a developing nutrition platform, there is plenty happening behind the scenes.

But through all that innovation, the Wish Farms team told me there is one priority at the center of it all: flavor.

“We want attendees to leave with a clear understanding that Wish Farms is relentlessly focused on flavor innovation and delivering a better eating experience for consumers,” Amber explained. “We believe consistently delivering an exceptional eating experience is one of the best ways to drive repeat purchases and grow the berry category.”

Putting Flavor to the Test

That philosophy is particularly evident in Wish Farms’ Berry Sweet Research breeding program.

Years of evaluation and selection go into the company’s proprietary varieties, balancing characteristics including yield, firmness, size, shelf life, and disease resistance. Yet Nick stressed that those attributes alone won’t get a berry across the finish line.

“Flavor comes first,” he told me. “We simply won't advance a variety unless it delivers an exceptional eating experience.”

Select customer meetings at IFPA will put that claim directly to the test through a Berry Tasting Flight, featuring some of the company’s most promising raspberry and blackberry varieties.

For me, that is where the strategy gets especially interesting. Better flavor becomes a tool for encouraging that next purchase and, ideally, creating lifelong berry consumers.

“We believe exceptional flavor is key to creating repeat purchases and building lifelong berry buyers,” Nick said.

AI Meets the Berry Business

Of course, breeding isn’t the only innovation happening at Wish Farms. The company will also offer private demonstrations by appointment showing how it is using AI-powered technology to digitize and automate quality management across its operations.

Advanced defect-detection software allows teams to conduct inspections more quickly, apply quality standards more consistently, and use real-time data to inform decisions throughout the supply chain.

And there are some serious numbers behind the technology.

Nick shared that the system has helped reduce inspection time by as much as 70 percent, while lowering produce rejections by up to 50 percent. For an industry where quality, consistency, and speed all matter, those efficiencies give attendees another reason to keep innovation on their radar at the show.

A Bigger Nutrition Story Is Coming

Amber also gave me a small peek at something Wish Farms is developing beyond the IFPA show floor. The company has invested in scientific research examining the nutritional benefits of its berries, laying the groundwork for a broader consumer platform planned for 2027.

She couldn’t spill all the berries just yet, but the direction is clear.

“Today’s consumers are increasingly looking for foods that support their overall health and wellness, and berries are uniquely positioned to meet that demand,” Amber explained.

The ultimate goal is to translate the research into consumer messaging that gives shoppers additional reasons to choose berries while supporting consumption and category growth.

“We'll be sharing much more in 2027, but ultimately, we see an opportunity to give consumers even more reasons to reach for berries while helping drive consumption and growth for the entire category,” Amber added.

And Yes, There Will Be Snacks

All that talk about flavor would be a pretty big tease if attendees couldn’t actually eat something. Luckily, Wish Farms has that covered too.

Amber shared that the booth will feature a rotating lineup of better-for-you, grab-and-go creations made with its berries, including mixed berry overnight oats, strawberry muffins, and blueberry cookies. Select customers will also have the opportunity to experience the Berry Tasting Flight.

Between the breeding pipeline, AI technology, nutrition research, and plenty of berries to taste, Wish Farms is giving attendees several different ways to experience its flavor-first strategy at booth 825.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more conversations, innovations, and insights from the IFPA Global Produce & Floral Show.

PORTLAND, OR - Food safety remains a topic of industry conversation, and GLOBALG.A.P. North America (GGNA) is helping growers get a leg up in this arena GGNA recently published the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) Topic Guideline authored by the GLOBALG.A.P. U.S. National Technical Working Group (NTWG) as part of their U.S. NTWG Topic Guidelines series. This voluntary guidance resource for U.S. producers not only helps growers determine whether an EMP is appropriate for their postharvest operations, but how to build one around their individual level of risk.

Rather than prescribing the same EMP for every operation, the guideline walks operations through a structured risk assessment. This includes a decision tree, guidance on what and where to test, and practical frameworks for interpreting results, taking corrective action, and documenting the process.

“The risk assessment asks about the commodity, the handling environment, such as wet or refrigerated, if water contacts the product, and whether regulatory or buyer requirements apply. The intention is that operations will have a documented rationale for their sampling, target, and frequency decisions,” explains Kellie Worrell, Certification Manager, Eagle Certification Group and NTWG member.

“The guideline describes hygienic zones, hazard identification, and risk levels, so that the EMP is proportional to the actual contamination risk in that specific handling operation rather than generic. For example, a simple dry-pack operation ends up with a leaner, targeted program and a complex wet-pack operation with cold storage gets a more intensive one.”

As Kellie goes on to explain, a defensible EMP demonstrates proactive food safety management. A documented EMP with a corrective action protocol supports operations not only in audits, but also during investigations or a recall.

“GLOBALG.A.P. standards are developed with extensive input from producers, supply chain operations and retailers through technical working groups, reflecting real operational conditions rather than theoretical requirements,” adds Humberto Maldanado, Director of Safety and Compliance, Organically Grown Company and NTWG member. “The standards are practical for operations and meant to support operational efficiencies, not only check the box compliance. The guidelines provide practical explanations and examples to help U.S. producers understand the why and how behind relevant GLOBALG.A.P. principles and criteria, and help close the gap between the requirement and implementation, to support an operations’ learning and continuous improvement.”

“One underappreciated point is that the EMP guideline's value extends beyond annual certification,” Kellie notes. “It gives operations a continuous improvement framework. Results trend over time, and a well-maintained EMP becomes institutional knowledge about a facility's contamination profile. That knowledge is valuable.”

GGNA has been expanding its technical support by offering resources like these guidelines authored by the US NTWG, a cross-sector collaboration of leading food safety and sustainability professionals. With the IFPA Global Produce and Floral Show approaching, the guideline gives growers and packers a practical way to evaluate their current approach before meeting with customers, certification bodies, and food safety partners.

The U.S. NTWG Topic Guidelines are non-normative guidance documents developed to help U.S. producers understand and implement relevant GLOBALG.A.P. requirements and do not introduce additional certification requirements.

As the industry continues to elevate its food safety standards and enhance its operations around that goal, AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the trailblazers pushing the needle forward.