MONTEREY, CA - The Organic Produce Summit (OPS) recently announced its newest educational panel to take place at the upcoming OPS show, held July 10—11 at the Monterey Conference Center. The session, titled “How Regional Retailers are Growing Organic Fresh Produce Sales,” will focus on the ways these grocers are growing organic fresh produce businesses.

Moderated by Scot Olson, President of Northwest Division of FreshSource—and former Vice President of Produce for Grocery Outlet—the panel will explore how regional players compete in different geographic areas in comparison to bigger retailers.

The retail panelists offering their expertise include Jeff Cody, Vice President of Produce and Floral, Northeast Shared Services; Jilea Hemmings, Owner and Founder, Nourish + Bloom Market; and Jim Sullivan, Vice President of Produce, Yokes.

As a press release explained, the 50-minute session will be held Thursday, July 11, at 9 a.m. PST. It will focus on topics including regional tastes and flavor preferences, what items perform well in certain regions, and how organic versus local shakes out in different regions.

The panel will also explore price, selection, and sizing of fresh produce and how smaller, independent grocers and farmers markets work to differentiate themselves.

As always, AndNowUKnow will be here to bring you the latest in events pertaining to the produce industry.

KINGSVILLE, ON, CANADA - It has been two years since Mucci Farms formed a strategic partnership with Cox Enterprises, which has blossomed into not just a synergistic approach to greenhouse growth but also a deepening pool for innovation.

Cox Enterprises has now taken steps to officially bring Mucci Farms, as well as BrightFarms, under one umbrella with the recent launch of Cox Farms. In addition to capital, Cox's expertise and corporate resources in logistics, communications, media, branding, finance, and other areas will continue to bolster Mucci Farms' ability to serve customers across the continent.

Cox Farms, a new business focused on sustainable agriculture investments, will support the growth of Mucci Farms, enabling and allowing the greenhouse grower to do what it does best.

“Everything has and will remain Mucci Farms, but with much more support and resources,” Bert Mucci, Chief Executive Officer of Mucci Farms said. “This new chapter allows Mucci Farms to accelerate growth and expansion to maximize national presence from coast to coast in Canada and the U.S. Through strategic investments, mergers and acquisitions, and expansion through new builds, the big picture goal is to increase regional production so we can deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to communities across the continent, grown close to home. Cox Enterprises has more than 125 years of experience building large-scale businesses, and their experience and wealth of knowledge will provide numerous resources to the Mucci Farms team as it continues on its mission to be North America’s preferred supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Steven Bradley, President of Cox Farms, discussed further.

"Scaling the business is where we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of this opportunity. These are infrastructure-intensive, capital-intensive businesses that require a long-term outlook to make the right decisions,” he said. “What we have is the perfect recipe: Mucci Farms, who are the best operators in the business, and Cox, with our capabilities in operating large infrastructure businesses, consolidation, and, of course, capital. We have a generational outlook, enabling us to think about these businesses 30–40 years from now and build for the future."

Most importantly, Bert added, it will be business as usual for all of Mucci Farms' grower and retail partners.

“Mucci Farms isn’t going anywhere, we are only going to be enhanced by Cox Farms. Retailers will benefit from increased scale, strategic expansions to accommodate their needs, and a renewed emphasis on data and analytics to improve decision-making,” said Bert.

With nothing but an open road ahead for this new journey, AndNowUKnow will continue to report on this strategic formation as it further bolsters Mucci Farms and BrightFarms for existing and potential customers.