SALINAS, CA - As an antioxidant powerhouse, blueberries will never go out of style. With California’s domestic blueberry crop hitting store shelves, I turned to Naturipe Farms to learn more about the company’s current blueberry program.

“We are excited to see another strong season of Naturipe blueberries out of California, particularly in our premium Mighty Blues jumbo blueberries. Our proprietary blueberry varieties deliver an exceptional eating experience, and we can’t wait for our customers and their shoppers to try these and all of our delicious blueberries,” began Brian Bocock, Vice President of Product Management. “We are just starting off our California blueberry season, with stronger availability beginning in May and peak volumes continuing through the beginning of June.”

Naturipe Farms offers organic and conventional varieties from California in both public and proprietary varieties developed through its breeding program.

“Recently, we’ve developed a few exciting proprietary varieties that optimize the berries’ characteristics and make them even better. They are firmer and more flavorful at each bite. As a bonus for retailers, they also have an improved shelf-life,” Brian added.

In general, the blueberry season for Naturipe Farms is shaping up great, with the market coming into stronger promotional volumes as domestic growing regions like California, Florida, and Georgia are becoming available to supplement the volumes from Mexico.

“In California specifically, the market is steady as we are still in the early weeks of the season. Once we get into May, we will see multiple opportunities with promotional volumes. Initial promotional volumes will kick off with the peak of our Rocio Variety organic blueberries from the Southern San Joaquin Valley in early May. Late May and early June represent the overall peak of California blueberry production with promotional opportunities for both conventional and organic blueberries,” Brian noted.

He added that blueberry pricing has been stronger and needs to remain that way to offset additional costs needed to grow and harvest the crop.

“These cost increases have been felt across the entire food chain as input cost, packaging, and labor cost have all substantially increased in the last two years and the cost of goods needs to reflect this in order for farmers’ operations to remain sustainable. As volumes increase in May when we reach peak volumes, we expect prices to adjust to promotional levels and spike demand through that period,” Brian concluded.

With those words in mind, retailers should start planning ASAP!

WEST COAST - As DoorDash expands outside of restaurant offerings, the world of grocery delivery is ripe for the taking. The delivery company created more inroads along the West Coast, announcing several new retail partnerships to boost its expansion.

Vallarta Supermarkets, New Seasons Market, Haggen, Mother’s Market, and Jimbo’s are now live on DoorDash, bringing a wide variety of high-quality and specialty selections to consumers across the West Coast.

According to a press release, each retail partner has a customer they’re looking to bring into their stores, and the addition of convenience to their platforms will be beneficial to their shoppers.

These regional stars join several other West Coast grocers on DoorDash, including PCC Community Markets, Stater Bros., The Raley’s Companies, and The Save Mart Companies.

We’ll keep our eyes locked on the newswire so keep reading AndNowUKnow for the latest in retail.

WASHINGTON - And that’s officially a wrap on Farmworker Awareness Week! Industry ally Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) just finished its fifth year promoting the educational initiative, helping consumers gain a glimpse into the hard work it takes to bring fresh produce to their tables.

“While consumers have a general understanding of how their fresh foods are grown, cared for, harvested, packed, and shipped, there is often a disconnect in understanding the number of skilled individuals required to keep our grocery stores stocked,” said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, Director of Marketing and Communications for EFI. “Marking Farmworker Awareness Week gives the industry the opportunity to raise awareness and celebrate the efforts of the people and skills behind the scenes producing nutritious food.”

EFI’s publicity and social engagement throughout the agricultural industry involved politicians, government agencies, schools, and businesses, a release stated. The organization shared a variety of resources, including its toolkit and graphics, and popular platforms utilized the #FarmworkerAwarenessWeek hashtag to promote related events such as food and clothing drives for farmworkers and their families. Well-known organizations such as Stemilt, Superfresh Growers®, Baloian Farms, the California Workforce Development Board, and more participated in these social media efforts.

As the release added, contributions to Farmworker Awareness Week were unique to each organization that participated, including politicians, government agencies, nonprofits, health organizations, and higher education institutions.

EFI has armed the industry with a free communications toolkit since 2020, giving industry members the resources to celebrate the week and amplify its message to consumers.

Farmworker Awareness Week may only come once a year, but EFI remains committed to amplifying farmworker voices across the industry year-round. With new resources added each year, the toolkit is sent to every state agricultural department, national commodity boards, and producer organizations in agriculture.

For the latest industry initiatives, keep clicking on that little apple logo. Cheers to a successful Farmworker Awareness Week!

SANTA PAULA, CA - Part of Limoneira’s business portfolio is its real estate development joint venture with The Lewis Group of Companies. Today, the company announced that this venture closed on an additional 554 residential homesites at its Harvest at Limoneira, a master-planned community in Santa Paula.

These homesites were purchased by Lennar, one of the primary builders in Phase 1 of Harvest, and completes the sell-out of Phase 2 of Harvest.

“We are very pleased to announce the completion of the sale of Phase 2 at Harvest with the sale of all 554 homesites to Lennar,” stated Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Lennar was one of the guest builders within Phase 1 and we are excited that they have committed to being the sole builder for Phase 2. We will be able to provide an update on profitability of this transaction and actual cash to be received by Limoneira in fiscal 2024 with our earnings announcement in June.”

According to a press release, Phase 2 of the process is the Foothill Neighborhood, which consists of seven different lot types with home sizes ranging from approximately 1,500 to 3,500 square feet. The community itself was designed to attract strong interest from new home buyers throughout Southern California.

The Foothill Neighborhood will include at least 20 various floor plans utilizing distinctive architectural elevations and some of the homes will include unique views of the Pacific Ocean.

Lennar also purchased a total of 867 single-family homesites within Harvest, 313 homesites in Phase 1, and 554 homesites in Phase 2.

We’ll keep reporting on the business ventures within the produce company, so stay tuned to ANUK.

SALINAS, CA - With 40 years of organic farming officially in the books, Earthbound Farm is celebrating its successful legacy with the rollout of its latest offerings. The produce department will soon be welcoming the brand’s line of Organic Salad Kits featuring dressings made with 100 percent organic avocado oil and its Limited Harvest Wild Red Arugula blend.

"We are proud of Earthbound Farm’s pioneering spirit and impact over these 40 years," said T. Bruce Taylor, Vice President of Organic and CEA for Taylor Farms. "Today, we’re excited to continue to lead with flavorful products and sustainable farming practices that encourage more consumption of healthy, fresh produce."

Expanding the ever-popular salad category, Earthbound’s five new Organic Salad Kits with avocado oil dressings include:

• Caesar
• Chipotle Ranch
• Apple Cider Crunch
• Golden Balsamic
• Truffle Caesar

These new SKUs will be available at select grocery stores in May, with a nationwide expansion planned throughout the remainder of 2024, a press release explained. The launch caters to a central consumer demand, as avocado oil continues to grow in popularity in the salad dressing space.

“At Earthbound Farm, we’re always looking for innovative ways to offer the freshest, most appetizing organic produce options available,” said Jenny Panziera, Director of Product for Organic and Earthbound Farm. “This new line of salad kits was intentionally crafted to deliver a delightful blend of flavors and textures with the added benefit of dressings made with pure organic avocado oil, providing consumers with convenient, nutritious meal solutions.”

Following this diverse array of salad kit flavors, the next to join the lineup is the Earthbound Farm Limited Harvest Wild Red Arugula, a premium variety unique to the brand.

The product will draw consumers in with a creative packaging design that honors Earthbound Farm’s first-ever salad bags and a uniquely spicy, bold, and peppery flavor profile. This limited harvest item joins the company’s robust portfolio and will be available from May 2024 through October 2024.

How will the brand continue to bring more life to the packaged salad sector? Keep reading ANUK to find out.