IMMOKALEE, FL - There is good advice, and then there is advice from a five-generation, family-owned-and-operated company. As we look at the growing opportunities for fresh produce around Cinco de Mayo celebrations and beyond, Lipman Family Farms is helping retailers, foodservice partners, and families make the most of their menus and meal plans.

“Cinco de Mayo is a big day for fresh produce. The food that makes it special includes crops that Lipman Family Farms has grown for generations. Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, and other staple vegetables pack the table with festive colors, flavors, and textures that shoppers and diners crave,” Elyse Lipman, Chief Executive Officer, shares. “To make the most of demand, Lipman Family Farms encourages retailers to lead with the fundamentals: Roma and round tomatoes for salsas and pico de gallo, jalapeños and bell peppers for heat and color, along with squash and zucchini for grilled sides. Fresh-cut, convenient offerings like pico de gallo and diced vegetables offer value-added solutions for easy application. Retailers who prioritize abundant, well-stocked displays of these core items will capture excitement and volume during the rush.”

As Lipman expresses, Cinco de Mayo is a visual celebration, creating endless opportunities to entice shoppers.

“Oversized displays and promotions with vibrant blocks of reds, greens, and yellows will pull shoppers in. Cross-merchandising produce with tortillas, limes, avocados, cilantro, and queso fresco helps shoppers build a full meal in a single stop. Recipe inspiration for fresh salsa, fajitas, or sides like calabacitas can also drive an incremental lift,” Elyse details.

While Cinco de Mayo is already upon us for buy-side planning, it is important to remember that the opportunity doesn’t end on May 5.

“Successful retailers treat Cinco de Mayo as the kickoff for a continuous series of summer produce occasions, including backyard cookouts, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, the Fourth of July, pool parties, and weeknight grilling,” Elyse states. “They all rely on the same produce that makes Cinco de Mayo a hit with consumers. By promoting tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and squash, retailers can drive strong performance during the warmest months of the year. Fresh theming, cross-merchandising, and recipe angles keep customers excited about summer produce.”

With a strategic and robust operational footprint across fresh produce categories, Lipman Family Farms can support sustained summer demand.

With thousands of acres across North America, a growing greenhouse network, and local partnerships that shorten the journey from farm to customers, Lipman ensures partners have access to a reliable supply of quality produce. The company’s portfolio gives buyers a full range of options to create standout summer programs, with flexibility to rotate features, hit different price points, and keep the department fresh week after week.

"For generations, we've been growing for high demand in spring and summer, with Cinco de Mayo really kicking off the local summer season,” Elyse says. “We anticipate transitional periods and are positioned well to ensure consistent supply during holiday spikes."

From Cinco de Mayo through summer, Lipman Family Farms helps keep produce departments vibrant, relevant, and ready to perform.

PORTLAND, OR - This year, Agraya GmbH recognizes a 25-year trajectory of advancing responsible farming worldwide. Founded as a retailer-driven initiative in 2001, the company has thoughtfully evolved alongside changing regulatory, market, and supply-chain demands, including founding GLOBALG.A.P. North America for the US and Canadian markets in 2010. Over more than two decades, it has grown into a global organization helping shape how farmed products are produced, verified, and traded. Today, Agraya and GLOBALG.A.P. North America draws on that experience to support a wide range of value chain partners with practical, scalable solutions for a changing industry.

Impact on global supply chains

During the last 25 years, Agraya has developed a globally connected assurance system, according to a press release. Today, over 195,000 producers worldwide use GLOBALG.A.P. certification solutions which aim to support responsible farming practices, market access, and trusted sourcing among traders and retailers. As of 2025, there are nearly 12 million acres of plant production and more than 3.1 million metric tons of aquaculture products under GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes. With solutions currently implemented in over 135 countries, Agraya makes a significant contribution to the global trade of farmed products.

A 25-year evolution committed to credible farm assurance

The origins of Agraya date back to 1996, when a retailer-driven initiative was launched in response to concerns over pesticide residues on fresh produce. This led to the foundation of EurepGAP (Euro-Retailer Produce Work Group Good Agricultural Practice) and the first steps in developing an independent, holistic certification system for Good Agricultural Practices (G.A.P.). With the establishment of FoodPLUS GmbH as the legal owner of the EurepGAP standards in 2001, certification was formalized, and in 2007 the standard was renamed GLOBALG.A.P. to reflect its global reach. FoodPLUS GmbH expanded to found GLOBALG.A.P. North America as a dedicated subsidiary to serve the US and Canadian market in 2010. The launch of the GGN label in 2016 added the first consumer-facing channel, linking on-product communication directly to production processes under GLOBALG.A.P. certification.

Following over 20 years of developing and refining large-scale assurance systems, the organization moved to the next stage in 2025 by rebranding FoodPLUS GmbH and bringing the GLOBALG.A.P. and the GGN label together under a single corporate home: Agraya GmbH. Both brands remain unchanged and fully operational, continuing to serve as distinct and well-established pillars of Agraya’s portfolio. Looking to the future, Agraya will continue to build on this foundation by taking a collaborative approach to the challenges and opportunities shaping agriculture, focusing on advancing the sector through practical solutions, innovation, and long-term impact.

"As a long-time GLOBALG.A.P. certified grower, we’ve seen firsthand how the program supports both responsible farming and market access,” says Brenna Benevidez of AgriCare, Inc. which grows citrus, blueberries, kiwiberries, table grapes, hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios in Oregon and California.

“It provides a common language with our buyers and gives them confidence in how our produce is grown. That consistency has been critical as customer expectations and requirements continue to evolve.”

Moving beyond assurance

While assurance remains Agraya’s foundation, the organization increasingly looks beyond certification to address future challenges in farming. Regulatory complexity, climate pressures, and shifting expectations are changing how the sector operates worldwide. Against this backdrop, Agraya's 2030 vision is to facilitate space for new conversations and future-oriented initiatives that foster smarter decision-making, deeper connections, and more resilient outcomes across the value chain.

“We are proud of 25 years of driving good agricultural practices worldwide and the impact we have made on farms and supply chains,” said Elmé Coetzer-Boersma, CEO of Agraya. “We have grown into an assurance system at the heart of the industry. That trust has been earned through practical standards, strong governance, and a constant focus on real-world applicability. Looking ahead, Agraya will continue to build on this foundation by developing practical solutions that respond to the evolving needs of the industry”.

GLOBALG.A.P. North America is committed to shaping Agraya’s assurance solutions to serve the evolving needs of farmers and the food and floral industry in the United States and Canada. We mark this milestone by applying our learnings to support a more resilient agricultural future.