SAN FRANCISCO, CA & JOHNSTON, IA - Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in America, announced a new partnership with Fareway, a longstanding Midwest grocer with more than 140 stores. Together, the two companies are bringing customers the same trusted service and value they expect in store, now paired with an updated, seamless e-commerce experience.

As part of this partnership, Fareway is launching an enhanced, online shopping experience powered by Storefront Pro, Instacart’s enterprise commerce platform. Fareway orders are also now available for pickup through the Instacart Marketplace with no markups, giving customers more convenient ways to shop.

With Instacart, Fareway is strengthening its e-commerce presence and bringing additional digital convenience to the communities it serves. Customers can now shop thousands of Fareway products - including fresh meat, produce, pantry staples, and household essentials - for pickup through Fareway’s updated digital grocery experience at Shop.Fareway.com and on the Instacart App.

“We’re proud to support a trusted, community-first retailer like Fareway as they enter their next chapter of digital growth,” said Ryan Hamburger, Vice President, Commercial Partnerships at Instacart, in the recent release. “With their adoption of our enterprise commerce platform and commitment to no‑markup pricing, Fareway is not only strengthening their digital competitiveness, but also accelerating online sales growth and customer loyalty.”

“We are excited to reach new customers already shopping on Instacart by joining the Instacart Marketplace and to offer more convenience to our existing customers with the launch of our updated Shop.Fareway.com experience,” said Mike McCormick, Chief Retail Officer at Fareway. “This partnership allows us to deliver the same great Fareway service and value our customers expect in store, now with an improved online experience.”

Today, Instacart’s Storefront technology powers more than 380 grocers’ e-commerce sites and allows retailers to quickly scale their online presence. With Storefront Pro, Fareway gains a grocery-specific, enterprise platform that unifies its web, app, and in-store experiences, while maintaining full control over its brand and customer relationships.

The Instacart Enterprise platform includes AI-powered search and merchandising to improve product discovery, integrated fulfillment technology for efficient pickup and delivery, and built-in retail media capabilities through Carrot Ads, Instacart’s retail media solution that drives incremental revenue. With robust native functionality and flexible integrations with third-party technology providers, Fareway can expand its digital capabilities without building or maintaining complex e-commerce infrastructure. Fareway also joins more than 310 grocers, marketplaces, and commerce platforms leveraging Carrot Ads to power their retail media programs.

Fareway is the latest retailer to join more than 2,200 national, regional, and local retail banners on the Instacart Marketplace. This partnership reflects Instacart’s ongoing commitment to equipping retailers of all sizes with flexible, enterprise-grade solutions across e-commerce, connected stores, retail media, AI, and data.

SALINAS, CA - Already lauded for its high quality and innovative flavors, Taylor Farms is adding another coveted benefit to its portfolio: protein. With the introduction of a new platform strategically geared toward high-protein lifestyles, the fan-favorite brand is combining the power of fresh vegetables with protein-packed dressings, dips, and toppings to tap into the food scene’s latest, most prominent trend.

“Our goal is to help our customers grow their fresh produce department, and you can’t stay still and achieve that,” Bryan Jaynes, Senior Vice President of Product, shares on the morning of the line’s retail debut. “You have to meet emerging consumer needs, and many consumers are looking to add more protein to their diets. While you can certainly add your own protein options to complement produce, we wanted to provide a line of products that delivered a higher level of protein on their own. Through the use of new ingredients, we've doubled the amount of protein in our original Chopped Salad Kits to really help deliver on consumers’ personalized nutrition needs.”

The new Taylor Farms protein-forward platform includes 11 products now available nationwide:

• Protein Chopped Salad Kits - Available in Caesar, Southwest, Green Goddess, Caesar Mini, and Southwest Mini varieties
• Protein Salad Bowls with Chicken - Available in Caesar, Southwest, and Green Goddess Pasta varieties
• Protein Power Snacks - Available in Almonds & Cheese, Trail Mix & Veggies, and Cheesy Southwest varieties

With its own dressing facility located in Ontario, California, Taylor Farms has internally developed some of the dips and dressings in its protein line, driving innovation from product to recipe development.

“We didn't stop at just the dressing or the dip—we strategically sourced other components to increase the amount of protein in these products,” adds Charis Neves, Vice President, Product and Innovation. “This includes items such as our custom crouton crumble infused with whey protein, as well as power trail mix, tortilla chips with chickpea protein, and vegetables that are naturally a good source of protein, to name a few.”

The line is supported by a national marketing campaign across social media, e-commerce, consumer advertising, and in-store promotions. In the process of bringing this line to market, Taylor Farms has also introduced a creative retail strategy.

“We’ve thoughtfully developed the on-shelf presence for this line,” Charis explains. “We have a bold protein callout on our graphics that spans across all the products in the line, clearly communicating to the consumer how many grams of protein are packed inside. Below that, shoppers will also find the recipe name, attributes about the flavor and ingredients of each product.”

This 11-SKU launch is the first rollout of Taylor Farms’ protein lineup, with additional items expected to debut in the coming months.

“We've already started developing additional products and ways to serve consumers more protein,” Bryan shares. “We see functionality as a big part of the future, and we have quite a few projects in the pipeline to deliver on that demand.”

With more product innovations on the horizon, you won’t want to miss the next update from Taylor Farms—so leave a tab open to AndNowUKnow!

VALENCIA, CA - The California mandarin season is in full swing. To find out how the category is faring after some unfavorable weather last year, I turned to Sunkist Growers. Reporting strong volume and good quality, the supplier is positioned well for the rest of the season.

“We experienced significant fog across many growing regions during the first 60 days of the season, which required our teams to carefully pick around weather windows,” shared Cassie Howard, Senior Director of Category Management and Marketing. “The fog, combined with warmer-than-ideal conditions, contributed to some fruit drop early in the season and accelerated maturity across certain blocks.”

Despite those challenges, Sunkist Growers has maintained strong fruit movement through its packinghouses and into the marketplace.

Cassie reports that pricing remains strong on the open market.

“This is largely due to continued high demand for high-quality fruit coming out of California groves,” she explains. “Strong arrivals combined with excellent eating quality have helped support healthy movement and pricing across the category.”

Sunkist is currently shipping Tangos and Murcotts, both of which meet high-quality and flavor standards for retailers and consumers.

“As we move further into spring, we will also begin transitioning into Ojai Pixie tangerines, a highly anticipated specialty variety known for its exceptional sweetness and easy-to-peel characteristics,” Cassie adds.

Even though there are a number of variables between now and next season, the grower is well-positioned heading into the next growing cycle.

“From a marketing standpoint, we’re also continuing to invest in consumer education and category engagement. Later this season, Sunkist will introduce a new collaboration with children’s educational creators Captain & Cat, an award-winning kids & family content studio, highlighting our Sunkist Cali™ mandarin program,” Cassie concludes. “They focus on introducing children to the growing process, explaining how citrus is grown in a fun and creative way, and reinforcing the importance of healthy snacking for families along the way.”

We’ll be back to discuss how Sunkist Growers continues to drive demand in this segment. Stay tuned!

PLANT CITY, FL - Plant City based, international grower and year-round marketer of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and pineberries, Wish Farms, is pleased to announce it concluded its high-visibility participation at the 96^th Florida Strawberry Festival, using the 11-day event to reinforce the quality of the 2026 Florida strawberry crop and the importance of direct consumer engagement for the industry.

Festival organizers announced that 573,299 guests visited the Plant City fairgrounds this year.

Now in its 15^th year sponsoring the Florida Strawberry Festival soundstage, Wish Farms leveraged the platform to highlight its growers, workforce, and the people behind Florida strawberry production. Prior to each concert, the company aired a consumer appreciation video recognizing growers and staff.

The festival’s national draw allowed Wish Farms team members to engage in real-time conversations about seasonality, varieties, and farming practices. “The berry quality this season has been exceptional,” said Nick Wishnatzki, Public Relations Director at Wish Farms, in the recent release. “There’s nothing more rewarding than watching someone’s face light up after taking that first bite. They associate that experience with our brand, and it creates an authentic connection. That’s the most meaningful validation we can have.”

The upgraded soundstage, now in its second year, delivered record-setting exposure, with the Forrest Frank concert becoming the highest-attended concert in Festival history. The increased scale and production value amplified Wish Farms’ visibility while reinforcing the Festival’s role as a showcase for Florida agriculture.

In addition to on-site presence, Wish Farms activated daily marketing campaigns designed to connect grassroots engagement with digital growth. Interactive promotions encouraged festivalgoers to follow the brand on social media and join the Berry Lover email list, driving direct-to-consumer connection beyond the Festival grounds.

Pink-A-Boo® Pineberries were also sold and sampled throughout the event, introducing many consumers to the variety for the first time and highlighting ongoing innovation within the strawberry category.

For Wish Farms, the 2026 Festival once again served as a critical touchpoint to reinforce grower value, product quality, and consumer demand at the height of the Florida strawberry season.

DENVER, CO - St. Patrick’s Day consistently drives one of the strongest sales weeks of the year for fresh potatoes, and retailers who act on it can grow both volume and total basket size. Drawing on national sales analysis by 210 Analytics, Potatoes USA outlines three practical merchandising strategies retailers can execute immediately to maximize holiday performance.

National sales data shows St. Patrick’s Day consistently ranks in the category’s top four volume weeks annually, underscoring the holiday’s outsized impact on the category.

“St. Patrick’s Day gives retailers a built-in demand spike,” said Nick Bartelme, Global Retail Development Manager at Potatoes USA. “Retailers who lean into variety, reinforce the occasion through visible displays, and offer convenience-driven meal solutions can turn that demand into meaningful basket growth.”

Lead With the Right Variety Mix, Including Red Potatoes

Russet potatoes anchor St. Patrick’s Day volume, accounting for 54% of total potato sales during the holiday week. Red potatoes, however, deliver one of the strongest seasonal performances of the year, with sales running 89% above an average week.

“Red potatoes align naturally with traditional St. Patrick’s Day meals, yet many retailers still overlook this data,” Anne Marie Roerink, founder of 210 Analytics, said. “Retailers who spotlight reds alongside russets meet shopper expectations and capture incremental sales.”

Potatoes USA encourages retailers to highlight a full range of varieties - including red, yellow, fingerling, and medley potatoes - to reflect how shoppers plan holiday meals.

Build Displays That Extend an Existing Sales Surge

Shoppers already plan to buy potatoes for St. Patrick’s Day. Effective displays can help them buy more.

According to the Southeast Produce Council’s What’s New? study, 43% of consumers spend more on produce when celebrating a holiday or special occasion. Retailers who group potatoes with other St. Patrick’s Day staples - such as cabbage, corned beef, carrots, and Irish butter - create a complete meal solution that encourages larger baskets and cross-department lift.

“Holiday displays succeed when they help shoppers visualize the full meal,” Roerink said. “That clarity drives engagement and trade-up.”

Position Potatoes as an Easy Win for Busy Families

As grocery spending continues to shift toward Millennial households, retailers need solutions that work for parents managing busy spring schedules and picky eaters.

The What’s New? 2025 study shows fewer than half of parents say their children enjoy most vegetables, and 89% report at least one barrier to increasing produce consumption, most often taste or texture.

“Potatoes remove produce friction for families,” Roerink said. “Their mild flavor and versatility allow parents to adapt meals in ways kids enjoy, without adding complexity.”

Retailers can reinforce that value through clear, solution-oriented messaging and simple meal ideas such as build-your-own baked potatoes, air-fried wedges, or sheet-pan dinners that simplify holiday hosting.

For additional data and insights into shoppers’ interest in potatoes, visit PotatoRetailer.com.