AMADO, AZ - Wholesum proudly participated in the sold-out, 18th annual Devour Culinary Classic, held February 21 and 22 at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. The annual event, which is hosted by Local First Arizona, brings together Arizona’s vibrant culinary community and local producers for a weekend celebrating great flavors that define the state. This year, Wholesum delivered a simple message: Little tomato, BIG flavor!

As a grower with farms in the US and Mexico and headquarters in Amado, Arizona, Wholesum was honored to represent the agricultural roots behind the ingredients that chefs and home cooks use every day. At its booth, Wholesum highlighted the beauty and flavor of its organic tomato portfolio, including colorful heirloom varieties and its high-flavor snacking tomato line. The spotlight was on Lil’ Ones, the company’s tiny organic tomatoes launched in May 2025. Bursting with sweetness and vibrant flavor, Lil’ Ones were created to deliver a joyful, elevated snacking experience.

To showcase their versatility, Wholesum presented a simple yet refined recipe: Lil’ Ones topped with freshly grated Parmesan, white truffle-infused oil, sea salt, cracked black pepper, and fresh basil. The preparation allowed the tomatoes’ natural sweetness and balanced acidity to shine, demonstrating how high-quality produce can transform a handful of ingredients into an unforgettable bite. The dish offered guests an easy-to-recreate idea for entertaining that is impressive, elegant, and effortlessly delicious.

“The response was incredible,” said Joanna Jaramillo, Marketing Manager at Wholesum, in the recent release. “We loved seeing people stop, taste, and truly experience the flavor of Lil’ Ones. Events like Devour create meaningful connections between growers, chefs, and the community. For us, it’s an opportunity to share about the care and craft that goes into every tomato.”

Throughout the weekend, attendees engaged with the Wholesum team, sampling tomatoes, learning about the company’s growing areas and expertise, and discovering new ways to enjoy organic produce at home. The enthusiastic reception showed Arizona consumers’ growing appreciation for fresh, responsibly grown ingredients and the stories behind them.

Participating in Devour Culinary Classic reflects Wholesum’s dedication to celebrating global flavors that inspire culinary creativity and meaningful connection. Through cultivating flavorful, organic produce, Wholesum brings these stories to life while supporting and championing the communities where it grows and operates.

For more information about Wholesum and its products, visit wh.farm.

NEW ZEALAND - Zespri has launched its 2035 strategy – a long-term plan to strengthen the kiwifruit industry’s resilience, unlock future value and a bold ambition to become the world’s healthiest fruit brand.

The kiwifruit marketer’s 2035 strategy has been launched at the industry’s two-day Momentum 2026 Conference in Mount Maunganui which is being attended by more than 600 growers, shareholders, post-harvest and industry leaders and supply-chain partners and customers from around the world. It’s the first Momentum Conference held since 2020.

Zespri CEO Jason Te Brake says in the recent release the industry is creating significant value for growers, working off a strong platform built over many years and now is the right time to look ahead at how it continues to deliver value over the next 10 years in a more competitive and complex global environment.

“Our 2035 strategy responds to a rapidly changing global environment and the need to stay ahead of shifting consumer expectations, increasing competition, climate pressures, geopolitical uncertainty and accelerating technological change.

“Having exceeded our previous target of $4.5 billion in global sales revenue by 2025, Zespri’s new strategy sets an ambition that goes beyond financial performance and as we look out to 2035, we’ve set ourselves an exciting ambition – to become the world’s healthiest fruit brand.

“We’re aiming to be at the forefront of the global fruit category by championing health and nutrition for our consumers, delivering leading products through a resilient future supply chain, and providing leading value to growers.

“Our 2035 strategy is about preparing our industry to be fit for the future while staying true to what makes Zespri special. Consumers are seeking healthier food choices, our markets are becoming more complex, and technology is transforming how people shop and how businesses operate. This strategy positions us to thrive in that environment, continuing to deliver high-quality great-tasting Zespri Kiwifruit to help people, communities and the environment around the world thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit.”

Zespri has defined being the world’s healthiest fruit brand in terms of delivering highly nutritious kiwifruit products for consumers, delivering strong, healthy returns for growers, and creating a healthy, rewarding environment for Zespri people to grow, develop and perform at their best – with its 2035 strategy supported by three strategic drivers. These are:

1. Unleash brand-demand – building a globally iconic fruit brand loved for natural nutrition through creating desirability for the Zespri brand, expanding availability and visibility in key channels, and providing the best product and packaging experience.
2. Transform global supply – establishing a responsive, resilient and reliable year-round supply chain delivering leading value through unlocking future supply, building a world-class value chain and delivering service excellence.
3. Create the product portfolio of the future – creating the healthiest products for consumers and growers through enhancing our core product portfolio, expanding into new demand spaces and executing commercialisation with excellence.

Zespri will use a number of metrics across key focus areas to measure progress against its ambition to become the world’s healthiest fruit brand (see Additional information).

Jason Te Brake says Zespri’s purpose to help people, communities and the environment thrive through the goodness of kiwifruit remains unchanged.

“Our industry has succeeded by being forward-looking, innovative and working together. Our 2035 strategy captures that and sets us up to keep growing value for New Zealand and our global partners, and to deliver the healthiest fruit experience to consumers around the world.”

EDMONTON, CANADA - Thirty years ago, The Little Potato Company legacy began on a 1-acre plot of land, with a father and daughter duo washing the latest harvest of Little Potatoes in a bathtub. Fast forward to today, the company has evolved into a reliable fresh operation, bolstering produce departments with a variety of convenient, on-trend Little Potato products.

As Angela Santiago, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, reflects ahead of the grower’s 30^th anniversary celebration, it leads back to the one simple belief that The Little Potato Company was founded on, that “everyone, everywhere deserves access to healthy, great-tasting food.” This belief has shaped the company’s mission to “Feed the World, Better,” which still guides its growth 30 years later.

“We try to live those values every day, whether that’s donating at least one million pounds of Little Potatoes annually, spending time volunteering at local food banks, or continuing to invest in making potatoes a more sustainable crop,” Angela says. “It’s not just something we talk about; it’s how we show up at work, and in the communities we’re part of.”

The Little Potato Company opened its first 15,000-square-foot packing plant in 2000, which soon expanded to 32,000 square feet to support growing production. Seven years later, the grower began year-round supply through partnerships with family farms across North America.

“When we started the company 30 years ago, creamer potatoes as a category did not exist in North America,” Angela explains. “We worked to build the category, create demand, and overcome regulatory challenges. If you can believe it, potatoes had never been packaged in small packs like 1 or 2 pound bags before, and colored potatoes were not allowed to be mixed. Together with our team, partners, and farming families, we challenged conventions, invested in innovation, and stayed focused on quality, always guided by a respect for the land and people who work it.”

Years-long and multiple-generation family farmer relationships are a cornerstone of our company, allowing the supplier to bring only the highest quality Little Potatoes to market.

In 2011, The Little Potato Company introduced Microwave-Ready Little Potatoes, making quick, easy preparation part of the brand story, and followed with Oven | Grill Ready Little Potatoes for outdoor and everyday cooking two years later.

“Today, we’re proud to be the leading Little Potato brand in North America, and that progress has always been rooted in our values and mission,” says Angela.

As the grower celebrates its 30-year anniversary, The Little Potato Company will be sharing stories across its channels, highlighting key milestones and the values that have shaped the company. Looking ahead, the company will continue to create little moments of happiness, meeting consumers where they are in their busy daily routines.

More exciting updates and expansions from The Little Potato Company are on the way, so stay tuned!

REEDLEY, CA - Family Tree Farms is pleased to announce the promotion of Jacob Peterson to Research & Development Director, effective January 1, 2026.

Peterson has played a central role within Family Tree Farms’ world-class Research & Development Center, where he has worked closely with the team to select and refine proprietary varieties for superior flavor and market performance. He has been instrumental in advancing the company’s varietal development efforts and strengthening the foundation for future genetics programs.

“I’m honored to take on this role and build on the incredible work already underway,” said Peterson in the recent release. “I am extremely thankful for Eric and his mentorship to me, and I look forward to leading our R&D team as we continue developing fruit that delivers exceptional quality and flavor for our customers and consumers.”

Eric Wuhl, former R&D Director, shared his perspective on passing the baton: “Watching Jacob grow into this role has been one of the most rewarding parts of my time with Family Tree Farms. He’s earned this opportunity through dedication and deep understanding of varietal development. Passing the baton to him feels both personal and exciting — like the future of our genetics work is in capable hands.”

Daniel Jackson, Owner of Family Tree Farms, added: “Jacob brings passion, expertise, and forward thinking to our R&D program. We’re confident his leadership will continue to push boundaries in fruit development and foster innovation that supports our growers and customers.”

WASHINGTON, DC - An overflowing room of agricultural producers, association leaders, and policymakers gathered for the Ag Wage Reform press conference and roundtable discussion, underscoring the urgency and national scope of the need for permanent reform to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR).

Speakers representing dozens of commodities across six states addressed the crowd, collectively urging Congress and federal policymakers to codify the interim final rule related to the AEWR and enact permanent changes that allow farms to plan with certainty, secure seasonal labor, and protect domestic food production.

The coalition now represents 36 agricultural organizations across nine states, speaking on behalf of more than 20,000 farmers who rely on over 380,000 temporary H-2A workers nationwide, at a cost exceeding $5 billion annually in wages.

Throughout the morning’s roundtable, growers detailed:

• Rapidly escalating wage mandates that outpace market realities
• The inability to plan multi-year crop cycles under fluctuating wage formulas
• Increased financial risk to family farms and rural communities
• Growing dependence on imported food when domestic production becomes unsustainable

Producers emphasized that American farmers are not seeking lower wages, they are seeking fair, predictable, and stable wages that protect:

• Farms
• Farmworkers
• Main Street rural economies
• The integrity of the U.S. food system

In addition to the press conference and roundtable, coalition members spent the day meeting directly with policymakers to reinforce the urgency of action. Representatives conducted meetings with more than 30 Senate and House offices, as well as with officials at the U.S. Department of Labor and members of the Senate Agriculture Committee. These conversations further highlighted the immediate need for clarity and permanence in federal wage policy for agriculture.

Without permanent reform, speakers warned that domestic fruit and vegetable production, along with specialty crop industries including horticulture and tobacco will continue to decline, food imports will increase, farms will close, and consumer food prices will rise.

Sam Watson, a farmer from Georgia, remarked in the recent release, “This is not a partisan issue, it is a food security issue."

Jason Rodgers of Titan Farms in South Carolina reiterated, “We are asking for stability. We are asking for certainty. And we are asking for policies that allow American farms to remain viable while continuing to provide lawful employment for hundreds of thousands of workers.”

Ag Wage Reform will continue engaging lawmakers from both parties to advance permanent legislative solutions that codify the interim rule and restore long-term planning certainty to the specialty crop industry.

ZAANDAM, THE NETHERLANDS - Ahold Delhaize, an international food retail group and a leader in both supermarkets and e-commerce, reports fourth quarter results.

Comments from Frans Muller, President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize

“In 2025, we operated in a rapidly shifting environment. Government policy changes were frequent and unpredictable, supply chain disruptions drove inflation volatility in some product categories, and rapid advances in AI and other technologies continued to reshape how we work and live. At the same time, households faced sustained pressure from higher living expenses and economic uncertainty. In this context, being a consistent and trusted partner for customers and stakeholders is essential. I am proud of how associates across our brands remained focused on serving customers, improving affordability and supporting healthier communities.

“To enable this, our Growing Together strategy provides focus and direction. It empowers great local food retailing while leveraging our international scale and capabilities. The deep expertise within our family of local brands gives us a real-time understanding of what matters most to customers, enabling thoughtful choices that improve every visit – in store and online – through affordability, stronger assortments and smart technology.

“In grocery, success is never driven by one thing – it is many details coming together every day. Over the past year, our capabilities have matured, our execution has become more connected, and our teams are operating in a strong rhythm, supported by a culture of ownership and accountability. This showed up clearly in our strong execution through the holiday season, allowing us to finish the year on a high.

“In Q4, net sales increased 6.1% at constant exchange rates (0.9% at actual exchange rates), while comparable sales excluding gasoline increased 2.5%. Net sales were positively impacted by 3.2 percentage points at constant exchange rates from the Profi acquisition and negatively impacted by 0.2 percentage points from the cessation of tobacco sales in Belgium. We delivered a healthy and higher-than-planned underlying operating margin of 4.2%. As a result, diluted underlying EPS was up 6.1% at actual exchange rates, or just under 12% at constant exchange rates. On an IFRS basis, we delivered operating income of €899 million and diluted EPS of €0.65.

“Our omnichannel offering continues to resonate strongly as customers prioritize time-saving solutions. Online sales grew 12.9% at constant exchange rates (9.1% at actual exchange rates), led by robust growth of 22.8% in the U.S. This performance is supported by our local, store-first and increasingly asset-light omnichannel model, alongside partnerships that expand speed and reach. With a strong pace of growth and ongoing productivity improvements, we continue to advance e-commerce profitability, building on the milestone achieved earlier this year when we reached e-commerce profitability on a fully allocated basis. Food Lion had a standout quarter, with a 2-percentage-point expansion in e-commerce penetration. With the recent closure of six e-commerce fulfillment centers, we have now completed our shift in the U.S. to a store-first operating model. Albert Heijn achieved record sales over the holiday season, supported by increased availability.

See Frans Muller's full comments here.

Group highlights

• Ahold Delhaize net sales were €23.5 billion, an increase of 6.1% at constant exchange rates and up 0.9% at actual exchange rates. Our net sales growth was driven by the Profi acquisition, comparable sales growth excluding gasoline of 2.5% and store openings. The Company's Q4 comparable sales excluding gasoline were negatively impacted by 0.1 percentage points due to weather, and by 0.2 percentage points from the cessation of tobacco sales at supermarkets in Belgium.
• In Q4, Ahold Delhaize's online sales increased 12.9% at constant exchange rates. This was driven by growth of 22.8% in the U.S.
• Ahold Delhaize underlying operating margin was 4.2%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points at constant exchange rates. Strong performance in the U.S. more than offset the effect of the governmental decree and intervention on grocery industry pricing in Serbia and the impact of the first-time integration of Profi.
• In Q4, Ahold Delhaize IFRS operating income was €899 million, representing an IFRS operating margin of 3.8%. IFRS operating income was €96 million lower than underlying operating income due primarily to impairment charges related to the strategic shift to a store-first omnichannel fulfillment network in the U.S.
• Diluted EPS was €0.65 and diluted underlying EPS was €0.73, up 6.1% at actual exchange rates compared to last year's results.
• In the quarter, Ahold Delhaize purchased 5.5 million of its own shares for €195 million. This brings the total amount for the year to €1,000 million, which excludes withholding tax in the amount of €17 million.

U.S. highlights

• U.S. net sales were €13.0 billion, an increase of 2.5% at constant exchange rates and down 6.0% at actual exchange rates. Comparable sales excluding gasoline in the U.S. increased 2.7%, driven by continued growth in online and pharmacy sales. Weather had a negative impact of approximately 0.2 percentage points.
• In Q4, online sales increased 22.8% at constant exchange rates, with strong growth across all brands, led by Food Lion.
• Underlying operating margin in the U.S. was 4.7%, up 0.5 percentage points. Higher sales leverage, improvements to online profitability, the positive effect from a shift in category mix, and lower shrink more than offset price investments and the dilutive impact from the growth in pharmacy sales.
• U.S. IFRS operating income was €539 million, representing an IFRS operating margin of 4.1%. IFRS results were €72 million lower than underlying results, primarily due to impairment charges related to the strategic shift to a store-first omnichannel fulfillment network.

See the full report here.