SPIRIT LAKE, IA - The helpful smile of a Spirit Lake Hy-Vee employee is now featured on the side of a semi-trailer to honor the more than 45 years of service he has dedicated to the company.

John Holbrook’s picture was unveiled Monday during a celebration at the Spirit Lake Hy-Vee, where he serves as a produce clerk.

Hy-Vee first started featuring long-serving employees on semi-truck wraps in 1997, and it has since become a cherished tradition at the company.

COACHELLA, CA - Joolies, the California-based date brand known for bringing a fresh, modern approach to one of the world’s oldest fruits, is entering the 2026–27 season in a strong supply position, with approximately 50% more fruit available than last year and high-quality Medjool dates to support its growing retail footprint and future expansion.

The brand grew out of Kohl Family Farm, where the family has cultivated organic Medjool dates, known as the “King of Dates”, in California’s Coachella Valley for four generations. Joolies was co-founded in 2018 by longtime date grower David Kohl and seasoned entrepreneur and former Wonderful Company executive Greg Willsey, combining four generations of agricultural expertise with deep consumer brand experience. Today, Joolies partners with additional growers who share the same commitment to quality, expanding the brand’s supply of organic fruit as it continues to scale.

“We’re heading into the season in an incredibly strong position, with a beautiful Medjool crop coming in and plenty of supply to support where we’re headed,” said Greg Willsey, co-founder of Joolies, in the recent release. “We’ve seen tremendous growth and excitement around dates over the last several years, and we believe there’s still so much opportunity ahead. We’re excited to keep growing with our retail partners, welcome new opportunities, and continue changing the Date-ing Game.”

The date category continues to gain household adoption, with U.S. household penetration reaching nearly 12% in 2025, according to Circana. Joolies is outpacing that momentum. According to the most recent SPINS MULO data, Joolies is one of the fastest-growing brands in the date category and now ranks No. 2 in date fruit sales nationwide. For the 12 weeks ending June 30, 2026, Joolies grew 28.9% year over year—nearly three times the 9.9% growth of the overall date fruit category. Its retail footprint has also expanded to more than 12,000 stores nationwide, up from roughly 7,000 a year ago.

Since launching, Joolies has set out to change the way consumers see and snack on dates. Its signature mint-colored packaging is designed to stand out on the shelf and bring greater visibility to the category, while the brand’s social-first approach keeps Joolies close to how consumers are discovering, sharing, and using dates today. That connection allows the brand to move quickly on emerging snacking trends and continue exploring where dates can go next.

Joolies is also taking dates into new parts of the store and new eating occasions. As date-based candy emerges as one of the category’s hottest snacking trends, Joolies is helping take the movement mainstream with Date Sours, now available at retailers including Sprouts Farmers Market, Target, select Costco locations, HEB, Hy-Vee, and Erewhon. Made with organic dates and nostalgic sour flavors including Blue Raspberry, Watermelon, Peach, and Cherry Cola, Date Sours bring the fruit to new consumers, aisles, and eating occasions while expanding what date snacking can look like.

Joolies will showcase its 2026–27 crop and growing portfolio at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Global Produce & Floral Show in Orlando. Retailers and industry partners can visit Joolies at Booth #1511 to see and sample the new season’s Medjools alongside organic Deglet Noor dates, Date Pops date-and-walnut bites, and Date Sours, and learn more about what’s ahead for the brand.

FRESNO, CA - Math is no longer as straightforward as 1+1. We have to factor in variables that could happen, recognizing that the equations of life don’t always start at the same number before adding and subtracting. From a business perspective, it’s the insurance you pay into, recognizing that the incident without protection will cost far more.

In Invest Today, Grow Faster Tomorrow: Why the Right ERP Accelerates ROI, Famous Software makes the case that ROI shouldn't be measured against a crisis that hasn't happened, but against the efficiency already being left on the table.

"The right ERP isn't simply an expense associated with replacing software. It's an investment in how efficiently your business operates," the company states.

The produce-specific ERP provider points to Cabefruit Produce, which cut invoice processing from two to three minutes to just 10 seconds per transaction—a change that barely registers once, but compounds fast at scale.

"In fresh produce, small inefficiencies rarely stay small," the post notes. "When they happen transaction after transaction, the impact adds up quickly."

The company also points to specificity as an advantage. It is nearly impossible to quantify the advantages of a system designed around fresh produce by a company that has been present for the last five decades of technological developments. With more than 1,500 installation sites and over 20,000 users, Famous Software points to its own footprint as evidence that the design pays off at scale.

The post walks through the ROI case across five angles:

• Operational efficiency: Removing repetitive tasks and unnecessary steps from daily workflows
• Better decisions: Giving teams the data to act quickly and confidently
• Industry-specific design: Reducing the time and cost of customizing generic software
• Scalable growth: Making sure technology can keep pace as a company adds customers, locations, commodities, or facilities
• Long-term value: Capturing gains sooner rather than waiting for a breaking point

"Waiting for an existing system to become a critical problem may delay more than an ERP project," the company writes. "It can delay efficiencies, insights, and capabilities that could already be moving the business forward."

After all, when it comes to “produce math,” we all know too well the numbers can change at any time.