BAKERSFIELD, CA - When you forge a partnership with Sun World, you gain more than a high-performing new table grape variety. Sun World International’s partners are part of an expansive and dynamic network that supports them from production through marketing and retail execution. This collaborative model has granted the company’s varieties impressive staying power, enabling them to build strong brand recognition in the produce department.

As the company celebrates its 50^th year in business, Chief Executive Officer Bernardo Calvo took a moment to discuss both past and future growth with AndNowUKnow.

How did Sun World’s portfolio, operations, and overall growth advance in 2025? What strategies drove this development?

“Over the past year, Sun World reached a real inflection point. We have always been known for our breeding, but in 2025, that innovation showed up more clearly than ever in the marketplace. Our portfolio grew in meaningful ways, led by the continued strength of AUTUMNCRISP® and the early momentum behind RUBY RUSH, which is quickly establishing itself as a next-generation grape.

At the same time, we began expanding the reach of our innovation beyond grapes. Through our global trial network and grower partnerships, we advanced new citrus, mango, and stonefruit varieties designed to bring the same focus on eating quality, consistency, and commercial performance into new categories.

What made this growth especially powerful is that these varieties did not just expand. They earned trust. Retailers and consumers are coming to recognize Sun World fruit for what it is: produce that delivers on flavor, reliability, and performance across markets and seasons.

Behind the scenes, we invested in the systems that allow innovation to scale. We expanded our global trial network, advanced our AI-assisted breeding platform, and aligned our licensing and commercialization teams so the best genetics could move more efficiently from development into retail programs. That helped us better match supply to real market demand, region by region.

We also became more intentional about how we support our brands. By building coordinated global production and retail programs around AUTUMNCRISP® and RUBY RUSH, and applying those same principles as we expand into new fruit categories, we demonstrated how premium genetics paired with strong execution can drive meaningful category growth.”

What growth is on the horizon in 2026, and how does Sun World plan to achieve it?

“Retailers, growers, importers, and marketers are navigating one of the most complex and transformative periods the produce industry has seen. Consumer expectations are rising, technology is reshaping how fruit is bred, and global supply chains are becoming more interconnected and more fragile at the same time. Across the industry, people are looking for clearer insight into what is coming next, what it means for their business, and how to prepare.

At the same time, some fundamentals are becoming very clear. Retailers want more reliability and fewer surprises. Growers need genetics that help manage risk. And consumers expect fruit to deliver a consistently great eating experience.

Sun World is responding by helping partners move from uncertainty to clarity. Through global trials, shared data, and modern breeding tools, we provide better insight into how a variety will perform in the field, through the supply chain, and at retail. That gives our partners across the value chain the confidence to make smarter decisions in an increasingly complex environment.”

How is Sun World keeping up with this innovation and constant industry evolution to remain a strong produce partner?

“What truly differentiates Sun World is not just the fruit we develop, but how we bring innovation to market together with our partners. We have built a global licensing and commercialization platform that connects breeders, growers, marketers, and retailers through a shared system focused on quality, consistency, and long-term success.

As we head into our 50^th year, what matters most to us is what we are building for the next 50. The pace of change in produce has never been faster, and everyone across the value chain is feeling it, from growers and importers to retailers and consumers. In 2026, we will be using this milestone as an opportunity to share what we are seeing across our global network, what is working in the market, and what’s next for fruit.”

Leave a tab open to ANUK for more exclusive insights from produce industry innovators.

SANTA MONICA, CA - As California reexamines the implementation of SB 54 and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for plastic packaging, Gem-Pack Berries on January 22, 2026, publicly declared a Full Cycle Framework designed specifically to address 
agricultural packaging end-of-life, one of the most difficult unresolved areas under current policy.

The declaration took place at LA BioSpace at California State University, Los Angeles, bringing together agriculture, academia, policy expertise, and international technology partners to demonstrate a system already operating in real agricultural conditions.

Agricultural packaging remains uniquely challenging under SB 54. Plastic is essential for food safety, shelf life, and logistics, yet recovery, verification, and end-of-life accountability have historically been fragmented or unavailable in agricultural environments. The Full Cycle Framework responds by designing responsibility across the entire lifecycle of packaging, starting in the field rather than at disposal.

Agriculture as the Starting Point

Gem-Pack, a significant agricultural packaging user, initiated the framework based on a clear operational requirement: sustainability solutions must function in real farming operations without disrupting productivity, food safety, or logistics.

Madu Etchandy, SVP of Operations, at Gem-Pack, emphasized in the recent release that agriculture cannot afford abstract solutions. “In agriculture, packaging is used every day, under pressure, at scale. If something slows operations or introduces uncertainty, it simply does not work. This framework matters because it was built to operate in the field, not just look good on paper.”

By anchoring the framework in agriculture, Gem-Pack positioned farming operations as the proof environment where EPR accountability must survive real-world conditions.

A Framework Built for SB 54 and EPR Execution The Full Cycle Framework connects five distinct roles into a single operating system:

• Gem-Pack Berries serves as the agricultural proof environment where packaging is used, recovered, and validated in real operations.
• Reborn Materials acts as the system integrator, designing how responsibility moves from use through recovery, verification, and end-of-life without breaking.
• ZYEN Biotech (KUBU), a Korean enzyme technology company led by Professor Kyung Jin Kim of Kyungpook National University, provides controlled enzymatic pathways for plastics that cannot be mechanically recycled.
• QNA Technology, a publicly listed Polish company, supplies quantum-dot-based material authentication, enabling verifiable tracking and auditability under EPR
• GGenTec, a Korean waste-to-value company, delivers low-temperature end-of-life infrastructure that converts non-recyclable plastics into energy and feedstock rather than landfill.

Together, the framework ensures recyclable plastics are recycled, non-recyclable plastics are converted into value, and remaining materials are tracked and managed through verified end-of life pathways.

See the full release here.

CHICAGO, IL - Midwest Foods, Chicago’s WBENC-certified, women-, locally, and family-owned food distributor, is pleased to announce the appointment of Alli Fodor as Vice President of Sales. In this role, Fodor leads the company’s sales strategy and execution, supporting continued growth, territory expansion, and strengthened customer partnerships across the Midwest.

Fodor brings more than a decade of food and beverage industry experience, with a proven track record of building high-performing sales teams, driving revenue growth, and strengthening relationships with chefs, operators, and partners. As Vice President of Sales, she will oversee Midwest Foods’ sales organization while helping to expand the company’s footprint and deepen its presence across existing and new markets.

“Alli brings a rare combination of strategic thinking, hands-on leadership, and a deep understanding of the foodservice landscape,” said Erin Fitzgerald, President of Midwest Foods, in the recent release. “Her experience leading multi-state sales teams and her relationship-first approach make her the right leader to guide our sales organization as we continue to grow thoughtfully, expand our territories, and support our customers with consistency and care.”

Prior to joining Midwest Foods, Fodor served as Director of Sales at Fortune Fish & Gourmet, where she led a sales team across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. She previously held sales leadership roles at The Chefs’ Warehouse and brings experience across distributor, supplier, and independent operator environments. Known for her data-driven approach and collaborative leadership style, Fodor has built and mentored teams of varying sizes while supporting both established and emerging foodservice businesses.

MONTEREY, CA - Organic Produce Summit returns to the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California July 14-16 for its 10^th anniversary year, according to the recent release. Now boasting a 3^rd day of organic excellence!

For 10 years, visionaries and forward-thinkers have gathered in Monterey, California to nurture not just crops, but to cultivate relationships within the organic produce industry.

This isn't just an event - it's a movement where seeds of innovation blossom into industry transformation, handshake agreements grow into life-changing partnerships, and the future of fresh, organic abundance takes root.

As it celebrates its remarkable 10^th anniversary milestone, join a community united by the belief that fresh, organic produce can heal our planet and nourish our souls. Experience enhanced education that ignites inspiration, an expanded trade show floor dedicated to the best of the entire organic produce industry, and connections that will flourish long after the event ends.

Retailer and General Attendee Registration is Open! Register to attend here.

New and Returning Favorites! What can attendees expect at OPS 2026:

• Third day devoted to networking! Includes: Golf tournament, Women’s luncheon, and partner event with CCOF
• OPS Event App for seamless pre-show planning, wayfinding on site, making connections with other attendees, and on-demand content.
• Expanded Trade Show Floor showcasing the best in organic produce, and for the first time ever inclusion of the entire organic produce industry from growers, to allied service providers and supply chain partners
• Special Events like Yoga on the Beach, Seed to Service donation program, Welcome Reception and Organic Roots Pre-Reception for buyers and those new to OPS or the industry, Keynotes and educational sessions, and Retailer and Buyer Field Tours.

This milestone event is your opportunity to connect with the organic community, discover innovative solutions, and grow your business.

CORONA, CA - Consumers’ lives are busier than ever, and keeping up with shopper demand means introducing products that meet the current moment. Building off the success of its Persian cucumber program, Veg Fresh Farms recently introduced its newest product line, Bitty Bites baby cucumbers.

To learn more, I turned to Chris Jacoby, Sales Director.

“We’re continually developing new products that respond to consumer demand while driving incremental growth for our customers,” he told me. “We believe Bitty Bites represents the next evolution in snacking—offering a fresh, healthy option parents can feel good about serving their kids, and a convenient staple for everyday kitchens.”

Chris noted that consumer preferences are clearly shifting from traditional slicing cucumbers to convenient, snackable options that fit the busy lives of today’s consumer. This trend has gained significant momentum at the retail level, with many prioritizing snacking options over slicing.

Available in 9 oz packing, Bitty Bites baby cucumbers are perfect for on-the-go eating. There are three packaging options to choose from, too: a 9 oz pouch bag with full-color artwork, a 9 oz overwrap tray with a full-color sticker, or a 9 oz clamshell with a full-color sticker. The bold, eye-catching design is meant to stand out on the shelf and appeal to both adults and children.

Bitty Bites deliver the same crisp texture and fresh flavor consumers love in Persian cucumbers—now in a smaller, more convenient snackable size. Their smaller size and softer seeds result in less bitterness while maintaining a consistently crisp bite, delivering refreshing, crunchy hydration in every cucumber.

“By partnering closely with our grower partners in Mexico, we’re able to shorten the supply chain and deliver the highest-quality, freshest baby cucumbers to market,” Chris emphasized. “We’re excited about the opportunity Bitty Bites brings to the category.”

This is one launch you’ll want to take advantage of! Stay tuned for more news from Veg Fresh Farms in the coming weeks.

WOODLAND, CA - Sakata Seed America announced the promotion of Justin Davis to Chief Operating Officer (COO), Vegetables, effective 1 February 2026.

Davis, a 20-year veteran of Sakata, currently serves as Executive Director of Commercial Operations, where he leads Sales, Marketing, and Supply Chain for the vegetable business. In his new role, Justin will assume responsibility for the end-to-end operations of Sakata Seed America’s vegetable business, integrating Research & Development (R&D), Supply Chain, and Vegetable Seed Sales and Marketing to support innovation and long-term value creation. He will report directly to Dave Armstrong, President & CEO.

“Throughout his career with Sakata, Justin has demonstrated strong leadership capability and a deep commitment to Sakata’s values and culture,” said Dave Armstrong in the recent release. “Justin’s long experience with Sakata, combined with his leadership of our commercial operations, gives him a deep understanding of our business and our culture.”

Headquartered in Woodland, California, Sakata Seed America is a major research, seed production, and marketing-distribution subsidiary of Sakata Seed Corporation, based in Yokohama, Japan.

Sakata Seed America serves as the headquarters for Sakata’s North and Central American operations. Sakata’s objective is to meet industry expectations for quality seed, innovative genetics, and excellent greenhouse and field performance quickly and efficiently.

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Produce merchandising expert Terry Frisch passed away on January 20, 2026, following a courageous battle with cancer. He will be profoundly missed.

Terry joined Four Seasons Produce in November of 1995 as one of our first Merchandisers to help us build our independent retailer business, bringing with him two decades of various retail positions in Baltimore-Washington DC area grocery chains. We just recently celebrated his 30-year work anniversary.

Terry was helpful, enthusiastic, and enjoyable to work with. His peers admired his tremendous work ethic and impressive craftsmanship, be it a new produce department setup, reset, or display build. Customers appreciated his skills, support, and authenticity.

Produce people would frequently comment that Terry had “great hands” after working with him or seeing the beautiful displays he built. This phrase acknowledged the precision and skill with which he would speedily create visually engaging sets of fruits and vegetables with symmetry, color breaks, and impeccable stacking.

Terry was a friend to many and loved by many – customers, colleagues, and especially his family, whom he took great pride in. He is fondly remembered by his wife, children, and grandchildren. They were what mattered most to him.

https://www.hartensteincares.com/obituaries/terry-frisch

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - GrubMarket, the AI-powered technology enabler and digital transformer of the American food supply chain industry, as well as one of the largest private food eCommerce companies globally, announced the release of its latest specialized AI agent to join its GrubAssist AI platform: the Monitoring AI Agent. This agent is a powerful new capability that empowers food supply chain operators with passive monitoring of their business and operations, automatically detecting anomalies in the operation, identifying changes to market conditions, and surfacing shifts in key performance metrics. The Monitoring AI Agent also sends automatic alerts based on custom trigger conditions.

Food supply chain businesses operate in challenging environments characterized by perishable inventory, complex logistics, rapid market cycles, and, in many cases, around-the-clock operations. Managing unexpected issues and crises is the daily norm for team leaders. While proactive analysis of data from ERP, eCommerce, payments, and finance systems could help leaders address and even prevent many issues; most teams lack the time and capability to become more data-driven and unfortunately rely on reactive workflows, manual reporting, and after-the-fact problem discovery. The Monitoring AI Agent fundamentally changes this dynamic by enabling businesses to shift from reactive to proactive, helping teams easily identify emerging issues and respond faster to customer and market signals. For example, a business owner might leverage the Monitoring AI Agent to send an alert if a key customer has gone more than 7 days without placing an order; if a vendor shortage is projected to impact outgoing sales orders; or if a new customer has exceeded its credit limit.

The Monitoring AI Agent delivers value through five core capabilities:

• Proactive Monitoring: The Monitoring AI Agent passively monitors critical variables in the background, identifying shifting business conditions, assessing operational impact, and detecting anomalies before they impact the bottom line.
• Custom Monitoring Rules: Users can easily configure the metrics and conditions that matter most across a wide variety of areas, including inventory levels, profit margins, customer activity patterns, vendor performance, accounts receivable aging, and more.
• Always-On Alerts: The Monitoring AI Agent automatically surfaces exceptions and noteworthy changes with proactive email notifications sent to designated team members.
• Faster Decision-Making: Intelligent alerts not only highlight critical issues but also provide supporting context and relevant information to help teams take corrective action swiftly.
• Seamless Integration: Like all the AI Agents and Analysts in the GrubAssist AI platform, the Monitoring AI Agent works across ERP and accounting systems, offering native integrations with WholesaleWare ERP, Famous Software, Produce Pro, Thyme Software, QuickBooks, and more.

The Monitoring AI Agent's workflows run continuously in the background, surfacing insights and alerts automatically when predefined conditions are detected across purchasing, sales, warehouse management, accounting, and more. Common monitoring workflows include low stock threshold alerts, expiring lot and aging inventory warnings, margin erosion alerts, customer order monitoring, accounts receivable tracking, and supply shortage notifications.

Getting started is simple. Within GrubAssist AI, the Monitoring AI Agent includes an intuitive setup interface where users create a monitoring prompt in natural language. Users can easily define monitoring triggers, add supplemental instructions, and manage alerting preferences. From there, the agent passively monitors connected systems and automatically sends professionally formatted email alerts to designated recipients when important exceptions, thresholds, or anomalies are detected.

"With the Monitoring AI Agent, we are giving food supply chain leaders a proactive layer of protection across their most critical KPIs," said Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket, in the recent release. "This AI Agent helps teams catch operational risks earlier, respond faster, and protect their profitability in an industry where decisions are time-sensitive and can carry high consequences."

"Our newest AI Agent is designed to transform raw operational data into continuous business monitoring. Leaders can stay focused with the peace of mind that they will be automatically alerted should anything critical require their attention. The Monitoring AI Agent empowers teams with unprecedented visibility, making it dramatically easier for them to stay ahead of issues, uncover opportunities, and take action," said Genevieve Wang, Chief Software Product Officer at GrubMarket.

As the AI revolution reshapes industries globally, GrubMarket stands uniquely positioned as the only company providing specialized AI technology and AI agents for the food supply chain industry. Leveraging deep operational insights and unmatched expertise in industry dynamics, GrubMarket continues to pioneer valuable AI solutions tailored to the unique demands of this critical industry, solidifying its role as the clear leader and innovator building the future of AI-powered food supply chain management.