OVIEDO, FL - Duda Farm Fresh Foods, a leading grower and processor of fresh vegetables, proudly celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2026, marking a century of leadership in celery innovation, family farming, industry leadership, and sustainable growth.

Founded in 1926, the company has spanned six family generations, with five generations actively shaping its approach to growing, harvesting, and delivering high-quality fresh produce. Over the years, Duda has become known for proprietary celery seed varieties that offer exceptional sweetness, crispiness, and consistency. These qualities have helped the brand to elevate the category and set new standards across the industry. From its early adoption of advanced farming practices to the development of fresh-cut solutions and waterjet cutting technology, Duda has maintained a steady focus on improving flavor, efficiency, and consumer satisfaction.

“Reaching 100 years is a milestone we owe to our dedicated team, strong industry partnerships, and commitment to innovation, all rooted in the Duda family’s unwavering dedication to quality, sustainability, and feeding families for generations,” said Mark Bassetti, President of Duda Farm Fresh Foods, in the recent release. “As we honor our 100-year legacy, we remain focused on growing the future through innovation, sustainability, and family values.”

Duda is thrilled to celebrate this milestone alongside our valued partners, the produce industry, and our dedicated team of employees, the driving force behind our success. This year-long celebration will feature impactful trade advertising, special retailer mailouts this spring, various print and digital communications, new packaging rollout this summer, and a grand finale celebration at the IFPA Global Produce & Floral Show in October.

“Partnering with Duda means more than premium produce; it’s a partnership built on an entire century of trust, reliability, and fresh thinking,” noted Bassetti. “We are excited to celebrate this incredible milestone and the next 100 years!”

For more information about Duda Farm Fresh Foods’ 100^th anniversary and product offerings, please visit trade.dudafresh.com or follow Dandy Fresh Produce social media platforms at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CA - Since 2004, the Allen Lund Company has supported the efforts of Navidad en el Barrio, an organization dedicated to helping communities around the Los Angeles area. Started by former NFL player, Danny Villanueva, local Hispanic radio, and students from UCLA, their mission was to provide a robust Christmas dinner to families in Southern California. This year, 10,000 families were fed throughout Southern California.

"Every year, and this marks our 21st, we look forward to working with Navidad en el Barrio to collect, organize, and distribute groceries for families to make a healthy Christmas dinner. We also rely on our network of truck drivers to move the donations,” said Nora Trueblood, Director of Marketing at ALC, in the recent release.

Since 2004, ALC has provided transportation and accumulated all the food products for the Christmas Dinner groceries. Additionally, ALC provided volunteers at two Catholic Charities sites, at The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the staging warehouse. 34 organizations distributed to families.

"This event brings together the best of Allen Lund Company. We provide customer contacts, logistics, and our people are involved directly with the assembly and distribution of the food to those who need help at the holidays. We are blessed in so many ways to play a part. Thank you to the amazing team that does this every year!" stated Kenny Lund, Executive Vice President.

The Allen Lund Company appreciates our Navidad en el Barrio donors immensely, and we thank them for their generosity in helping a great cause.

2025 Navidad en el Barrio donors:

• Coca-Cola
• Costco
• Grimmway Farms
• P&L Imports
• Mission Produce
• PepsiCo
• The Salvation Army
• Taylor Farms
• The Flores Family
• Wada Farms
• Wonderful Citrus
• Allen Lund Company

If you would like help next year, please contact Nora Trueblood via email at [email protected].

IMMOKALEE, FL - Ark Foods is putting peppers in the spotlight. As home cooks settle back into everyday routines, the modern-day farming company is highlighting its lineup of bagged specialty peppers, a standout collection designed to bring variety and inspiration to the produce aisle.

From mild and snackable to bold and spicy, Ark Foods’ pepper offerings include Shishito, Cubanelle, Poblano, Jalapeño, Jimmy Nardello, Hungarian Wax, and a Hot Pepper Medley. Each variety is packed in convenient tote bags, making it easier for shoppers to explore new flavors while keeping cooking simple and approachable.

For Ark Foods, peppers are more than just a supporting ingredient; they’re an opportunity to rethink how consumers experience vegetables.

“Peppers offer a remarkable range, yet many consumers engage with only a narrow portion of what the category usually offers,” said Noah Robbins, founder and CEO of Ark Foods, in the recent release. “Our objective is to remove barriers to exploration by educating customers on the varying spice levels and providing recipes or suggested use cases for them to have fun with.

Ark Foods’ Bagged Pepper Lineup

• Shishito Pepper Party Pack: Our savory, crowd-pleasing pepper is made for snacking in a 12 oz. tote bag. Best served blistered in olive oil and sprinkled with salt.
• Shishito Peppers: Mild and slightly sweet with the occasional hint of heat, Shishito peppers are perfect for quick sautés, snacking, or simple blistered preparations
• Cubanelle Peppers: Light, tender, and gently sweet, Cubanelle peppers shine in everyday cooking — from sandwiches and omelets to easy weeknight sautés
• Poblano Peppers: Rich and earthy with mild heat, Poblanos add depth to roasted dishes, sauces, and stuffed pepper recipes
• Jalapeño Peppers: Bright and familiar with just the right amount of heat, Jalapeños bring versatility to everything from fresh salsas to cooked meals
• Jimmy Nardello Peppers: Sweet and thin-skinned, these Italian frying peppers caramelize beautifully and add natural sweetness to simple preparations
• Hungarian Wax Peppers: A step up in heat with classic pepper flavor, Hungarian Wax peppers are well-suited for roasting, grilling, and bold dishes
• Hot Pepper Medley: A colorful mix of peppers with varying heat levels, designed to bring flexibility and flavor to a wide range of recipes

Ark Foods’ bagged pepper line offers a spectrum of heat and flavor suited for a wide range of uses, from quick weeknight meals and meal prep to roasting, sauces, and grilling.

“Consumers are looking for produce that delivers flavor without added complexity,” said Eduardo Mestre, Chief Operating Officer at Ark Foods. “Our pepper assortment gives retailers a way to offer something differentiated — vegetables that feel exciting, versatile, and easy to use.”

The bagged pepper line reflects Ark Foods’ continued focus on flavor-forward vegetables that make cooking more playful, with vegetables at the center of the plate.

Ark Foods’ bagged pepper offerings are available at select retailers nationwide. To explore the full product lineup, visit www.arkfoods.com.

NOGALES, AZ - IPR Fresh is pleased to announce a notable step forward in its marketing and business development strategy with the addition of industry veteran Mark Munger as the company’s first Vice President of Marketing & Business Development. This strategic hire bolsters IPR Fresh’s commitment to accelerating growth, expanding retail and wholesale partnerships, and elevating its presence across the fresh produce industry.

Munger brings nearly 40 years of experience in the fresh produce sector, making him a valuable addition to the IPR Fresh leadership team. Most recently, he served as Senior Director of Marketing at Ocean Mist Farms, where he played a key role in executing a significant brand refresh and launching an innovative new product line. His extensive career also includes senior roles at industry-leading organizations, including 4Earth Farms, Andrew Williamson Fresh Produce, Driscoll’s, and the Produce Marketing Association.

“Mark will play a pivotal role in advancing IPR Fresh’s growth and leading our industry-focused marketing initiatives,” said Jose Luis Obregon, President of IPR Fresh, in a press release. “We are pleased to welcome a leader of Mark’s caliber and experience to our team.”

Munger’s appointment comes at an important time for IPR Fresh as the company sharpens its focus on strategic initiatives, deeper customer engagement, and expanded visibility within a highly competitive fresh produce landscape. With Munger’s experience and vision, IPR Fresh is poised for an exciting new chapter of growth, innovation, and expanded industry presence.

Founded in 2003 and shipping out of Nogales, Arizona, IPR Fresh is a leading distributor of organic and conventional colored bell peppers, English cucumbers, and a wide range of additional hothouse and field-grown vegetables.

Guided by a commitment to quality, food safety, and responsibly sourced produce, IPR Fresh has built a reputation as a trusted, dependable partner across the fresh produce industry.

BOISE, ID - Albertsons Media Collective™, the retail media arm for Albertsons® Companies, Inc., announced in-store incrementality measurement that delivers true causal insights into how in-store media drives incremental sales. Since launching its in-store digital display network, Albertsons Media Collective has delivered strong results and attracted more than 50 unique advertising partners eager to tap into the power of retail media, while staying focused on rapid growth and expansion.

Unlike traditional attribution models that assign credit to purchases that may have occurred anyway, Albertsons Media Collective’s matched market framework measures the true incremental impact of in-store media, isolating the effect of advertising as the sole driver of lift. The incrementality solution operates at the store level, comparing sales performance in test stores exposed to ads against a rigorously selected set of control stores with no media exposure. By estimating the counterfactual, what would have happened without advertising, the model delivers a statistically validated measure of true lift.

Albertsons Media Collective’s in-store incrementality measurement addresses one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: accurately measuring in-store media, which operates outside the signal-rich, identity-connected environment of other digital channels. Designed specifically to alleviate this complexity, the matched market framework delivers true incrementality by attributing sales, orders and unit lift solely to media exposure rather than correlation. The solution leverages nearly 60 variables for advanced store-level matching to reduce bias and noise, scales nationally across diverse store formats, and works across both existing and new in-store screens, including deli and pharmacy placements.

“For too long, in-store media has been measured with tools that confuse correlation for impact,” said Liz Roche, Vice President of Media and Measurement at Albertsons Media Collective, in the recent release. “Our matched market incrementality approach cuts through that noise. By isolating causal lift at the store level, we’re showing brands the actual impact of in-store media activation — and giving them confidence that their investment is driving net-new sales. We look forward to advancing the measurement capabilities we offer in the future with closed-loop measurement, while remaining compliant with and closely aligning our measurement roadmap with IAB current and future standards for in-store media.”

A recent campaign for Mondelēz International, Inc. highlights the effectiveness of in-store media when measured through Albertsons Media Collective’s matched market incrementality framework. Designed to promote Sargento® Cheese Bakes, the premium snack cracker from Mondelēz, the campaign aimed to drive household penetration, category growth and incremental sales. Mondelēz integrated in-store digital screens with high-engagement onsite and offsite media to build awareness and drive conversion among Albertsons shoppers. The addition of in-store screens contributed to a significant sales lift, demonstrating the incremental value of in-store activation within an omnichannel strategy.

“In-store is one of the most influential moments in the path to purchase, but historically it’s been difficult to measure with precision,” said Melissa Pitmon, Customer Director, OmniChannel, Mondelēz. “Albertsons Media Collective’s matched market measurement gave us clear, causal insight into how in-store media drove incremental sales, helping us optimize with confidence and validate the true impact of our investment.”

Albertsons Media Collective is a full-funnel media platform that reaches known shoppers across channels, now complete with in-store media which unlocks the full power of the omnichannel experience at the moments closest to the point of purchase. After bringing incrementality onsite and offsite, bringing incremental results to in-store media helps advertising partners truly understand collective growth.

Given the strong in-store results achieved since the launch of the in-store digital display network, Albertsons Media Collective is focused on expansion. In 2026, the in-store fleet will include approximately 800 additional stores, offering scaled coverage and strategic continuity, with presence across 10 divisions.

CLACKAMAS, OR & SALT LAKE CITY, UT - Fujii Produce, a trusted distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables serving retailers and foodservice operators, has selected the ReposiTrak Traceability Network® to power its food traceability program. This strategic move sets into motion traceability data intake from Fujii Produce’s suppliers, as well as traceability data sharing with its retail and foodservice customers.

“Fujii Produce has always prioritized food safety, quality, and reliability for our customers,” said Jon Pienovi, COO of Fujii Produce, in the recent release. “By partnering with ReposiTrak, we’re going beyond compliance with FDA requirements for items on the Food Traceability List. We’re taking a leadership role in building a stronger, more transparent supply chain by capturing traceability data across all products we handle.”

The FDA has indicated that the Food Traceability List (FTL) will likely expand, driving broader adoption of new recordkeeping standards under the FSMA 204 rule. Fujii Produce is taking a forward-thinking approach by applying traceability across all products, leveraging technology to stay compliant today while building a safer, more transparent supply chain for the future.

“Traceability is a critical component of today’s food supply chain,” said ReposiTrak Chairman and CEO Randy Fields. “Fujii Produce is setting an example by taking action now to unite its suppliers and customers on a single, streamlined traceability platform.”

The ReposiTrak Traceability Network® is the industry’s largest and fastest-growing solution for food traceability. Built to simplify compliance, it enables suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and foodservice operators to exchange traceability data seamlessly — without investing in new hardware, software, or manual processes. Through this partnership, Fujii Produce will gain the ability to collect, store, and share standardized traceability records for thousands of products, improving visibility from farm to shelf.

Additionally, ReposiTrak applies a rigorous 500+ point error-checking process to all traceability data and works directly with suppliers to correct issues, ensuring the information is complete and accurate before it reaches Fujii Produce and its customers.

By joining the ReposiTrak Traceability Network, Fujii Produce will be able to:

• Seamlessly ingest Key Data Elements from its diverse base of food suppliers
• Provide required traceability data to downstream customers with ease
• Ensure continuous FSMA 204 compliance across the supply chain
• Minimize operational disruption with a scalable, cost-effective solution

To learn more about the ReposiTrak Traceability Network, visit www.repositrak.com.