UNITED STATES - Two main zones of wet weather are forecast to shape conditions across the United States through Labor Day. One stretches from Wyoming to New Mexico, while another runs from Texas to Florida and the Carolinas, where flash flooding could dampen some holiday plans.

Travelers in New England may also want to pack patience on Friday, with showers and thunderstorms likely to slow things down. The Southeast, Rockies, and Plains may see similar travel interruptions as the weekend progresses.

“From Friday to Sunday, much of the Southeast coast will experience a persistent pattern of drenching showers and heavy thunderstorms as an area of low pressure drifts eastward from the Gulf toward Florida,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson in the recent report.

That system may even try to spin up into a tropical depression or storm early next week, but for now, the bigger story is soggy picnics, gusty winds, and some unsettled afternoons along the coast. Across the Plains and Rockies, Gulf moisture will fuel those pop-up downpours that always seem to arrive right when you’ve finally fired up the grill.

Out West, most will enjoy sunshine and heat, though a few mountain storms may sneak into the Sierra Nevada and northern Rockies. By Labor Day itself, the forecast turns friendlier across the Midwest and Northeast, with sunshine and lower humidity—a fitting close to the long weekend.

Check ANUK for continued weather coverage and transportation updates.

MONTEREY, CA - When it comes to fresh, flavorful spotlights, attention often goes to fruit categories. With natural sugars proving that healthy eating can be both comforting and flavorful, Duda Farm Fresh Foods is helping turn the tide on how vegetables are seen—making them a star of the produce department. Its flavorful creativity earned the team the 2025 Besties award for Best Social Media Culinary Artistry.

“We are always looking to inspire usage of celery, but also usage of all our products. How can we best display them to consumers, so they remember our message?” Nichole Towell, Senior Director of Marketing and Packaging Procurement, tells me when reflecting on what inspires the Duda Farm Fresh Foods team. “How can we make shoppers feel like the hero at home with what they put in their basket?”

When it comes to executing this vision, she shares how Duda always wants to align with what is most relevant to consumers in the moment, from monthly and seasonal posts to important food and cultural holidays.

“Our team does monthly photoshoots and strategic checkins to stay on top of trends. We are coming out of pickling being top of mind while the weather is warm, which aligns perfectly with our radishes. We are banking on new ways to use the product, inspiring those who never would have thought to pickle these veggies,” Nichole explains.

Duda knows firsthand the peaks and valleys of social media stardom, having been directly impacted by the celery juicing fad that rippled through the internet in 2018.

“Celery juicing bumped a niche up into the awareness of the average consumer. The wave did go down the way trends come and go, but it also brought in a newer, younger consumer—so it was a good thing in the longevity of celery consumption,” Nichole points out. “Any fresh vegetable has an opportunity to become mundane or more in the shoppers’ eyes. We eat what our parents made for us, but there are ways to do more, so we are constantly trying to reinvent enjoying Dandy products.”

Thank you to our Besties Committee for your time, dedication, and insight. Your contributions are deeply valued. Each year, our team compiles the Besties ballot with nominations across all award categories, and our committee votes to determine the winners.

This year, the committee voted on every category except Retailer of the Year, Best Marketer to Work With, and the Lifetime Achievement Award—three honors selected by our leadership team due to their special significance.

Congratulations to the Duda Farm Fresh Foods team on catching the eyes of our judges and team with your culinary artistry!

LOS ANGELES, CA - Fruitist, the global superfruit brand inspiring the world to snack healthier, announced the launch of Fruitist Snack Cups, a grab-and-go solution designed to make fresh fruit as effortless and craveable as your favorite packaged snack, and healthier too.

Known for their exceptional size, flavor, crunch, and freshness, each cup is filled with Fruitist’s premium blueberries, delivering a unique experience in every bite. Designed for today’s fast-moving lifestyles, Snack Cups deliver the best of fresh produce into a portable format, ideal for lunchboxes, gym bags, travel, or the office fridge, offering a cleaner, more natural alternative to processed snacks.

“People want tasty and nutritious snacks that fit their routines, so we created Snack Cups to meet them where they are,” said Steve Magami, Co-Founder and CEO of Fruitist. “This isn’t just a new format; it’s a continuation of our commitment to make healthy snacking enjoyable and accessible everywhere.”

According to a press release, Snack Cups were first introduced earlier this year at Harvard Business School, where Magami spoke with MBA students about the importance of innovation in fresh food, demonstrating how formats like Snack Cups can make healthy choices more enjoyable and accessible for consumers on the go.

Since launching its first consumer products in 2020, Fruitist has staked its claim on ending “berry roulette,” the all-too-common experience of unpredictable berries with inconsistent size, taste, and texture. Snack Cups extend that promise by ensuring every cup meets the brand’s high standards for quality and freshness.

The launch comes amid Fruitist’s rapid growth in the fresh snack category. The brand has become one of the fastest-growing CPG companies, recently surpassing $400 million in annual sales, earning a spot on CNBC’s Disruptor 50, and surpassing a $1 billion valuation.

Snack Cups represent the next step in Fruitist’s rapid expansion and mission of inspiring enjoyable and nutritious snacking. Starting in September, they will be available to club stores, national and regional retailers, and gourmet food stores nationwide.

Fruitist products are already on shelves at major retailers. Today, the brand’s products are sold in 28 countries and over 12,500 retail locations in North America.