KINGSBURG, CA - California table grapes are a premium driver at retail during the late summer months, and companies like Scattaglia Growers & Shippers are making sure buy-side partners have the goods to deliver on demand. Marketing Director Kira Navison walked me through the provider’s table grape program and its differentiating factors.

“We offer a full grape program from July through the late fall, with primarily red seedless, green seedless, and black seedless grapes. We pack in 19 lb bags, clamshells, and styros, and we’ve been pleased with the quality of the crop this year so far,” Kira shared. “California grapes have great flavor this year and we are pleased with what we see on the vines.”

Kira noted that the red seedless market is currently tighter than the green market.

“Greens are in strong production, while reds remain steady. We’re getting ready to pack Autumn Royal black seedless grapes starting mid-September. Black seedless is a strong market now and should be good through the deal,” Kira added.

Additionally, the company’s Sun Disk and Sun Joy brand is a well-established label that has seen solid support from both the retail sector as well as the wholesale market.

Kira told me that grapes will be in good supply into the fall, so look to SGS for your table grape needs.

WATSONVILLE, CA - When it comes to creating the industry’s next greatest packaging innovation, Sambrailo Packaging keeps a close eye on the demands of the market it is serving. For the past few years, the supplier has been setting its focus on developing a new 6 oz clamshell for blackberries and raspberries, collecting data on the larger varieties coming to market from California and Central Mexico, and assessing what clamshells can deliver the best fruit quality. The result: a newly launched, larger clamshell for blackberries and raspberries, armed with Sambrailo's signature cooling system and high-quality recyclable material.

“We maintained our signature MIXIM clamshell design, which we introduced to the industry in the late ’80s,” shares Sara Lozano, Director of Marketing and Product Development, regarding the new launch. “Our key characteristics include smooth sidewalls, top and bottom side vents as opposed to traditional sidewall vents, and our MIXIM cooling technology system that is designed to maximize cooling efficiency during pre-cooling. Our MIXIM clamshells are made with the highest quality 100% recycled PET, all reclaimed for plastic bottle recovery. And with our smooth wall design, this clamshell provides and preserves the berries for the best presentation possible.”

The brand’s latest packaging innovation comes to the market as blackberry and raspberry varieties have seen a steady size increase in recent years. With this change in the berry category, packaging has had to adapt and cater to the larger fruit that is becoming increasingly more popular with consumers.

“Fruit size has increased, and so has the percentage of customers purchasing it,” Sara goes on to note. “To accommodate the larger fruit size, we’ve also increased the internal volume on our new 6 oz "5x5 HV" clamshell versus our existing 6 oz (5x5) clamshell.”

With more adaptive solutions coming to market in response to category evolution and evolving consumer demands, this is one packaging player to be on the lookout for as ANUK shares more industry updates and insights.