SAN ANTONIO, TX - The weather is cooling down in the Northern Hemisphere, meaning seasonal packaging is rolling out across the grocery store. The warm colors of fall are certainly gracing the tomato set, as NatureSweet® launches its new Fall Medley packs while continuing to expand its popular portfolio.
“We have a full lineup of new products in the market this year, including the ready-to-eat To-Go line of CHERUBS and CONSTELLATION™ tomatoes, which consumers absolutely love,” said Lori Castillo, Vice President of Marketing. “We owe it all to our amazing, full-time associates who nurture and grow our tomatoes with our consumers in mind.”
NatureSweet is introducing the CONSTELLATION Fall Medley 10 oz and 24 oz packs for tomato lovers looking to add fresh produce to their fall snacking and mealtimes. The Fall Medley packs are a bright mix of GLORYS®, sweet-tangy orange cherry tomatoes, and TWILIGHTS®, chocolate flavor-rich tomatoes.
The Fall Medley packs are available for a limited time only at select stores, a press release noted. NatureSweet’s CONSTELLATION brand will continue to celebrate seasons, as there are plans for Holiday Winter packs in various size offerings as well.
Bring the fall season to your own tomato set with the addition of these limited-availability packs.
WATSONVILLE, CA - Albertsons is investing in its perishable supply chain, as the retailer has entered a new partnership to streamline its order management operations. The retailer has successfully implemented the Procurant One technology platform across all of its banners.
"Perishable goods are critical to our success, and the complexity of our business and scale of operations require systems that are aligned with the demands of a modern, fast-moving supply chain. From day one, Procurant has been a great partner and has worked closely with our team to bring this new system online smoothly and in record time," said Rich Mendonsa, Vice President of Produce and Floral Procurement at Albertsons.
The Procurant system, a web-based buying application, connects all suppliers and stakeholders across the perishable goods supply chain, a press release stated. It is one of the first new perishable goods buying platforms available to retailers in more than 20 years.
The platform uses modern technology and design to improve the speed, efficiency, and reliability of order management in the produce and floral sectors, which are becoming increasingly important to stores’ bottom lines.
"This is a big day for Procurant and a great day for Albertsons Companies and their network of produce and floral suppliers. From the very first conversation, we knew we had a shared objective to modernize and improve the perishables buying process. I’m proud of the work we’ve done to get them live and transacting in record time, and to help bring a modern digital procurement platform to one of the industry’s largest and most influential retailers," said Eric Peters, Chief Executive Officer, Procurant.
Cheers to this new, fresh-forward partnership!
MILLEN, GA - Still riding the high of this year’s Southern Innovations in Savannah, Georgia, many Southeast Produce Council (SEPC) Members are gearing up for another exciting industry event, as registration recently opened for Southern Exposure in Orlando, Florida, March 3–5.
“We are already seeing a huge resurgence in our registration numbers for Southern Exposure 2022 on the retail and foodservice side,” exclaimed David Sherrod, SEPC President and Chief Executive Officer. “We have also seen a strong increase in new companies wanting to exhibit or attend, as well. We know with the unfortunate absence of Fresh Summit this year, companies are looking for opportunities to reconnect, and we welcome them to attend Southern Exposure and experience the Marvel of Produce as we celebrate the next generation of superheroes! We are preparing for the greater increase of attendees and making sure we create a safe, productive environment. We are also planning a superhero cast for the Power of Produce release and the Keynote Luncheon! This is going to be an experience you don’t want to miss!"
According to a press release, the SEPC team has already seen a remarkable spike in registrants since registration opened a few weeks ago for exhibitors to add booth associates and register for conference sessions.
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SEPC’s flagship trade show, Southern Exposure, brings together thousands of attendees—including foodservice and retail buyers, agricultural leaders, product innovators, and other industry leaders—to showcase the best of the best products and services in the produce industry. The event will feature several educational sessions, keynote speakers, and entertainment centered around this year’s exciting theme: The Marvel of Produce.
In addition to registering for the conference, multiple retail and foodservice members have already planned to hold LINKS meetings, during which SEPC provides the platform for vendor summits and internal team meetings hosted by the buyers. Others have expressed interest in connecting with SEPC’s STARS students during STARS Cocktails & Careers, a segment where students interview with SEPC member companies seeking fresh employees.
“Southern Exposure 2022 is slated to be a truly heroic show,” said Chairman of the Board Raina Nelson. “We return to Orlando, which is fitting to our theme, The Marvel of Produce. This theme will spotlight the next generation of talented industry professionals, and we are designing a platform for attendees to connect and learn about shaping the future success of their business and our great industry. Stay tuned in the coming months as we announce the impressive cast of keynote speakers, educational contributors, and a whole host of red-carpet events. Mark your calendars now for March for the premiere showing of The Marvel of Produce!”
To register and find out more about this anticipated event, click here, and keep an eye out for more updates from AndNowUKnow.
COLIMA, MEXICO - In the last year alone, over seven million boxes of organic bananas hit the U.S. market, and that is thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Mexican organic banana industry. Despite successfully producing and delivering high-quality fruit, growers in the industry have undergone extreme cost pressures, posing further challenges for these suppliers.
According to a press release issued by Organics Unlimited, Coliman Bananas, and Tropical Organic Growers, packing material prices have risen nearly 20 percent and plastic bags have gone up 15 percent. In addition, labor costs have also increased by nearly double-digits.
“As an industry, we are very proud of what we have achieved during this exceptional time. We remain steadfastly committed to harvesting organic bananas week in and week out to ensure that supermarket shelves remain well-stocked,” the release stated. “However, we cannot support this great pressure any longer. This is not a recent issue, as we have been struggling with reduced margins for several years.”
Mexico recently became the second-largest source of organic bananas to the U.S. market, second to Ecuador, the press release stated. At this rate, Mexico may become the largest source of organic bananas in the coming years. However, the world’s shipping container shortage has led to additional supply chain pressures, with logistics costs skyrocketing over 15 percent from pre-pandemic rates. Higher costs to ensure a safe, COVID-free environment across operations have also impacted the industry, as well as several major climate disasters, including two hurricanes, Dolores and Nora.
“The current situation is impossible,” the release continued. “Organic banana prices have gone down systematically in the past 10 years, and although we want to offer competitive prices to increase the consumer base and offer affordable fruit, we can no longer sustain what, in many cases, has become a negative margin situation. Organic bananas are not only the cheapest organic fruit offered, but they are also cheaper than any other conventional fruit sold in stores.”
The past 18 months have imposed intense challenges surrounding unprecedented health, social, and economic turmoil on a global scale, with the organic sector dramatically impacted.
“Growing organic is a completely different practice from conventional, with a much higher cost structure due to the need to use certified organic inputs, non-chemical solutions, and sustainable farming practices. Nevertheless, we see in U.S. retail stores as low as a $.10 per pound price difference between the conventional and organic presentations. Input prices rose year over year for the past decade while organic banana prices dropped consistently during the same period. Now is the time for a price adjustment for organic bananas to endure and promote the benefits of sustainable, organic agriculture,” the release concluded.
AndNowUKnow will continue to report on how companies are working to overcome the challenges we are witnessing across the supply chain, so keep an eye out for our next update.
WEST DES MOINES, IA - Robots are officially the future of grocery. Hy-Vee made this abundantly clear after announcing a partnership with Simbe Robotics to roll out its autonomous inventory management and retail intelligence solution, Tally, to stores across Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri to improve the in-store experience for customers and store teams.
“Hy-Vee has a strong reputation for excellent customer service and an employee-first culture,” said Luke Tingley, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Hy-Vee. “By employing Tally, we can continue providing that excellent service by reducing out of stocks and empowering our store teams with real-time insights to ensure the best customer experience across the board.”
By gaining greater visibility into store conditions, a press release explained, Tally helps streamline operations and ensures that retailers can make more informed business decisions, such as more accurate order forecasting and optimizing the store layout to support sales.
How does this work, you might ask? Tally autonomously scans tens of thousands of products across grocery, health, and wellness aisles up to three times per day to ensure products are in stock and in the correct location. This has proven to reduce out-of-stocks by up to 30 percent, allowing teams to focus on more engaging tasks such as servicing customers.
This data, combined with Tally’s plug-and-play software platform and APIs, gives employees real-time recommendations to improve store operations and maximize customer satisfaction, the release explained.
“No other retail solution supports store teams the way Tally does. The pandemic truly created a ‘new normal’ for grocery that has illuminated the need for a greater frequency and fidelity of in-store data,” said Brad Bogolea, CEO and Co-Founder of Simbe Robotics. “Hy-Vee is the perfect example of thoughtfully adopting technology to improve the store experience for both customers and their teams. As retailers face a growing number of considerations, Tally provides a cost-effective solution that ensures they can continue to provide excellent customer service and create a valuable, more enjoyable working environment for their employees.”
Tally robots are already in Hy-Vee stores in Ankeny, Iowa, and Lincoln, Nebraska, and will be rolling out to additional locations in Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa, in the coming weeks.
Exciting times ahead for the grocery sector!
STILLWATER, MN - We must not forget that more is always merrier, especially as we head into the holiday season. This idea has certainly been put to use with Cub Foods’ most recent announcement, as the Midwest retailer is joining Honeybear Brands® under its pollinator program by sponsoring five acres and helping to raise funds. A portion of fall in-store proceeds will be used to develop additional pollinator habitats, which are planted alongside apple orchards on behalf of the retailer and supported by subsequent consumer-facing social programming.
“Cub jumped at the chance to partner with Honeybear to help solve a serious issue in our agriculture community. Honeybear is a great company and we love working with our partners especially when it comes to creative solutions that support our environment and sustainability,” says Mike Stigers, Chief Executive Officer, Cub Foods.
The unique alignment between Honeybear Brands and Cub is showcased to shoppers with displays that raise awareness about the importance of honey bee pollination and help consumers connect the dots between this concept and the apple category.
According to a press release, pollinators are responsible for one in three bites of food we eat, and their populations are under significant pressure. The work a healthy hive of honey bees does to produce one pound of honey reportedly results in the pollination of 1,000 apples.
“We are pleased to partner with Midwest retailer Cub, the number one grocery chain in Minnesota. The grocer has already pledged to sponsor the development of local acres of pollinator habitat and to showcase the displays during the month of September. Along with the National Honey Board, we will collectively increase awareness of honey bees, which are so critical to the development of our apples. In the business of life, we can sometimes forget how fragile the food system can be, so these displays are a great way to remind shoppers about the importance of honey bees and maybe even inspire them to plant their own pollinator gardens,” says Kristi Harris, Brand Manager, Honeybear Brands.
We at ANUK are singing high praises for these environmental champions.
MONNHEIM, GERMANY - Bayer is expanding its expertise to include more vegetable seed offerings. The freshly launched Vegetables by Bayer will bring to market more organically produced seeds in three key crops for the greenhouse and glasshouse sectors: tomato, sweet pepper, and cucumber. This expansion will then be followed by tomato rootstock varieties in 2023. Varieties will be sold under both the Seminis® and De Ruiter® vegetable seed brands.
“We serve growers all over the world and believe that they should have the freedom to choose the tools or the practices that best suit the needs of their farms and the needs of their customers,” said Inci Dannenberg, President of Global Vegetable Seeds at Bayer. “The launch of our certified organic vegetable seeds represents an opportunity to continue to bring our best-in-class varieties and industry-leading disease resistances to growers in the organics market, while supporting consumer choice.”
According to a press release, Bayer’s expanded portfolio is in direct response to increased customer need for high-quality organic seed. Global consumer demand for certified-organic products continues to grow and is predicted to drive market expansion.
“Organic certification standards require us to use certified organic seed where available, and that is what our customers expect, too,” said Ricardo Crisantes, Chief Commercial Officer of Wholesum Family Farms. "We are very pleased that Bayer is supporting our market by offering certified organic seed and look forward to having a high-quality selection of De Ruiter seeds for our organic glasshouse production.”
As noted in the release, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) estimates that today’s global organic food market is worth more than €106 billion (USD 124 billion). The global organic food seeds market was valued at $355 milion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $480 million by 2025 with a 6.2 percent CAGR.
For many reasons, this increased demand presents a valuable opportunity for many of Bayer‘s vegetable seeds customers to grow their businesses while supporting consumer food choice and promoting access to nutritious fruits and vegetables.
“Across everything we do, Bayer and our Vegetable Seeds business remain committed to being the partner of choice, providing best-in-class varieties and tailored solutions to support our customers and partners in growing their businesses while providing people around the world with safe, nutritious, and delicious fruits and vegetables,” said Dannenberg.
The commercial launch for the new certified organic portfolio is planned for early 2022 and will focus on the high-growth organic markets of Canada, United States, Mexico, Spain, and Italy with potential for future expansion based on market demand.
As it prepares for heightened demand, Bayer is taking all necessary steps to obtain the proper certification at its facilities to prepare for the receiving, processing, storage and distribution of certified organic seeds. The vegetable seed offerings will join Bayer’s non-synthetic crop production and crop protection products, or biologicals, as another critical tool for certified organic growers around the world.
Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we cover the latest in fresh produce news.
WAYNE, PA - Deals are struck with the end consumer in mind, and this is especially true of the recent acquisition of Keyes Packaging Group by Tekni-Plex. The company made the decision to acquire the group to enable its own customers with solutions that keep food products fresher for longer. Keyes Packaging Group will now operate as part of the Tekni-Plex Consumer Products division.
“Once again, we have added an incredible resource to the Tekni-Plex family,” Eldon Schaffer, CEO of Tekni-Plex Consumer Products division. “Keyes brings market intelligence and a deep material science application knowledge to us, as we continue on our journey to becoming more and more proactive for our customers.”
Keyes Packaging Group has made a name for itself in the industry as a provider of environmentally friendly, protective packaging for both the food and beverage industry. According to a press release, the company is comprised of two diverse companies: Keyes Fibre and Wrap Pack.
“Adding Keyes to the Tekni-Plex Consumer Products family also gives us a boost in our overall efforts toward providing additional sustainable solutions to our customers. Together with the recently acquired Grupo Phoenix capabilities, our existing Tekni-Plex organization and now with Keyes, we are building a tremendous future for the market, our customers, and our employees,” Schaffer continued.
Keyes Fibre, which is located in Wenatchee, is among a limited number of suppliers that produce molded fiber trays for the packaging and shipment of apples and avocados, as well as eggs and wine bottles. Wrap Pack, which is located in Yakima, Washington, produces fruit and vegetable specialty-tissue protective wrap for storing and shipping pears, apples, and citrus.
“We are excited to join a company focused on creating next-generation solutions for the market and the opportunities this provides Keyes Packaging employees and customer partners,” added Kevin Stangeland, President and CEO of Keyes Packaging Group.
As the demand for molded fiber packaging products is expected to rise with increasing consumer demand for more environmentally friendly packaging solutions, this partnership could not be better timed.
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA - A significant executive restructure is taking place at Oppy as the marketing maven works to position itself for the next decade of growth. Overall, the company has shifted the roles of David Smith, Satri Alpine, Chris Kurylo, James Milne, and Jason Fung in addition to subsequent structure enhancements.
“The complexity of our business has radically evolved in the last five to 10 years,” said David Smith, who is now President and Chief Operating Officer. “A huge part of Oppy’s ongoing success has been in taking a proactive approach and consistently modifying our strategy as we drive the business forward. As we continue to grow, these moves, and future moves to come, will enhance Oppy as we propel through the 2020s and beyond.”
Smith is just one of the talented Oppy executives who has entered a new role.
Former Vice President of Talent and Culture Satri Alpine has been acknowledged as Oppy’s Chief People Officer. According to Smith's statements in a press release, she made her mark as a thoughtful leader when the company navigated the COVID-19 pandemic while also continuing to evolve its approach to recruitment, on-boarding, employee development, and more.
Chris Kurylo has taken on the role of Vice President of Strategic Business Development and Analysis.
Kurylo has been instrumental to the company’s integration with Eco Farms, which Oppy acquired a 65 percent stake in last year, while also overseeing the fiscal elements across the organization’s categories. He now reports to Senior Vice President of Categories and Marketing James Milne.
Milne is entering the SVP role as part of this overarching restructure.
Milne has added executive responsibility for partner relations to his purview with this recent promotion. Director of Global Procurement Ray Reed now also reports to him, the press release added. Milne will stay connected to business development activity through his leadership position in marketing.
These changes also bring about structure enhancements to reinforce the alignment between Oppy’s tactical and strategic approaches to the sales and marketing process. Lead of the business development representatives’ team, Sales and National BDR Manager Audrey Desnoyers, will now report to Senior Vice President of North American Sales Brett Libke.
The newly created position of Vice President of Categories and Strategy has added greater responsibility to Jason Fung, who will continue to oversee Oppy’s berry and greenhouse categories while also leading more of the strategic planning process alongside the executive team.
“Jason is a proven strategic thinker, which is why he is the ideal fit for this new position to help shape and execute Oppy’s strategy while also assuring it’s embedded into our culture and understood by all,” said Smith.
This summer, Oppy also announced the retirement of two veterans and the refined roles stepping into their places. Vice President of Operations Steve Roosdahl took on Doug Grant’s top-line responsibilities within operations, transportation, and supply chain; Vice President of South American Operations Eric Coty took over the region completely; and IT is now reporting directly to Executive Vice President and CFO Kiran Rao. Jim Leach assumed the Sales Manager position of its Houston location after Jeff Walker’s 27-year tenure.
“With these retirements, along with the tragic passing of Cal Tribiano, I know that all shifts will honor those great losses and take Oppy to a heightened purpose as we grow our tomorrow,” Smith affirmed.
Congratulations to all of these highly regarded executives!
GERMANY - Achieving an international footprint is on many companies’ radars, and meal kit provider HelloFresh is bolstering its own. Completing a deal with Russian counterpart Chefmarket, the meal kit provider has acquired a roughly 10 percent stake in the company.
“We are excited about the investment which will enable us to further expand HelloFresh’s TAM and strengthen our global footprint. HelloFresh and Chefmarket share similar values, especially when it comes to fresh, locally sourced ingredients and sustainability. With this investment, we are looking forward to having an impact on changing the way even more people eat,” said Ed Boyes, Chief Commercial Officer at HelloFresh.
With the Russian food market representing the fifth largest food market globally, noted the release, the total addressable market (TAM) expansion is one important growth lever in HelloFresh’s long-term strategy and entails identifying attractive opportunities to selectively expand geographically.
In addition, the expansion of HelloFresh’s TAM is well underway to date, with its Green Chef brand being launched in the U.K. and the market entry into Norway, the third market for HelloFresh in the Nordics, following Sweden and Denmark.
“Chefmarket has seen healthy growth over the past [few] years as an increasing amount of consumers in Russia have learned to love to cook with meal kits,” Sergey Ashin, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Chefmarket said. “Combining HelloFresh’s expertise in fifteen different markets with Chefmarket’s local supply chain and product development capabilities will support the continued strong growth of the meal kit market in Russia.”
The amount of this capital injection investment was not disclosed, but HelloFresh states it amounts to a single-digit million Euro figure in its announcement. Additionally, the investment represents a strategic step for HelloFresh to tap into an emerging market with significant growth potential.
As HelloFresh continues to build on its nationwide footprint, ANUK will be here to keep you in the loop.