EUGENE, OR - ‘Tis the season of new beginnings—and bolstering leadership rings of course. As the company looks to optimize its operations and develop new long-term growth strategies, Fall Creek Farm & Nursery has announced the appointment of its new Chief Financial Officer, Denis Koh.
“I’m excited to bring my skills and experience to Fall Creek,” says Koh. “The company is built on a solid foundation from a business and product development perspective as well as in its relationships with customers and employees. I look forward to helping the team navigate its next phase of development with a strong financial strategy.”
As the new CFO, Koh will serve as a key business partner to the Co-CEOs and Board of Directors in implementing the company's business and financial strategies, a press release explained. Koh will also oversee all of the organization’s fiscal duties; provide leadership to the accounting and finance teams; establish long-term goals, strategies, and policies for the company; and ensure industry standard compliance. In his new role, Koh will report to Co-CEO Oscar Verges.
“We’re pleased to welcome Denis to Fall Creek and look forward to his contributions to the team,” says Verges. “He has a strong track record of success implementing financial management strategies to drive rapid business growth, and his depth of experience in global financial management, investment analysis, and entrepreneurship will be valuable as Fall Creek evolves its business to best serve our blueberry grower-customers around the world.”
Koh brings with him more than two decades of experience in sales and operations management, modeling and analysis, financial budgeting, business plan preparation, mergers and acquisitions, partnership development, fundraising, customer management, and more. Koh has served as Managing Director and General Manager for three early-stage businesses, and held other leadership positions at Underwriters Laboratories, Vestas, Aretae, and FarEastone.
In addition to his prior CFO experience, Koh also obtained industry expertise at Washington State University, where he received his Master of Business Administration, Master of Accounting, and undergraduate degrees in Finance and Accounting.
Congratulations to Denis Koh on this recent appointment and the exciting adventure that is to come!
RIO RICO, AZ - Spring and summer programs are incomplete without melons. Bursting with flavor and capturing consumer interest, melons are a staple when the months heat up in the Northern Hemisphere. To keep on top of the melon market, I turned to MAS Melons’ Miguel “Mikee” Suarez Jr. of Sales.
“We are currently three weeks into our spring SL watermelon program and we are excited to add more melons to the menu. Our spring/summer honeydew program is just about to get underway out of Caborca, Mexico. We have honeydew set for harvest this weekend, and the quality on the fields is looking excellent,” Mikee explained. “The weather is now ideal for melon growing so we expect good quality all through the month of June and into July.”
Alongside its Desert Pride honeydew, MAS Melons will have its newest variety available for market: The Orange Candy Melon. Both of these varieties will be available from MAS starting Monday, May, 24, with supply available all of June and into July.
“The Orange Candy Melon has a bright yellow exterior with an orange-fleshed interior. The flavor is similar to a cantaloupe but much more concentrated and juicer, resulting in a melon that tastes like candy!” Mikee imparted.
Wrapping up out of Central America and in parts of Northern Mexico, MAS Melons is seeing Caborca and northern parts of Sonora due to start harvest this week. This will take MAS Melons’ supply through the next month and into July, Mikee noted, adding that promotional volumes look promising for June.
“Due to COVID-19, everything seems to be in flux still. This includes pricing of fruit, transportation, and even trouble with packing supply shortages due to different transportation, production, and other reasons,” Mikee expressed. “Even with all of these issues potentially affecting the market, we feel that the spring melon season has been good as a whole and should continue that way.”
As MAS continues to drive value in the market, I asked Mikee how the company continues to keep category sales strong.
“This one is simple: growing great-tasting melons,” he said. “From our honeydews to our Orange Candy, to our mini watermelon and even the XL watermelons, we try to grow tasty high-quality fruit for our customers to enjoy. We stand by our Desert Pride brand honeydews and love to show our customers what a high-quality, high-brix melon can taste like.”
For the latest on market updates like this, keep turning to AndNowUKnow.
LOS ANGELES, CA - I must admit, when I hear the words “autonomous truck,” my first instinct is to imagine a talking big-rig. Fortunately for the industry, Giumarra Companies’ latest innovation is far more exciting. The company has entered a partnership with San Diego-based TuSimple and Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) to complete an autonomous trucking test.
“Our company continues to travel down a path of innovation, as we have now successfully tested autonomous trucking after our autonomous aircraft transportation test a few months ago,” said Tim Riley, President of Giumarra Companies. “Autonomous trucking technology is a real game changer for us, as its time efficiencies provide us with an enhanced opportunity to supply fresher fruits and vegetables across the United States, particularly to food deserts and rural communities.”
On May 3, 2021, TuSimple picked up a load of fresh watermelons from Giumarra’s facility in Nogales, Arizona, and transported the produce across four states to AWG’s distribution center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. There, the fruit was inspected and distributed to Doc’s Country Mart and Homeland grocery stores across the state, a press release explained.
The pick-up and delivery of the produce was done manually with a human driver, while the longest portion of the journey from Tucson, Arizona, to Dallas, Texas, was done autonomously using TuSimple’s self-driving technology. The autonomous portion of the journey covered more than 900 miles.
“We believe the food industry is one of many that will greatly benefit from the use of TuSimple’s autonomous trucking technology,” said Jim Mullen, Chief Administrative Officer, TuSimple. “Given the fact that autonomous trucks can operate nearly continuously without taking a break means fresh produce can be moved from origin to destination faster, resulting in fresher food and less waste.”
Will we one day have driverless trucks darting all across the country? Should we ever see this innovative future, ANUK will be there to report.
PARIS - Further demonstrating its unique position in the industry, GLOBALG.A.P. has successfully achieved recognition against the Global Food Safety Initiative’s (GFSI) Benchmarking Requirements Version 2020.1. The announcement comes in partnership with the Consumer Goods Forum’s Coalition of Action on food safety and encompasses the Harmonized Produce Safety Standard (HPSS), which first completed the GFSI benchmarking process in 2016.
“HPSS allows GLOBALG.A.P. to offer a certification solution designed especially for the U.S. market,” said Kristian Moeller, Managing Director at GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH and President of GLOBALG.A.P. North America. “We are pleased to continue offering HPSS as a GFSI benchmarked standard, alongside the Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) for farms and Produce Handling Assurance (PHA) for post-harvest handling operations.”
HPSS was designed by and for producers in the United States or selling into the United States market, a press release stated. HPSS includes verbatim the Produce GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) Harmonization Initiative’s Harmonized Standards.
Facilitated by the United Fresh Produce Association, the Initiative’s Technical Working Group has aligned its Harmonized Standards to the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. The HPSS control points aid producers in identifying FSMA requirements that must be addressed at the farm level.
"It’s been a difficult year or so for many of the CPOs, so we are delighted with the progress made by GLOBALG.A.P. and their continued commitment to GFSI recognition,” Giovanna Ordonez, GFSI Senior Technical Manager, The Consumer Goods Forum, said. “Even through a global pandemic, we cannot afford to let food safety standards drop, and we look forward to seeing more certification programs becoming recognized against Version 2020.1 in the coming months."
Congratulations to GLOBALG.A.P. on this incredible achievement!
BROOKLYN, NY - Innovation and sustainability are two facets of the fresh produce industry that are growing like wildflowers, and one company seeing the affects of this expansion is Upward Farms, the aquaponics vertical farming company. The New York-based grower has announced the opening of a cutting-edge new headquarters that will continue to support Upward’s commercial production, research, and development.
“Upward Farms’ new facility successfully scales our vertical farming model. Controlled environments and ecological farming are not at odds, but are powerful compliments for the next generation of farming. We’re delivering higher yields, disease resistance, safety, and sustainability in a platform that can be deployed anywhere in the world, regardless of climate,” said Jason Green, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder. “The pandemic underscores the importance of shoring up supply chains to be more local for transparency, safety, and efficiency. Localized produce is especially important from a food safety standpoint. As vertical farms scale, we can create a supply chain that’s fundamentally more resilient than shipping produce around the country, if not around the world.”
The new facility is located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York, and utilizes Upward’s next generation technology to advance the company’s growth. According to a press release, the operation is powered by end-to-end automation and is USDA Certified Organic, making it one of the first Certified Organic vertical farms in the Northeast region of the U.S.
In addition to its state-of-the-art technology, the new headquarters includes a fishery that is Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch “Best Choice” rated, and sustainably farms mercury-free, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free striped bass.
Upward Farms’ ready-to-eat microgreen mixes are currently available in all Brooklyn Whole Foods locations and are anticipated to be available in all New York City Whole Foods stores within the next few months.
As consumer trends continue to shift toward fresh, organic produce and online purchase of groceries, Upward Farms is offering consistent product availability, quality, and scalability for locally grown greens. The grower is expecting further expand as demand increases, and has already raised approximately $150 million to date from investors to spark growth.
For more news regarding vertical farming and other growing practices gaining traction across the industry, stick with AndNowUKnow.
YAKIMA, WA - When cherry season rolls around, the palpable excitement can be felt. Cherries offer an amazing chance for retailers to score big on impulse buys, and the limited nature of their supply drives up demand. Sage Fruit Company is ramping up the hype even further with its latest launch, recently announcing its new, earth-friendly pouch bag.
“We are very excited to roll out this new bag for our organic cherries,” noted Chuck Sinks, President of Sales and Marketing. “We have been searching for some time for the right solution and when Kaci Komstadius, our Social Media and Special Projects Coordinator, brought this bag to our attention, we were confident that she had found the answer. We look forward to getting this new bag to the marketplace this coming cherry season.”
Debuting in June, this Bio-Able Solutions bag will house the company’s bulk Organic Dark Sweet cherries. Bio-Able Solutions directly addresses plastic and food packaging sustainability, a press release noted. Enabled with bio-assimilation technology, these new bags are 100 percent recyclable and uniquely formulated to fully degrade in both marine and terrestrial environments, leaving behind zero micro-plastic waste.
Key features of this new package include:
- ASTM 5526 certified
- ASTM 6954 Tier 1 certified
- FDA approved
Sage Fruit developed the bag due to increased consumer concerns over single-use plastic, as well as a heightened awareness of the availability of more sustainable options.
Even more excited for cherries? I didn’t think it possible, but I am now.
SEATTLE, WA - Over the past year, the grocery market has proven to be fruitful, inspiring retailers like Amazon to expand their shares of the sector. Having launched its Amazon Go Grocery in February 2020, the company has now announced that it will be rebranding the division as Amazon Fresh as it grows its offering of fresh foods.
Previously, Amazon offered several grocery options including Amazon Go, Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon Fresh grocery stores, Amazon Fresh delivery, Whole Foods grocery, and Prime Now delivery. According to a report from GeekWire, the name change will serve to simplify its variety of offerings and make the process of selecting a service easier for Amazon shoppers.
In addition to rebranding Amazon Go Grocery, Amazon will also be closing its Amazon Go Grocery store in Redmond, Washington. However, the other Washington-based Amazon Go Grocery store located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood will remain open and renamed to reflect the recent rebrand.
Next month, the retailer will transition employees from the closing Redmond store to the new Amazon Fresh store opening in the Factoria neighborhood in Bellevue, Washington.
Since the creation of Amazon Go Grocery last year, Amazon has evolved its reach in the grocery sector, rolling out full-size Amazon Fresh grocery stores and delivery services such as its newly expanded in-garage offering.
As Amazon continues to evolve its grocery market expansion strategy, what will come next from the retailer? Keep a tab open for AndNowUKnow as we bring you the answers.
MONROVIA, CA - Dick Spezzano, President of Spezzano Consulting Service, has announced that he is retiring from the fresh produce industry after 61 years. As much as one with Dick's spirit can retire, he tells me, as he walks me through the amazing career he has led.
“I really love the industry—I have had a passion for this ever since I was a kid,” Dick tells me as he reflects on a career in which he had a front-row seat—if not a direct hand in—several industry-shaking moments over the past six-plus decades. It is a fire that continues to burn so much so that, even now, he cannot visualize stepping away completely. “I still want to be involved and of service if I can. This next chapter, for me, is to only work on special projects and serve on boards around the industry for as long as they will have me.”
It’s hard to think any would ever let him go, what with the insight Dick brings, having served the supply-side through his consulting business, Spezzano Consulting Service, since 1997 after more than 30 years of working in retail.
“I started in produce at 19 as a part-time Clerk at the Star Market in the Boston area while going to school,” Dick tells me, sharing that he met two lifelong loves at that store—the fresh industry and his wife, Carole.
After they married, the Spezzanos made the jump to Ventura, California, where Dick quickly found a foothold at Vons. He earned his way up the fresh produce and floral ladder, forging relationships and racking up experience throughout the California produce scene.
“I was made the Produce Floral Division Manager in 1980, and promoted Roger Schroeder into my former role of Produce and Floral Division Merchandiser,” Dick shares, telling me that his and Roger’s careers would continue to parallel through the years, strengthening a friendship that stands to this day.
Flipping through these chapters in his life, Dick points to key moments like attending the 1983 Christmas party of Ken Olsen, CEO of Vons at the time, where he was named the Vice President of Produce and Floral.
“There are so many amazing highlights and milestones, like when I served as Chair of the Retail Committee for PMA in 1988, and Bryan Silbermann and I took on the conversion to Generic UPCs and PLUs, a big change across the industry, or when I worked on a start-up format for the Pavilions banner,” Dick recalls, naming moments that carved out mainstays in today’s industry. “And of course there are the relationships. I found some great friends that I would hit the road with; we would be at every gathering across the U.S.”
Those relationships and his experience were key when Dick decided to make the transition from buying to consulting.
“In October 1997, I had just left Vons after it was acquired by Safeway, when, three weeks later, PMA Fresh Summit came to Anaheim, California,” Dick tells me. “I printed up a bunch of cards and, from the leads I met there, launched my consulting business.”
That consulting business is how Dick was able to be in on some of the initial conversations that brought the first domestically grown seedless mandarins for the U.S. market. From watching organic turn into a key category to helping some of today’s biggest brands make crucial planting decisions, not to mention seeing the radical changes technology has brought, Dick’s career is more an epic tale than a story.
And that big energy, it turns out, is something that cannot be kept to the job alone.
“My wife and I love to travel—we’ve been to 78 countries and we hope to be able to do that again soon,” Dick shares, describing majestic trips to Africa and moments I have dreamed about while watching nature documentaries.
While this next move will lean further into retirement for Dick, that passion he has fed from both the personal and professional side will continue to be sated.
When I ask if there is any one thing he can point to in maintaining such a deep love for the job over the decades, Dick tells me he has been deeply proud and grateful to join the industry in supporting City of Hope for more than 35 years.
“The City of Hope is a wonderful organization. Fresh produce and floral’s support for this has been incredible. I can’t tell you how many phone calls I would get from companies where an employee had found out they had a form of cancer, to which I would make a phone call to City of Hope and they would immediately do what they could to support,” he shares.
This is one part of the whole message of our industry, he says, that really matters: “We sell good stuff to people, you can’t beat it.”
So while it sounds as though we might not be able to so easily tap the valuable insights and experience Dick has brought to the industry for so many years, this is far from the last chapter in a stunning career.
Congratulations, Dick, on all you have accomplished! And, I am sure, you will still continue to achieve.
NEWARK, DE - Although the pandemic threw many challenges our way, it has also created new opportunities to extend the reach of the fresh produce industry in the retail market. As consumers crave new ways to celebrate after nearly a year and half of lockdown, the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is hosting its Retail with the Experts: Occasion Marketing & Seasonal Merchandising – Identifying New Opportunities webinar to give industry members new opportunities to bolster sales.
The event will take place on May 20 at 12:30 p.m. ET, according to a release from PMA. Offering key ways to build shopper engagement and drive produce sales, the webinar features retail marketing leaders from across the industry providing their insights.
The list of leaders includes:
- Anne Marie Roerink, Principal, 210 Analytics
- Karen Nardozza, President and CEO, Moxxy Marketing
- Alyson Dias, Vice President Advertising and Digital Media, California Table Grape Commission
- Adam Brady, Director of Marketing, Shuman Farms
- Vic Savanello, Vice President, Produce and Floral Merchandising, SpartanNash
Make sure to get in on this exciting opportunity to hear inspiring new ideas to help you increase shopper traffic this season. To register for the event, being offered in both English and Spanish, click here.
For the latest insights from across the industry, stick with AndNowUKnow.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - As more retailers begin to roll out new strategies to boost supplier diversity and support local products, locally grown food has taken on a significant level of importance for consumers. To shine a light on this increasing demand, Side Delights® and its network of family-owned farms has weighed in on the growing excitement surrounding local farmers and the products they bring to market.
“Side Delights potatoes are ideal for shoppers looking for locally grown, family-farmed products,” noted Kathleen Triou, President and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network. “Side Delights potatoes are grown by our Fresh Solutions Network of farmers—independent, family-owned farms that produce some of the highest quality, best-tasting potatoes available on the market.”
According to a national consumer survey provided by Side Delights, demand for locally grown food continues to rise as shoppers—specifically millennials—aim to support local farmers. The desire for more local products has also been driven by the pandemic, leaving more consumers wanting to spend money within their communities.
Michael Family Farms’ Kathy Sponheim also provided valuable insights surrounding the demand for local offerings.
“Every season is different, so continuous change and learning are needed to adapt and adjust to growing a better crop,” Sponheim said. “Between Mother Nature and the fresh potato market, a lot is uncertain when we put the seed in the ground. The reward is harvesting potatoes that feed our family, our neighbors, and our customers.”
Chandler Mack of Mack Farms in Florida also spoke out about the hard work put in by family-owned farms and the lessons it brings.
“The most difficult part of farming has to deal with the challenges that weather can present. An important lesson I have learned through farming is that hard work can pay off, and giving up is not an option,” Mack explained.
Hard work is one of the many values found within Side Delights’ network of family-owned, local farmers, as explained by Molly Connors of the Basin Gold Cooperative in Washington.
“Being a farmer has taught me strong work ethic, persistence, and respect. Farming is a group effort, and you need all of these to run a thriving agricultural business—just as you do in your everyday life,” said Connors.
While the work may be challenging and the outcome sometimes unexpected, it is the end result that drives the passion and dedication of the company’s network of suppliers.
“The hardest part of the job is pouring your heart and soul into growing a world-class crop, and then some Mother Nature event ruins everything,” said Jeff Klinger, Director of Potato Farming Operations, Sterman Masser Farms. “The biggest reward is when everything does go right, and it’s a grand slam.”
As local products and family-owned farms continue to make their way into the spotlight, keep reading ANUK to stay up to date on everything in the fresh produce industry.