Latest News From Foodservice

Filling supplies starts the fresh-cut produce industry

It’s all about the kids.

Sole Source Capital LLC has acquired a majority interest in Worldwide Produce, a distributor of fresh produce, dairy products and specialty foods to independent and chain restaurants in California and Nevada.

United Fresh is hosting a food media dialogue panel at this year’s BrandStorm, moderated by Chadwick Boyd, food and lifestyle expert and TV host.

Pro*Act’s supply chain partners toured fields, watched food preparation demonstrations and heard from foodservice experts about fresh produce innovations at the company’s first Culinary Summit.

There’s plenty of research to show that parents and kids will make the right choices if we make healthy eating easy and attractive.

Foodservice distributor Get Fresh Produce, Bartlett, Ill., has launched a new website, www.GetFreshProduce.com.

Concluding the pear pizza campaign, USA Pears has named Veronica Callaghan the winner of the #pearpizza contest.

United Fresh is accepting nominations for the 2020 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards Program.

GreenGate Fresh, Salinas, Calif., is offering cartons of cilantro and parsley for foodservice operators.

Ippolito Fruit and Produce, Burlington, Ontario, is moving into foodservice with the hiring of Jon Stewart as director of sales — foodservice.

Kansas City, Kan.-based Liberty Fruit Co. is growing well beyond its Kansas City home, according to its CEO.

Ippolito International, Salinas, Calif., has promoted Jason Grolnick to director of sales and hired Evan Guiliani as director of foodservice sales and new business development.

Oakland, Calif.-based Paramount Export Co. is celebrating 80 years in business this year by participating in a big way with Tour de Fresh.

West Pak Avocado, Murrieta, Calif., has a multi-part video marketing campaign, The Avo Effect, for 2020.

Foodservice operators, including those that service restaurants and healthcare companies, are using California grapes on their menus this fall.

The United Fresh Start Foundation has scheduled a web seminar to help companies sell fresh produce to schools.

Philadelphia-based Procacci Bros. Sales Corp. has a solution for foodservice customers who don’t need a standard 40-pound box of bananas.

U.S. Foods Inc., Los Angeles,  has been awarded a maximum $90.3 million contract for full-line food distribution on Navy ships in the San Diego area.

The California Table Grape Commission has hired Maria Montalvo as its marketing director of retail and foodservice promotion.

Taylor Fresh Foods has purchased the assets of Club Chef, a Covington, Ky., fresh-cut processor owned by the Castellini Co.

FirstFruits Marketing has announced its partnership with Cynthia Sass, dietitian and New York Times best-selling author, as brand ambassador for Opal apples.

An outbreak of Cyclospora illnesses linked to fresh basil appears to be over, according to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Square Roots is officially opening its newest indoor farm at the headquarters of Gordon Food Service in Wyoming, Mich.

Watsonville, Calif.-based California Giant Berry Farms is planning to include a retail foodservice category to the 2020 Chef Invitational Competition.

FreshEdge is sponsoring the United Fresh Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards Program at the United Fresh Produce Association’s show next year.

BOSTON — Rich Dachman had two goals at the keynote speech he presented at the New England Produce Council’s 20th anniversary Produce, Floral and Foodservice Expo.

D’Arrigo and J. McFarland Wines is hosting Sip, Bite and Turn Up the Pink event to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Pacific Coast Fruit Co. hosted its first Kids in the Kitchen event at the Boy and Girls Club of South Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash.

The foodservice marketplace today looks much different than it did in 1985, as waves of consolidation and acquisitions continue to hit the industry, providing both opportunity and new pressures on suppliers.

Management and employees at Vineland, N.J.-based F&S Produce Co. Inc. are recovering today from a fire on Tuesday at the west end of its Rosenhayn processing plant in South New Jersey. 

Avocados From Mexico is opening its “avocado-centric” concessions in the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

NASHVILLE – Exhibitors gave high marks to the Southeast Produce Council’s foodservice and organics conference Southern Innovations both for the show itself and the connections it facilitated.

LOS ANGELES — Seventy vendors touted their wares for customers and potential customers of LA & SF Specialty at the company’s seventh Cultivating Our Community.

Limoneria spokesperson and registered dietitian Megan Roosevelt has prepared three lemon-inspired recipes for back-to-school meal prep.

The acquisition of Brooks and Co. and J&J Distributing by the Dragonfly Group should be completed in the fall.

Business was picking up for Minneapolis-based processor Go Fresh.

Business updates from the Twin Cities includes new packaging from Robinson Fresh and Northwestern Fruit Co. purchasing produce operation.

The foodservice industry is thriving in the Twin Cities area, as is evident from the broad range of unique dining options.

In last month’s column, we came down hard on the assumptions many in agriculture make about educating consumers

Foodservice operators aren’t heavy buyers of organic fruits and vegetables, but organic produce suppliers haven’t given up on them.

Salinas, Calif.-based Markon Cooperative Inc. gathered 26 chefs from its foodservice members and operators to focus on plant-based recipes at its fifth annual Chef Summit.

Interest from foodservice operators is growing for fresh-cut slices of the genetically engineered nonbrowning Arctic apple.

Foodservice produce sales are going strong in Southern California, suppliers say.

Los Alamitos, Calif.- based Frieda’s Specialty Produce is promoting its fresh fruits and vegetables for back-to-school shopping trips.

Indianapolis-based IF&P and Bartlett, Ill.-based Get Fresh Produce have created a new company called FreshEdge. 

Pineapple, collard greens, plant-forward kebabs, parsnips and grapefruit are either trending now or will be soon, according to the latest United Fresh Produce Association’s “Fresh Insights for Foodservice” report.

Ag tech company Zest Labs has updated its Zest Fresh platform with three new modules to make it easier for suppliers, foodservice operators and retailers to test and deploy its offerings.

One of Pear Bureau Northwest’s newest initiatives as it ramps up outreach for the pear season is a series of tutorial videos providing pear ripening, serving and nutritional tips to professionals in schools.

MONTEREY, Calif. — Tom Karst and Ashley Nickle discuss the 2019 Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference and Expo, from trends on the show floor to reviews of the show this year.