Latest News From Strawberries

DelFrescoPure, Kingsville, Ontario, has taken its integrated pest management program from greenhouse vegetables and applied it to strawberries.

Watsonville, Calif.-based Driscoll’s is participating in the Ceres/ World Wildlife Fund AgWater Challenge.

Crunchies, a line of single-serve chocolate-covered freeze-dried fruit snacks will be on display at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit.

Wish Farms, Plant City, Fla., has a smartphone app that brings new labels on its berry packs to life with augmented reality.

Driscoll’s has launched Sweetest Batch Blueberries — the newest addition to its limited edition collection.

Watsonville, Calif.-based Well-Pict Berries plans to continue its year-long celebration of flavor at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit in Anaheim, Calif., by highlighting its winter berry program.

Fairfield, N.J.-based Crispy Green Inc., maker of Crispy Fruit freeze-dried fruit snacks, plans to showcase two new flavors at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit.

Blazer Wilkinson, Salinas, Calif., has a new website highlighting “The Ultimate Strawberry,” as the company ramps up production of its Foxy brand conventional and organic strawberries.

Mexican fruit and vegetable grower Agrizar is growing berries exclusively for Mastronardi BerryWord America.

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

Berry People, Hollister, Calif., has a new source of Mexican berries to fill gaps in the fall and winter.

Berry grower-marketer Wish Farms, Plant City, Fla., has a new tagline: Generations of Sweetness.

Strawberry lovers will be happy to hear that a new crop of summer-planted California berries is just around the corner.

Tom Smith, director of foodservice at California Giant Berry Farms, Watsonville, Calif., is adding organics to his purview.

A robotic strawberry harvester known as the T-6 from Advanced Farm Technologies, Davis, Calif., has received a $7.5 million boost from investors in a Series A funding round.

When China’s first Costco opened Aug. 27, California Giant strawberries were on display.

Plant City, Fla.- based Wish Farms is celebrating a successful “Superhero Summer” Instagram campaign in partner with Feeding America.

Strawberries averaged $2.40 per 1-pound clamshell around the U.S. the week ending Aug. 16, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Retail Report for Specialty Crops, which looks at on-ad prices.

Naturipe’s new snacks feature berries, grapes, nuts and cheese, focusing on health and convenience.

Berry grower-shipper Always Fresh Farms, Winter Haven, Fla., has entered into a long-term partnership with Giddings Fruit S.A., a berry and cherry grower in Mexico and South America.

Sun Belle Inc., Shiller Park, Ill., is expanding relationships with growers following a decision by the Giddings Group, which supplies berries from Mexico and Chile, to market its own berries.

Steinbeck Country Produce, Salinas, Calif., is changing its marketing identity to Nature’s Reward to capitalize on consumer brand recognition, and has a new website design.

The Watsonville-based California Strawberry Commission is issuing a challenge to consumers this summer.

The Cal Poly Strawberry Center at San Luis Obispo continues to expand, both physically and in the research and programs it provides.

California strawberry production is down a bit from last year, blueberries should be plentiful and raspberry and blackberry supplies are on track, grower-shippers say.

Cherries again led the list of most-promoted produce items, with more than 19,000 stores featuring them the week ended July 19.

The Cal Poly Strawberry Center is inviting strawberry industry participation at its annual industry field day on July 18.

The timing couldn’t be better for Estero, Fla.-based Naturipe Farms LLC to step up its emphasis on foodservice.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recently toured berry and lettuce farms in Watsonville, Calif. 

Chef Travis Peters, co-owner of The Parish Gastropub, Tucson, Ariz., won the second-annual California Giant Berry Farms Chef Invitational.

UPDATED: Naturipe Farms has hired Glenn Daniels as director of business development for value-added fresh.

The Equitable Food Initiative is partnering with Costco Wholesale in California, Oregon and Washington to boost consumer awareness and sales of EFI-certified fruits and vegetables.

Rainy weather kept a damper on California’s strawberry volume throughout the winter and late spring, but grower-shippers said shipments were rebounding as summer approached.

Consumers looking for berries to enhance their picnics or barbecues this summer won’t be disappointed.

Driscoll’s 3D Berry Picnic Mobile started its summer campaign June 18 — International Picnic Day — in the Twin Cities, beginning the next phase of the brand’s #BerryTogether campaign.

Plant City, Fla.-based berry grower Wish Farms has started a summer partnership campaign with Feeding America.

Mastronardi Produce’s Sunset brand swept the cocktail tomato category and racked up top honors in nine categories at the 12th annual Leamington Greenhouse Competition.

CHICAGO – SCS Global Services has certified Yes!Berries as pesticide-free.

Driscoll’s is rolling out four proprietary limited-edition strawberries and raspberries today, focusing on unique color and sweetness attributes.

Retail research conducted this year by San Jose, Calif.-based Zest Labs finds big variability in the shelf life of strawberries, romaine lettuce and packaged salads.

Mastronardi Produce, Kingsville, Ontario, has appointed Andrew Maiman as president of Berry World America, the joint venture between Mastronardi and the United Kingdom’s Berry World.

Wendy’s Berry Burst Chicken Salad is back on menus, with a half-cup of fresh strawberries and blueberries in the full-size option.

Mastronardi Produce is showcasing Wow brand berries at the United Fresh Produce Association’s show.

Naturipe Berry Farms is taking to social media to honor veterans through a fundraiser for the Gary Sinise Foundation.

Global Cooling Inc. is marketing its Jet-Ready Precoolers as solution for keeping the cold chain for berries and cherries intact.

California Giant Berry Farms has chosen the chefs who will participate in its second-annual Chef Invitational competition.

The window for ripe-picked Jersey Fresh strawberries has opened, but it’s a small window, said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher.

China’s latest round of tariff retaliation hit frozen fruits and vegetables but appeared to spare additional hikes on imported U.S. fresh produce.

The U.S. slapped 25% tariffs on a number of fruit and vegetable imports from China, from cauliflower to garlic and certain berries.

California’s strawberry crop seemed to be gradually returning to normal volume this spring after a rainy winter that delayed picking early in the season.