Ranking of the top retail chains in the Chicago market remains virtually unchanged from a year ago, said Bill Bishop, chief architect at Brick Meets Click, a Barrington, Ill.-based consulting firm.
The Irvine-based California Avocado Commission has come up with a new advertising campaign to call attention to California avocados this season and help move more of them, said Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing.
The Hass Avocado Board has invested in a nutrition program that has helped health professionals and consumers understand how avocados are beneficial to their health.
Grower-shippers were reluctant to go on record with their predictions for this season’s cherry crop, but most agreed that, if Mother Nature cooperates, there should be plenty to go around this spring and summer.
Sales of fresh limes seem to be trending upward. At Delano, Calif.-based Wonderful Citrus, Elena Rhodes, director of product management, said in mid-April that sales were up 13% year over year.
Senior director Chris Cockle said Dinuba, Calif.-based Wonderful Citrus will have an extensive offshore citrus deal this summer that will include mandarins, navel oranges and lemons.
Thanks to year-round availability, tastier varieties and improved growing practices, summer citrus seems to be more popular than ever at neighborhood supermarkets.
The produce business seems to be gradually rebounding in Los Angeles as stores and restaurants start to reopen after more than two months of shutdowns triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
