Anaheim, Calif. — How produce makes it from shelf to shopping cart was the buzz at this year’s International Fresh Produce Association’s Global Produce and Floral Show. From new sustainable packaging material leaps — ready and priced to scale — to the proliferation of clean, clear and snack-sized packaging, attendees on Oct. 19-21 had an array of innovative packaging choices to consider alongside the industry’s best-in-class fresh produce.
Notably, Oppy came to the trade show with a new compostable avocado bag.
“This bag is made from truly compostable material,” Category Director of Avocados and Citrus Rodrigo Lopez told The Packer. “It can be composted at home; 12 weeks in the compost and it’s gone.”
The packaging, made from beechwood cellulose, is slated to be released in the new year, with compostable labels currently in design, he said.
“Costs are very similar to comparable alternatives,” Rodrigo added.
Also debuting at this year’s show is Oppy’s value-added, ready-to-eat avocado product for foodservice.
This process product is targeting customers for whom food safety is top of mind, Rodrigo said.
“We’re growing like crazy in the states,” Highline Mushrooms’ Kelly Hale, vice president of sales, marketing and distribution, told The Packer.
Surveying the mushroom grower’s sleek clear packaging, it was easy to see why.
“Consumers buy with their eyes,” Hale said. “Mushrooms are the last category in fresh produce to go clear.”
Not only does the clear packaging highlight a quality product, it also is completely recyclable.
Clear packaging has the highest value, which helps answer the sustainability question for mushroom packaging, Hale said.
Kwik Lok also shared sustainability innovations with fresh produce suppliers at the Global Produce and Floral Show.
“Our Enviro-Lok product uses 34% less plastic,” Kwik Lok’s Craig Kupp told The Packer. “It performs, but it’s also sustainable — the bag closure is made of polypropylene.”
For Kupp, this year’s show is not just about the products.
“It’s great to be able to rub shoulders with folks, connect with customers in person and meet new folks as well,” he said.
Since its recent merger with CMI Orchards, life has been busy at Starr Ranch Growers.
“It’s been great,” said Starr Ranch’s Steve Reinholt. “Kind of a whirlwind. There is so much to integrate and we’re starting to mingle staff.”
Also excited about the season ahead, Zespri came to the show feeling hopeful, confident that the challenging past two years are behind them.
“Demand has continued to strengthen,” Zespri CEO Daniel Mathieson told The Packer. “SunGold [kiwi variety] is the fastest growing fruit in the basket.”
With retailers wanting more SunGold kiwis, additional trees have been planted and will be ready for the coming harvest. Mathieson also said that New Zealand SunGold kiwi growers are back at full labor supply.
Diversifying growing regions — such as leaning on Italy and Greece growers in addition to New Zealand sourcing — trialing new varieties and using protective growing systems are strategies that Zespri is doing to remain resilient to increasing weather-related events, Mathieson said.
“It’s no longer just about what you can produce and deliver, it’s how you do it,” he added.
Grower and Vidalia Onion Committee Chairman Cliff Riner came to this year’s show seeking more opportunities to expand the Vidalia onion distribution footprint westward.
“We’re always looking to expand the West Coast network,” Riner told The Packer.
Shipping onions from Vidalia, Ga., is being made more feasible, he said, thanks in large part to new varieties extending shelf life.
Casey Corley, crop program specialist for the Texas Department of Agriculture, came to the show excited to share the new Go Texan program’s resources for producers.
“We also have a new collaboration we’re sharing with fresh produce suppliers,” Corely told The Packer. “They can sell seconds to a new marketplace, reduce food waste and even get a tax break for it.”
Related: Seen and heard at IFPA show, part 1
