ATLANTA — Booth visitors at the International Fresh Produce Association’s 2024 Global Produce and Floral show got a sneak peek of new varieties, learned about upcoming produce availability and new product offerings.
Check out what exhibitors had to say with these video booth tours.
Nutrition expert and registered dietitian Annessa Chumbley showed off SugarBee, Rockit and Lucy Glo apples at Chelan Fresh’s booth.
“Rockit is the world’s first miniature apple,” Chumbley said. “It’s so cute. It’s snack-sized. My kids absolutely love it because it’s so approachable and fits in a lunch box. It’s a tiny apple with a big personality … it’s sweet, crunchy and we love to sell it in a 3-pound tub. I tell moms to keep it around and leave it out on the counter.”
Chumbley called Lucy Glo the Barbie of all apples because of its pink flesh.
“You’re going to see a pink flesh on the inside,” she said. “It is a little bit tart with a hint of sweet. People love to pair it with cheese or different jams. It goes great on charcuterie boards for holiday time.”
The upcoming Chilean cherry season was top of mind for visitors to the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association’s — or Frutas de Chile — booth.
Karen Brux, managing director of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association, said retailers can expect good volumes of Chilean cherries this year.
“We are expecting significant volumes of cherries to enter into the market around late December, with promotable volumes in January and into February,” she said. “So, get ready to promote cherries.”
Sustainability was the focus of discussions at the GLC Cerritos booth. Giovanni Cavaletto, U.S. division president for GLC Cerritos, said the company is Rainforest Alliance, Global GAP and Fair Trade-certified.
“We see those as three very valuable platforms to help share with the produce industry the good that the avocado business is doing in the communities where we live and work,” he said.
It was a total tropics experience at the Chiquita booth during the Global Produce and Floral Show, with photo opportunities with Miss Chiquita in a banana plantation.
Juliana Furlan, director of marketing for Chiquita North America, said the company also introduced its Yelloway One banana, which is a new variety in development that is resistant to TR4 fusarium wilt and black sigatoka.
“We believe is going to change the future of bananas,” she said.
Daniel Mueller, president and CEO of Volm Cos., said visitors to the company’s booth learned about the total solutions the company provides.
“Volm tries to bring together a total solution for our customers of packaging and equipment,” he said. “Anytime a product comes into a shed until it leaves, we want to be there supporting this great industry.”
Hot or Cold Salad and Noodle Meal Kits were a big highlight of Fresh Express’ show booth.
Fabian Pereira, vice president of Fresh Express, said these new meal kits help tap into consumers’ continuing interest in convenience and more than half of consumers say they eat salads as a meal for lunch.
“What you have is a meal that you can have your way — you can have it cold or you can have it hot,” he said. “Most importantly it tastes great all made in five minutes or less.”
The company also highlighted its Twisted Caesar salad kits, which include Pesto Caesar and Avocado Caesar.
“We have items like these blends, which actually help the produce industry because when you buy this, people buy more tomatoes more avocados more other things, so the basket size is much bigger,” he said.
Your next read:
• Fresh ‘worth fighting for,’ says IFPA CEO Cathy Burns
• Seen and heard at IFPA’s Global Produce and Floral Show 2024 — Part 1
• Seen and heard at IFPA’s Global Produce and Floral Show 2024 — Part 2
• Seen and heard at IFPA’s Global Produce and Floral Show 2024 — Part 3
• Seen and heard at IFPA’s Global Produce and Floral Show 2024 — Part 4
• Seen and heard at IFPA’s Global Produce and Floral Show 2024 — Part 5
• Seen and heard at IFPA’s Global Produce and Floral Show 2024 — Part 6
• Seen and heard at IFPA’s Global Produce and Floral Show 2024 — Part 7
• Seen and heard at IFPA’s Global Produce and Floral Show 2024 — Part 8
