Seen and Heard at 2022 CPMA Convention and Trade Show

Palais des Congres in Montreal, Quebec.

Red Sun Farms designed its booth as a learning center for retailers to showcase the different avenues of greenhouse grown, said Leona Neill. The booth featured lessons in lighting technology and an entire wall devoted to Red Sun Farms’ story of sustainability. 

Brothers Bahram and Shahram Rashti, grower partners of Oppy, discussed the company’s move into Controlled Environment Agriculture with Oppy’s first vertical farming facility set to open in September. “This CEA [farm] is built to be as sustainable as possible, using as little inputs as possible,” said Bahram Rashti. “We want to provide clean, fresh local product within 24 hours to stores,” he added. The Up Vertical Farms line of greens is expected to launch in October.  The touchless, highly automated new facility is located near an existing Oppy distribution center and the company said it plans to build additional vertical farms near its other distribution centers in the future.

At EarthFresh, Libby Massey shared the company’s Great Spud Rescue campaign designed to educate consumers about food waste. EarthFresh is harvesting No. 1 Russet potatoes that are normally left in the field and packaging them in entirely compostable bags that tell a story of the need for sustainability, as 63% of the food Canadians throw away could have been eaten.

First time CPMA exhibitors Divine Flavor showcased its grapes in the Mexico Pavilion. “We felt we owed it to our Canadian customers to have a presence here and we also wanted to support CPMA,” said Carlos Bon. He and Michael Dupuis shared the company’s expansion plans, quality control and improving efficiencies. “We want to take the word ‘compliance’ and replace it with passion — passion for safe, responsibly grown produce,” said Bon.

Del Monte Fresh Produce sampled its Pinkglow Pineapples. “It’s very Instagramable. It’s more than just a fruit. We really see Pinkglow as a lifestyle brand,” said Pablo Rivero. The company also showcased its Fair Trade bananas launching at Sobeys in Canada.