Seen and heard at 2023 CPMA Show — Part 1
TORONTO — It’s a wrap for the Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s 2023 Convention and Trade Show. Held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre April 26-27, the event drew players from across the fresh produce supply chain and featured scores of product innovations and the latest news from the world of produce.
Nature Fresh Farms took home the CPMA 2023 Best New Product award for its Yoom Tomato. With the launch of the dark purple to black tomato last year, Nature Fresh Farms brought “innovation to the cocktail category that hasn’t been revived in a long time,” said Nature Fresh Farms’ Krysta Markham, who also spotlighted the company’s Snack Supplies line.
Available in 4-ounce varieties including Medley Tomatoes, Tiny Cocktail Cucumbers and Mini Sweet Peppers, Nature Fresh Farms Snack Supplies grab-and-go snack bags include a three-pack of collectable stickers, plus a kid-friendly game. There’s a word search, maze or crossword puzzle with every package.
“Snack is taking off,” Markham said. The convenience and snackability of the line are the “driving force” behind Snack Supplies, she added.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Oppy is inviting the industry to “expect the world from us.”
“That [tagline] really captured what we do sourcing produce from around the world, and it’s still a promise that excites us,” said Oppy’s Audrey Desnoyers.
Oppy also highlighted its longtime relationships with growers, including the cucumber and pepper growers at Randhawa Farms, cherry growers from Orchard View Farms and pepper growers Divemex.
“John [Anderson, CEO of Oppy,] always says it’s really the growers that allow us to do what we do — and we always have the growers’ best interest in mind,” Desnoyers said.
Oppy is also always on a quest for the next great produce item from around the globe, said Desnoyers, who noted the company is currently expanding its plum and pluot program in South Africa.
New Jersey’s leafy greens season has already begun, said Joe Atchison of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. He added that a mild winter and warm spring really moved things along. Atchison said that New Jersey’s season dovetails with Canada’s, allowing the state to fill a gap in the Canadian market.
At Great Lakes Greenhouses, Jeff Richardson shared the company’s growth in organic. With 32 acres of organic greenhouse, the company is cultivating organic peppers, organic tomatoes on the vine and organic cherry tomatoes on the vine. Richardson also showed off the new packaging for its Mini Cukes.
Great Lakes Greenhouses switched to a zipper seal closure system that reduces the levels of oxygen entering the bag and went from five ventilation holes to 13, which has been a “gamechanger with respect to condensation levels,” Richardson said.
Schur spotlighted its new self-saucing bag for Earth Fresh microwave-ready potatoes, Brussels sprouts and carrots. The potatoes are ready in the microwave in just six minutes, the Brussels sprouts in three minutes and the carrots in five. Available in 14 flavors, the line is currently sold in Canada only, but Schur says it’s coming to the U.S.
Related: Seen and heard at 2023 CPMA Show — Part 2
Related: Seen and heard at 2023 CPMA Show — Part 3
Related: Seen and heard at 2023 CPMA Show — Part 4
Related: Seen and heard at 2023 CPMA Show—Part 5
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