Produce Retail
Canada’s retail market is mature, consolidated and full of demand for produce, according to a USDA analysis of the country’s retail market.
From the moment shoppers enter the 87,500-square-foot Astor Place Wegmans — the Rochester, N.Y.-based grocer’s newest store — the fresh produce storytelling begins.
A new Columbia Business School study, “From People to Produce: How Appearance Bias Fuels Food Waste,” reveals how consumer preference for cosmetically perfect fruits and vegetables contributes to billions of pounds of food waste — meanwhile, companies like Misfits Market are working to change perceptions and reduce waste.
Phillips Mushroom Farms, Kennett Square, Pa., has updated the packaging for its popular Gourmet Blend, which contains baby bella, oyster and shiitake mushrooms, said Sean Steller, director of business development.
It’s too early for an official forecast of how many avocados Chilean growers will ship to the U.S. market this season, but some importers expect volume to be less than last season’s 27 million pounds.
The fact that COVID-19 may well lead to the cancellation of favorite fall activities, including Halloween, doesn’t bother the vice president of sales and marketing for Keenes, Ill.-based Frey Farms in the least.
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic has prompted the California Avocado Commission to shift some elements of its planned advertising and social media campaign to use tactics that reach targeted consumers at home.
The California Table Grape Commission has three new commercials airing in the U.S. and key export markets as part of the Go with Grapes from California Every Day campaign.
Summer Citrus from South Africa has finished another successful consumer promotion, Here Comes the Sun.
The packaging issue has turned into a dilemma for the produce industry in general and the organic segment in particular.
Globalmex International has expanded offerings of year-round tomato varieties under the Magic Sun label.
The United Fresh Produce Association is bringing back its retail-foodservice speed dating sessions as part of the offerings of United Fresh LIVE! 365.
Pristine grapes are on the shelves again.
Chilean navel oranges are riding the wave of popularity the citrus category is seeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cindy Adkins, who marketed organic fingerling potatoes in Colorado’s San Luis Valley for 22 years, is now a sales representative for MountainKing Potatoes, Houston.
Pacific Trellis Fruit is marketing its third season of Cotton Candy grapes from the Murcia, Spain, growing region.
BrightFarms has opened an expansion to its Chicago-area facility, allowing continued growth in the market, including a 34% jump in year-over-year sales at Mariano’s.
Stokes Purple sweet potatoes are back in season and Frieda’s Specialty Produce is preparing for the holiday season.
Starr Ranch Growers, Wenatchee, Wash., has consolidated sales offices in Yakima, Wash., and hired Shawn Loudon to its sales team there.
Calavo Growers reported avocado volume rose 18.2% in the quarter ending July 31, but that was offset by a 37% decline in average selling prices.
The relationship between grower prices and retail prices is always a point of interest, perhaps more for growers than retailers.
Smurfit Kappa is offering the BanaBag as a paper-based solution for bagging bananas at the farm level.
North Carolina sweet potatoes have achieved superfood status as more and more people around the world discover their sweet, nutrition-packed flavor.
Onion grower-shipper Shuman Farms, Reidsville, Ga., is embracing the virtual platform that’s presenting the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit.
The Pear Bureau Northwest is celebrating National Pizza Month (October) by bringing back the pear pizza campaign.
Chiquita Brands International is giving its iconic blue banana sticker a pink makeover in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is October.
Data-driven marketing can help blueberries land in shopping carts more often.
West Pak Avocado, Murrieta, Calif., has a new segment in the Avo Effect campaign.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has closed its investigation into a Salmonella Newport outbreak that was traced to red onions from Thomson International Inc., Bakersfield, Calif.
More than a dozen companies that supply produce in the U.S. have joined the 10x20x30 initiative, in which a group of 10-plus retailers have at least 20 suppliers who pledge to cut foot loss and waste in half by 2030.