CASTROVILLE, CA - The weather is getting chillier, spirits are getting jollier, and produce is getting heartier. As fall progresses into winter, seasonal favorites are making their comebacks, and Ocean Mist Farms is not one to disappoint. The first Frost Kissed^® artichoke crops are currently being shipped to retailers and will be available for the next several weeks. Be still my artichoke heart.

When the temperature drops below 32 degrees, Ocean Mist Farm’s Frost Kissed artichokes’ skin darkens. Rather than ruining the crop, however, this actually seals in more flavor and provides a nuttier taste in the artichokes; the brown exterior layer falls off once cooked to reveal that beautiful green veg that shoppers are familiar with.

“The appearance of Frost Kissed artichokes is strictly cosmetic and doesn’t reflect the quality,” said Diana McClean, Senior Director of Marketing. “While these artichokes are not as vibrant in color, they offer a limited-time flavor that many shoppers look forward to experiencing after a frost.”

According to a press release, this limited time variety will come with a whole host of recipe inspo through Ocean Mist Farm’s social media channels as well as on its website to educate consumers. Additionally, the Frost Kissed artichokes will carry a petal insert so shoppers can easily recognize them. Ocean Mist Farms will also provide display cards to retail customers who stock Frost Kissed artichokes.

“The Frost Kissed artichokes are such a seasonal treat as we don’t see a freeze every season,” added McClean. “We’re working hard to ensure our shoppers are educated on ways to prep the artichoke so they too can enjoy its unique flavor for a limited time when they are available.”

“Let it go” straight into your produce aisles and holiday fixings this season and keep checking back here at ANUK as we bring more produce news.

Ocean Mist Farms

MIAMI, FL - Though the winds of winter are nipping at our heels, there are some out there who are devoted to bringing a taste of the tropics to the produce aisle, no matter what the season. Family-owned grower-packer-shipper WP Produce is proud to announce a strong start to its high season for tropical avocados from the Dominican Republic. The company sources its avocados from exceptional growing regions around the world to ensure year-round availability and high-quality produce. As if that wasn't enough, WP Produce's Desbry^® brand has donned a snazzy new look that is sure to turn heads.

"This growth is exciting, and we expect it to continue. Retailers and foodservice providers have been seeing increased popularity for tropical avocados over the past few years," said Chris Gonzalez, VP of Sales for WP Produce, in a press release. "At PMA Fresh Summit, interest and enthusiasm for tropical avocados was very high. Consumers are demanding variety. And the larger size of tropical avocados with their vibrant green skin and heartier texture appeals to avocado lovers—especially millennials and moms."

WP Produce’s Desbry tropical brand undergoes its high season from mid-October through mid-May, with additional supply from Florida available from June through December, according to a press release. While the company is expecting increased volumes overall, it anticipates exceptionally promotable qualities from November through January.

This avocado season brings new changes and innovations for WP Produce, as the company has recently debuted a refreshed logo for its Desbry brand produce. The brand, which the company has been selling its produce under since 1984, is named after Founder Willy Pardo’s children—Desiree and Bryan, reflecting the cherished family-owned nature of the company.

Moxxy Marketing is responsible for the refreshed logo, which was designed to feature a bright yellow sun and bold coral lettering that reflect the tropical nature and growing regions of WP Produce’s full line of fresh produce. The company’s impressive menagerie of fruits and veg includes: avocados, papaya, pineapple, manzano bananas, mamey, malanga, yucca, calabaza, breadfruit, plantains, habanero peppers, coconuts, mangos, and more.

"The refreshed Desbry logo honors the past of what my father has worked hard to build, and also highlights our commitment to the future," commented Desiree Morales, Vice President of WP Produce. "We are focused on continually leading and improving the tropical produce industry like my dad has been doing the past 30 years, and the new logo is a symbol of that."

WP Produce has also been implementing fresh innovations, including new avocado cleaning and sorting machinery that has been added to its Dominican Republic facilities. The machinery allows for increased capacity and volume, while staying true to the company’s mission of providing sustainable job opportunities in the region. WP Produce has also created a worker welfare program for its Dominican staff.

"As we keep expanding our footprint in the Dominican Republic, we also want to continue building our role in the community, providing a welcoming work environment, and acknowledging our employees’ hard work and dedication," Morales said. "All our produce is inspected by our employees before being packed for our customers to not only ensure the highest quality, but to also ensure we offer a sustainable, year-round supply of jobs for the region. By providing more jobs and meals for all of our employees, we can support the well-being of our employees, and ultimately deliver a better end experience for our customers."

For more from the world of produce, keep reading AndNowUKnow.

WP Produce

HOUSTON, TX - We in the produce industry know that being a good business partner is something worth busting out the crudité and champagne for. Break out your flutes and your celery sticks, folks, because Sysco just announced its 2019 Supplier Excellence Awards. The 2019 award recipients were selected based on sales growth, leadership, innovation, operational excellence and other key business performance criteria. Those who led the produce pack are standouts in our industry, but only one was named the Gold Supplier: Taylor Farms.

“Sysco has a long-standing tradition of recognizing our top suppliers for their commitment to helping us deliver great products to our customers with exceptional service,” said Brian Todd, Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing. “We keep the customer at the center of everything we do and work hard with our supplier partners to improve the overall customer experience.”

Winners in the fresh produce category included:

Gold Supplier Award Winner

• Taylor Farms

Silver Supplier Award Winner

• Church Brothers Farms

Bronze Supplier Award Winners

• ProSource Inc.
• EarthFresh Farms
• Driscoll’s, Inc.

Additionally, the field of Frozen/Canned Fruits & Vegetables winners included a number of fresh-focused suppliers, including BONDUELLE. And Sysco’s Cutting Edge Solutions award went to Oggi Foods, a Montreal-based company that specializes in making cauliflower pizza crusts. Fresh was truly showing up and showing out!

For a complete list of winners, read Sysco’s press release here.

The entire team at AndNowuKnow congratulates the winners! Stay tuned for more fresh-focused news.

Sysco

OXNARD, CA - The leaves are falling, the temperature is lowering, and growing regions are experiencing a turn of fate. Not only does the holiday season usher in a new period for produce providers, but it signifies a shift in supply for many categories. Boskovich Farms is one of such companies, as the change in weather inevitably impacts its celery crop. I checked in with Russ Widerburg, Sales Manager at Boskovich, to find out what’s in store for the celery market.

“The current celery market is trending up. The Thanksgiving Holiday demand is beginning now and will continue through the end of December. Weather conditions will determine whether the market continues to slide up, or eases off because of better supplies,” Russ explained. “Coming off of a $60 to $70 per box celery market last year, it will be interesting to see how much volume will be committed to contract pricing this season. We have aggressively sought after more contract pricing for the upcoming season with our increased volume.”

Ramping up for the holidays, Boskovich is planning ahead and charting commitments and projected sales of its celery. The Oxnard harvest has just begun, according to Russ, though the company will harvest in Lompoc for another week. The Oxnard season will continue through the end of June 2020.

“Quality is very good in Oxnard to start, although there has been discussion about some Fuserium ground disease being prevalent in the Oxnard region,” Russ told me.

Although Russ is expecting a dryer and colder winter than last year, he confidently assured me that it won’t be a problem for Boskovich. In fact, he said that volume for the celery program will increase by ten percent, which is a normal annual growth increase for the company.

Stay tuned in to ANUK as we cover categorial market updates ahead of the holidays.

Boskovich Farms

ANAHEIM, CA - When wandering the show floor, I often find myself gravitating toward the Allen Lund Company (ALC) booth. But it’s not just the warm and inviting team members I get to chat with that draws me in, but also the company’s penchant for growth and exceptional customer service. Kenny Lund, Executive Vice President, shared with me his unique insight into the company that continues to grow in ways that benefit the entire industry.

“Whether a customer does three, 300, or 3,000 LTL shipments a month, we have the right module and the right software to help them do that,” he said.

ALC Logistics has experienced another record-breaking growth year—which is exciting to the company for many reasons. ALC has grown the number of companies it works with, and all the current companies and customers have all added on to the systems. The company started with a solid, yet humble, foundation and has continued to grow and expand into an entity with the power to offer premium programs.

“We started off with just five modules, and have grown to 15 modules,” Kenny commented. “We can do yard management; we can do dock scheduling; we can do multi-area dock scheduling, inbound and outbound; and we just keep adding to what we’re able to do for our customers.”

Of course, it all comes down to what the customer wants and needs, so when one comes to ALC asking, “Can you help us do this?” the company has what it takes to meet those needs. With ALC’s current business model, it is more effective and proficient than ever before, while developing strategies that benefit the entire supply chain.

“Using the buying power of grouping together all our customers in the marketplace, we can deliver their products at a lower cost than what they can do working by themselves,” said Kenny.

For more exclusive content from the best in the biz, keep reading (and watching) AndNowUKnow.

Allen Lund Company

NEW ORLEANS, LA - The parent company of BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket, and Winn-Dixie grocery stores announced today that it’s stepping into the digital world, the grocery digital world that is. Southeastern Grocers will be expanding its e-commerce shopping technologies to include online ordering and grocery delivery services for Louisiana customers in partnership with online grocery marketplace leaders Instacart and Shipt.

“We are always looking for additional opportunities to meet the evolving needs of our customers in each community we serve,” stated Andrew Nadin, EVP and Chief Customer Officer of Southeastern Grocers. “As we embrace digital advancements, we are excited to expand our e-commerce partnerships to offer added conveniences for Louisiana shoppers. Partnering with marketplace leaders will provide our customers with simple options for the same quality products and value, which will help make their lives a little easier.”

It appears that Winn-Dixie shoppers will be able to reap the benefits soon in Louisiana, allowing customers to purchase fresh produce, meat and seafood, health and beauty goods, pet products, consumable baby items, and more. The press release states that e-commerce technologies provide an added resource to tackle complex consumer demands. Recent SEG survey results show that more shoppers are heading to the internet to do more grocery shopping, indicating that 88 percent of those shoppers had their orders delivered. This goes to show that Southeastern Grocers acknowledges the value of time and convenience most shoppers are looking for.

Southeastern Grocers is rolling the program out officially in Louisiana stores in cities including Baton Rouge, Covington, Mandeville, New Orleans, Slidell, the Westbank, and other areas. Which retailer is going to follow suit next? Stay with AndNowUKnow as we cover more developments concerning everything fresh.

Southeastern Grocers Instacart Shipt

BARD VALLEY, CA - Natural Delights has announced the results of its most recent harvest, and the grower couldn’t be happier. Perfect weather conditions helped the crop develop high-quality fruit, large volume, and a size trending larger than usual for the 2019/2020 season, resulting in a season that far exceeded expectations.

“Due to having zero carryover from our 2018 fruit, we are delighted to say we are already shipping out new crop fruit, ensuring our customers are getting the freshest dates on the market.” David Baxter, Brand Manager, said in a press release. “Being a co-op gives us the ability to work directly with our growers to ensure that we are following the most stringent growing practices producing the highest quality fruit.”

Over the last five years, Natural Delights has doubled its volume and sales and continues to aggressively pursue growth with the exceptional fruit for its upcoming campaign, and it seems as though the crop will be well received.

“Demand has exceeded supply the last two seasons; this crop positions us to supply additional volumes on a global basis,” said Baxter.

The Natural Delights line offers Whole, Pitted, Organic, and Pitted Organic Medjool Dates; Premium Chopped Medjool Dates; and Medjool Date Rolls with flavors such as Coconut, Almond, and Cacao with Pecans.

For more news on the produce world, keep reading AndNowUKnow.

Natural Delights

FORT WORTH, TX - Less than one month after breaking ground on a distribution center in Alabama to extend its reach in the Southeast, Ben E. Keith Company has set its sights on the Southwest, breaking ground on another new foodservice distribution center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"As we continue to expand, Ben E. Keith Foods is honored to have the opportunity to serve the communities of the Southwest and support the rich culinary traditions so unique to this part of the country," said Mike Sweet.

Construction of the 261,000-square-foot distribution facility will commence immediately and is estimated to be completed and operational by November 2021, according to a press release. The new facility will feature several innovations, including a state-of-the-art Frick Refrigeration System and security systems, Dematic Multi-Shuttles, LED Lighting, a modern test kitchen, exclusive WMS Systems, and a training center.

The facility is expected to generate 90 jobs over the next five years, in addition to the more than 100 individuals the company already employs through its current distribution center in Albuquerque.

What does Ben E. Keith’s rapid expansion mean for its competitors? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.

Ben E. Keith

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - ’Tis the season of giving, and consumers aren’t the only ones getting in the spirit. Retailers and growers alike are forming strategic partnerships as a way to give back to their communities. SpartanNash and CMI Orchards are doing just that—partnering up to support military service members, veterans, and their families. Working with CMI Orchards, more than 135 SpartanNash retail stores will carry the American Dream® apples, with a portion of proceeds slotted to benefit American heroes.

“Customers have a growing appetite for these new and popular apple varieties—and we can’t wait for our store guests to try them,” said Tom Swanson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Corporate Retail. “On top of that, each purchase supports Operation Homefront and our nation’s heroes. This is the type of partnership that means so much to us at SpartanNash, because it allows us to support our troops and veterans while delivering what our store guests want, when they want it—fast and friendly.”

According to a press release, SpartanNash is a leading distributor of grocery products to U.S. military commissaries around the world and sees firsthand the sacrifices that military families make to protect our freedoms. Therefore, the company is committed to raising awareness and vital resources year-round for those who served or continue to do so. With every bag of American Dream apples, SpartanNash is proud to support the national nonprofit organization Operation Homefront and its mission to build strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect.

Store guests at SpartanNash’s corporate-owned stores in eight states can choose from some of the top branded apples from CMI, including Ambrosia Gold®, Kiku®, Kanzi®, Jazz™, and Envy™. Family Fare, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s Grocery, Dan’s Supermarket, Family Fresh Market, and other SpartanNash stores will carry the five varieties of apples. The American Dream program, developed by CMI Orchards, has donated more than $40,000 to veterans organizations to date.

“SpartanNash is committed to serving our military heroes and their families, both at home and abroad, and this Veterans Day—and every day of the year—this is just one small way we can say ‘thank you for your service,’” said Meredith Gremel, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Communications. “Our military heroes make the American Dream possible, and we are proud to support them with this partnership."

In addition to the American Dream apples, which will be in stores on November 10, SpartanNash will honor current servicemembers and veterans of the Armed Forces by offering an 11 percent Veterans Day discount on all eligible products. The 11 percent discount will be offered Sunday, November 10 and Monday, November 11. All active duty, Reserve, National Guard, and veterans who present proper identification at any SpartanNash company-owned store on November 10 or 11 will receive this discount.

For 17 years, Operation Homefront has provided critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing, and family support services to prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront expenditures go directly to programs that support tens of thousands of military families each year.

SpartanNash has partnered with Operation Homefront in the past, granting more than $205,000 to the organization through SpartanNash Foundation fundraising campaigns. In 2018, the SpartanNash Foundation also supported more than 40,000 military families, granting more than $400,000 to nonprofit partners such as Operation Homefront, Fisher House Foundation, Vetshouse, and Warriors at Ease.

Hats off to SpartanNash and CMI Orchards on this generous partnership. For more of the latest news in produce and retail, keep reading AndNowUKnow.

SpartanNash CMI Orchards

IRVINE, CA - Good morning, AndNowUKnow readers!

Today, I am bringing you some of the category and weather news from around the industry. Check back twice weekly to see the latest around all growing regions.

FREEZING TEMPS COMING TO WEST FLORIDA TOMATO REGIONS

Starting today, look for temperatures in and around the Quincy, Florida, growing regions to begin a downward slide that will culminate next Tuesday with minimum temperatures touching the freezing mark.

Look for the minimum temperature to only reach 43° tonight, which is a drop of 20° from yesterday. Today’s maximum temperature will only reach 66°. These cooler temperatures will continue through the weekend. Next Tuesday, a storm will come through the area dropping the temperatures even more in which will see the minimum drop to 32° on Tuesday and Wednesday. Come Thursday, the minimum temperatures will be back into the 40°s, but by then the damage will be done. Could cause serious damage to plants.

Although Central and Southern Florida are coming online with their winter tomato crops, western Florida is still a significant player. Expect growers to go in and pick heavy before the cold temperatures come next week.

SOUTHERN GEORGIA TO FREEZE NEXT WEEK—THANKSGIVING GREEN BEANS MAY BE LOST

The first frost of the season is coming to Georgia next week. The same cold weather hitting northern Florida next week will take its toll on southern Georgia as well. The regions of Sumpter County, Moultrie, and Quitman will all see freezing temperatures next Monday and Tuesday night. Tuesday, November 12, will be the coldest of the two nights with forecast temperatures to drop to 30°. Wednesday night is expected to be 32°.

Look for the green bean crops to be wiped out. Other items currently coming from this region are bell peppers, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, greens, and squash. If you are pulling from these areas, take precautions and stock up now.

EXPECT HOT TEMPERATURES TO EXCELERATE YUMA LETTUCE

After a cooler than normal October and first few days of November in Yuma, things have changed and temperatures are really heating up.

October saw a significant amount of days with average daily temperatures below normal in Yuma with the coldest temperatures coming in the last seven days of the month and the first few days of November. Average temperatures for these days were more than 10° below normal.

Temperatures began to make the change this past Monday and now appear to be on a hot streak for at least the next ten days. Look for maximum temperatures to be 90° over the next ten days with minimum temperatures in the low 60°s. You couldn’t ask for better weather. Look for production of lettuce and other crops to start within the next ten days.

Coachella Valley is experiencing the same weather. Look for product to start there within the next week.

Thank you as always for your support. We will be back next week with another report.

Weathermelon