LOS ANGELES, CA -  The Wonderful Company has received the 2016 Corporate Citizenship Award in the category of Best Community Improvement Program, recognizing its development efforts in the town of Lost Hills, CA, where more than 50 percent of households work at the Wonderful Pistachios plant.

“All of us at The Wonderful Company are honored to be recognized by the Chamber with their prestigious Citizens Award,” said Lynda Resnick, Vice Chair and Co-Owner of The Wonderful Company. “As a leading employer across California’s Central Valley, we are committed to giving back in the places where our employees live and work, and nowhere does that promise ring truer than in Lost Hills, where we’ve dedicated our time and resources to revitalizing the community and giving its residents life-changing opportunities and a renewed spirit of hometown pride."

The award, bestowed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center, honors businesses for their significant positive impacts in communities. And, having clocked in with an investment to date exceeding $15 million, Wonderful fits the bill.

With its investments, Wonderful has completed extensive community infrastructure, including:

• Paved roads
• Installation of sidewalks, bus shelters, storm drains and streetlights
• Revitalized the community park with two community centers, two soccer fields, a volleyball court, basketball court, playgrounds

Along with a broad range of community activities and events, the company has also helped build affordable housing, finance and build the town’s first sit-down restaurant, and recently received approval from the Kern County Board of Education to open a charter school in the community next fall.

“The Wonderful Company is a true community partner to the people of Lost Hills,” said Marc DeCourcey, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center. “Their strategic and sustainable investments in Lost Hills will positively impact the community for years to come.”

This awards program, in its 17th year, has illustrated how businesses can serve as a powerful source for good. The Chamber Foundation announced the winners of the 2016 Citizens Awards on November 17 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the awards program here, and visit here to discover more about The Wonderful Company’s work in Lost Hills.

For more on the good deeds of the fresh produce industry, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.

The Wonderful Company

YUMA, AZ - With the cool fall season bringing a host of seasonal and year-round fruits and veggie items to the table, I have been watching the produce department warm with autumn colors and Thanksgiving delights. One of those delicious staples for this time of year: dates. 

Erin Hanagan-Muths, fellow date-lover and Director of Marketing for Bard Valley Date Growers, joins me to discuss the growing category and what makes the Natural Delights brand a holiday favorite, and a growing year-round one as well. 

“In addition to the continued promotion of whole, pitted, and Organic Medjool dates, the Natural Delights brand will be promoting our Pecan Pumpkin Pie Spiced Date Rolls this holiday season,” Erin shares with me. “This offering is unique in the category and allows produce managers to participate in the wave of 'pumpkin' flavored items that takes over the rest of retail during the holiday season. Our limited edition holiday trays are also a hot item this season.” 

Natural Delight’s Pecan Pumpkin Pie Spiced Date Rolls shipment volumes were up 43 percent and 89 percent respectively for the first two months of Fall from September and October, she adds. The item is on track to finish this year at over 30 percent growth in total volume for this SKU, according to the company. 

“Natural Delights is one of the top brands of Medjool dates and accounts for 85 percent of the date category share of dollars and volume,” she adds. “The Natural Delights Medjool date brand has excelled in terms of growing consumer demand and driving repeat purchases for the category.” 

During the 2017 holiday period, the Natural Delights brand will also be executing its final national consumer promotion for the 2016 calendar year, to help boost consumption and sales. 

“Our highly-anticipated annual holiday recipe promotion, Naughty and Nice, celebrates the many ways Natural Delights can make holiday gatherings special,” Erin says. “Through national print vehicles like Cooking Light, Shape, and Bon Appetit, as well as targeted programmatic digital banner and social media advertising, the campaign connects with consumers who are interested in healthy snacking, fitness, home cooking, and holiday entertaining.”

Retailers can take part in the promotion by incorporating self-display shippers with promotional tie-in merchandising elements provided by Natural Delights. The Naughty and Nice promotion is the fourth in a year-long series of demand-generating activities that have delivered over 150 million impressions to health-minded consumers through a national consumer advertising campaign that spans print, digital, mobile, and social media channels.

Erin shares some stats that help reinforce the growth within the category: 

• Medjool dates Volume% change has increased 35.7% in the last year. 
• Medjool dates account for 71.6% dollar share of the entire date category
• Dates are a $41,618,336 category

So, how is the date category beginning to generate more demand throughout the year? Erin shares that while they have long been a secret weapon of elite athletes looking for sustained energy and muscle recovery, the average consumer didn’t view the fruit as an energy snack. Until now. 

“Thanks to the research, educational, and promotional efforts driven by the Natural Delights brand, consumers everywhere are awakening to the amazing nutritional qualities, versatility, and flavor composition of the Medjool date,” she says. “The marketing efforts of the Natural Delight’s brands comes at a time when the category is experiencing dramatic shifts in the way we eat and what consumers value out of their food.”

Health-minded consumers and Millennial shoppers are racing towards healthy, on-the-go snacking options that help them sustain their energy levels, have minimal ingredients, are GMO-free, and contain no artificial flavors or colors. With the consumer basket changing and demographics shifting across North America, I’m looking forward to more date products popping-up in my local produce departments. 

Bard Valley Date Growers

NEW KENSINGTON, PA - For its eye-catching and complimentary labeling, Yerecic Label took home top honors at both Flint Group’s 12^th Annual Narrow Web Print Awards at LabelExpo and the TLMI Annual Awards Competition. Fresh off the heels of the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute’s (TLMI) Annual Meeting in October, the awards celebrated Yerecic’s print quality and its knowledge of the industries it services.

“We are honored to be recognized for print quality by both the Flint Group and TLMI,” said Yerecic Label President Art Yerecic. “Recognition like this inspires and motivates the Yerecic Label family to continue to grow and achieve excellence.”

The company's Mint Mojito FlagTag! Label, printed for North Shore Living Herbs’ new potted herb line, earned accolades from Flint Group.

“The premium print quality we achieved on our recipe tags with Yerecic Label really allowed our finished recipe to pop on shelf,” said North Shore Living Herbs Director of Marketing Micki Dirtzu. “Our vision of capturing summer entertaining with fresh ingredients that consumers are looking for through offering a refreshing Mint Mojito recipe on our potted North Shore Living Herbs® Mint was a success.”

Yerecic's Eat Chicken National Chick Month label was also honored by Flint Group for the particularly clever way it used cross-promotion to help encourage impulse meal planning purchases at retail stores.

“The design of the label perfectly complemented our objective to bring Suddenly Salad and chicken together to the center of the plate, and the quality of the final graphics really made the labels pop,” said Ashley Wright of General Mills. “I even had people taking pictures of the labels in-store and sending them to me because they were so excited.”

After TLMI Annual Meeting, two of the company’s other labels were recognized for print excellence as part of the TLMI Annual Awards Competition. The Awards focused on innovation, technical achievement, and print quality.

The Pub Burger label printed for National Beef took home first place for the Flexographic Process Prime category, and also won Best in Class for the Flexography and Letterpress category. The label will subsequently be entered into the World Label Awards Competition and published globally in industry magazines.

Entrants of the competition were judged confidentially by a panel of knowledgeable and impartial experts from the label industry.

For more on developments in the produce labeling industry, including innovations and accolades, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.

Yerecic Label

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on four produce businesses for failure to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).

According to a USDA press release, the following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

• Brooklyn, New York-based Steven Produce King Inc., for failing to pay a $38,583 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Shy S. Yosofov was listed as the Officer, Director, and Major Stockholder of the business.
• Salt Lake City, Utah-based New Taikong Wholesale Co. Inc., for failing to pay a $109,957 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Tran Milan was listed as the Officer, Director, and Major Stockholder of the business.
• South El Monte, California-based Southern California Produce Inc., for failing to pay a $12,104 award in favor of a California seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Paul Tsan was listed as the Officer, Director, and Major Stockholder of the business.
• Kenilworth, New Jersey-based Foodland Distributors Inc., for failing to pay a $17,830 award in favor of a New Jersey seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Glen D. Walters was listed as the Officer, Director, and Major Stockholder of the business.

USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors, or major stockholders may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA-approval.

In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,500 PACA claims involving more than $58 million. Its experts also assisted more than 8,000 callers with issues valued at approximately $140 million.

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service

NEW YORK, NY - D’Arrigo Brothers, a full service distributor of fresh produce in the Northeast, is looking to bring focus to sides this Thanksgiving, calling on its customers to give thanks for the fruits and vegetables that make up so much of a Thanksgiving meal.

“For far too long, some of the most exciting produce of the season has been forced to play the role of simple accompaniment to a turkey that hogs center stage on so many Thanksgiving tables, and that has to stop. Americans need to realize how much of the meal is comprised of all that is NOT turkey,” said Marketing Director Gabriela D’Arrigo, in a press release.

The company is keen to highlight some of the ways in which fruits and veggies are already a big part of our holiday experience:

• Cranberries enjoy an annual harvest of almost 860 million pounds—five times the weight of the Empire State Building
• 40 million green bean casseroles are expected to be served this Thanksgiving, 60 million pounds of the side—more than the weight of the Intrepid Air/Sea/Space Museum
• More than 3 billion pounds of sweet potatoes will be harvested this year—the weight of 36,000 NYC subway car
• Approximately 1.31 billion pounds of pumpkin are produced annually, and they’re made into the roughly 50 million pumpkin pies eaten each Thanksgiving—enough pie to stretch from Harlem to the Battery and back 315 times
• To meet the needs of Brussel sprouts enthusiasts each Thanksgiving, the U.S. turns out 32,000 tons of the vegetable each year, the weight of 142 Statues of Liberty
• Celery is key for stuffing. The U.S. produces 950,000 tons of celery every year—the weight of two Freedom Towers
• Carrots wind up in stuffing, salads, casseroles, and on their own. 2.3 billion pounds of the year-round staple are harvested each year; if laid out they would reach around the circumference of the world—24,874 miles

Retailers looking to boost sales this season can take note of the enormous opportunities veggies offer them and help prove that they don't play second fiddle to turkey.

For more on all things produce, check back with AndNowUKnow.

D'Arrigo Bros. Co. of New York

SACRAMENTO, CA – No matter if your idea of Thanksgiving fun is preparing a festive spread, gorging on that festive spread, or simply relaxing and spending time with your loved ones, ANUK wants to know how you’re celebrating.

So, just what and who are you grateful for? Post your pictures on Instagram with the #ANUKThanksgiving hashtag to have your most memorable moments featured as part of our Yearbook next week. Or, send your Thanksgiving-minded photos by emailing us directly at [email protected].

Whether your family throws down on Thanksgiving with a pumpkin pie eating contest, a collected viewing of the big game, or heading out on the town with friends not often seen, we’re looking to honor the names and faces of produce along with those they hold dear.

As the industry prepares to convene with family and friends, or maybe just enjoy some well-deserved time off, ANUK wishes you safe travels and a tasty and produce-filled holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!

DES MOINES, IA - When you think of hot retail markets, maybe Des Moines, Iowa, isn’t the first place that comes to mind. Then again, maybe it should be. Large-scale Midwestern retail chain, Hy-Vee, has reportedly been drawing the eyes of more investors in recent days, including those of local Des Moines real estate mogul, Richard Hurd. The man behind some of the region's largest retail moves has just acquired seven Hy-Vee-owned properties for $61 million, right after acquiring another seven earlier this spring for $82 million. 

Purchased from American Realty Capital, a New York real estate firm, Hurd’s acquisition includes two grocery stores in West Des Moines, as well as stores in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, and Kansas City. Two of the company’s convenience stores were also included in the $61 million purchase. According to an article by the Des Moines Register, Hy-Vee will continue to lease the buildings and operate its grocery stores under Hurd’s ownership. 

These purchases, the Des Moines Register says, were the two largest of Hurd’s career, totaling $143 million, and that’s not all the mogul has shelled out trying to gather up a squadron of Hy-Vee stores. In total, Hurd Real Estate Services owns 18 Hy-Vee grocery stores and 12 Hy-Vee gas stations. 

So, why Hy-Vee? 

“They are a leader in their market, and we have a great relationship with them,” Hurd said of Hy-Vee. In the past, company officials have revealed that Hy-Vee often uses that strategy of selling stores and re-leasing them from the new owners as a way to free up cash for operations.

Hurd also noted that Hy-Vee and other Midwestern properties are part of his strategy to offset the sale of properties in the Sun Belt, generally meaning the area of the U.S. spanning from the Southeast to the Southwest. In the past year, Hurd said he has sold about 10 properties in the region as a response to West Coast investors driving up real estate prices.

“The Sun Belt markets have been very robust, so if we have an opportunity to sell there, we’ll sell,” he told the source. “So, we’re trying to bring things closer to home.”

Hy-Vee is a chain of more than 240 supermarkets, and employs over 82,000 people as one of the largest private employer in the state of Iowa. The company has annual sales over $9.3 billion.

Will we see more investors clamoring to be a part of the Des Moines real estate market as we head into 2017? Time will tell, and when it does, so will AndNowUKnow.

Hy-Vee

VANCOUVER, CANADA – Making moves to further its presence in Western Canada, the Oppenheimer Group has announced a recent addition to its sales team. With an eye on strengthening its full-service marketing and distribution, Oppy has appointed Maryam Ahoo as Sales Representative in its Calgary location. 

Maryam joined the Oppy team at the end of last month, bringing with her a wealth of sales and marketing experience, along with educational qualifications. Most recently, Maryam worked as a Membership Development Representative with agri-business trade association Farmers of North America. 

In July of last year, Maryam presented at the 20th International Farm Management Congress in Quebec. At the same time, Maryam published a thesis on supply chain management, and participated in case study research on the role of fresh fruit and vegetables within a top Western Canadian retailer. These experiences, stated Oppy, uniquely prepared Maryam for her sales role at Oppy.

“We are excited to welcome someone with Maryam’s unique blend of education and practical experience to our Calgary sales team,” said Steve Young, Oppy’s Director of Canadian Sales. “Her knowledge and expertise position her well to enhance our service to customers throughout the Prairie region.” 

According to a press release, Maryam recently received her Masters of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Saskatchewan. There, Maryam focused on agri-business and marketing, while also serving as a research assistant and teaching assistant in the University’s Department of Bio-resource Policy, Business, and Economics.

Maryam received her Bachelor’s degree in Agri-business from the University of Tehran, Iran. Afterwards, she went on to receive a number of positions in the agribusiness sector. This included Gooshtiran Food, where Maryam oversaw aspects of procurement, production, logistics, and distribution. 

As Oppy continues to further bolster its Calgary team, the company is offering Oppy’s full assortment of produce through the location. This includes a focus on kiwifruit, apples, melons, cucumbers, and more.

Oppy

UNITED KINGDOM - As price wars continue to rage across key retail markets here and abroad, Lidl is embarking on a holiday strategy that puts the tags in the hands of the consumers.

The German-based retailer launched a new U.K. campaign called the Social Price Drop this morning, Nov. 22, well-named as it asks consumers to vote on select items’ prices during the holiday season via Twitter.

“Today’s launch of the Social Price Drop is a first for any supermarket in the U.K., and we’re incredibly excited about giving our customers the power on Twitter to lower the price of some of our finest festive products,” said Georgina Hall, Head of Communications at Lidl U.K., according to source, The Drum News.

The campaign follows a special focus on fresh produce in stores over the holidays, according to the report, and will flag socially-driven price cuts with special price tickets.

Lidl, known as a discount grocer, has been working to further its footprint both in the U.K. and in the U.S., where its plans a sizeable store launch come 2018. 

This Christmas, the more you tweet, the more the price drops. So get tweeting...! #LidlSurprises Learn more here: https://t.co/wEtE7YhrEz pic.twitter.com/9kPpKktolo

— Lidl UK (@LidlUK) November 21, 2016

Could this strategy from the rapidly-expanding retailer spark a holiday trend for others looking to hook cost-conscious, Twitter-savvy consumers?

Lower prices is a key focus for many of the big names in grocery; Walmart, Kroger, and Amazon have all been named in recent months as banners focused on providing the best price range for fresh items and beyond.

The campaign also comes with celebrity backing, enlisting cast members from popular TV shows to fuel the Twitter conversation, but it is giving consumers control, Hall said, that really drives the move.

Love this! The more you tweet #LidlSurprises #Lobster the more the price drops in store! @LidlUK #ad https://t.co/2Dh7ejtu05

— Jeffrey Brazier (@JeffBrazier) November 21, 2016

“Christmas is a very expensive time of year for shoppers up and down the country, and as a retailer at the heart of Britain’s communities, our ambition is to put the control back into the hands of consumers, and save them even more in the run up to Christmas,” Hall said.

With Europe often sparking buy-side and consumer trends, it will be interesting to see if this sets in motion similar social media moves in Stateside markets and more.

Lidl US