CHELAN, WA – Chelan Fresh is looking to bring fresh produce even further into the reach of consumers with its latest partnership. The company has announced that its mission will now be at the forefront of inspiring consumer food choices through the launch of Good Housekeeping’s new Nutritionist Approved Emblem program. 

Chelan Fresh has been spotlighted by in a video by Good Housekeeping’s (GH) Nutrition Director and Registered Dietitian Jackie London, who developed and is leading the program. In this exclusive video, Jackie discusses what makes Chelan Fresh a premiere partner for this national program, and one of the first food companies to receive the Emblem. 

“[Chelan Fresh] is transforming the food industry through their unique and focused produce innovations,” London says in the video. “Through sustainable and forward-thinking use of technology, Chelan has found simple strategies and solutions to navigate complex issues in today’s food climate.”

London describes Chelan's mission to up the intake of fresh fruit by means of accessibility as a seamless fit into its new partnership with GH and the Nutritionist Approved Emblem program. 

So, just what is the aforementioned program? GH has expanded on its Good Housekeeping Seal to formulate a new marker, the Nutritionist Approved Emblem, to help produce standout on store shelves as options which uphold healthy and lasting food choices.

“The Emblem is both health-conscious and lifestyle-aware, geared toward providing tangible solutions to the real-life barriers that prevent us from adopting healthier habits that are sustainable—particularly for Millennials. With this new platform, the Emblem and incubator synergizes scientific evidence in nutrition research with a sense of relatability and understanding of the needs of consumers,” stated London in a press release. 

The program will also allow GH to work directly with its partners on their overall brand messaging and product development with an innovative incubator specifically for food brands. The GH Food and Nutrition Brand Lab Incubator, housed in the GH Institute in Hearst Tower, NY, will evaluate current and developing products for Emblem consideration. Brands aligned with GH Nutritionist Approved core values of simplicity, transparency, and innovation will undergo the rigorous evaluation process for Emblem consideration. 

To view London’s exclusive and special message about Chelan Fresh’s involvement in the program, view the video above. 

To learn more about Chelan Fresh’s new participation, and the GH Nutritionist Approved Emblem, visit here. Or, see Chelan Fresh featured in the November issue of Good Housekeeping, available October 18.

Chelan Fresh 

BAHAMAS and U.S. – A swirling storm system currently brewing in the middle of the western Atlantic has officials pegging it as the next possibility for a tropical system this season. The system, if it does continue on its current track, would be named Tropical Storm Otto. 

"Should development occur, the system will approach the southeastern coast of the U.S. at late week," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Michael Doll, naming its current location near the southeastern Bahamas as a favored region for tropical storm development during this month.

Even if it does develop into Tropical Storm Otto, AccuWeather stated that the system should be swept from the coast before heavy rain or wind hit the Southeast U.S. Tropical moisture may move northward across New England over the weekend.

The storm system is currently a series of showers and thunderstorms, but changing environmental conditions have authorities stating the system could develop into Otto by the end of the week. Previously, the system was stopped from forming further in severity by strong winds high in the atmosphere. 

AccuWeather reported that the possible system would extend its weather effects across the southeastern Bahamas and into the east coast of the U.S. Although the system is not expected to land after development, effects will still be felt by the U.S. throughout the weekend. 

"The system will act to disturb the ocean surface and send out waves to impact the Southeastern Seaboard as early as Friday morning," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Chyna Glenn. 

The storm system is expected to introduce enhanced storms to the Bahamas on Wednesday before turning north and spreading towards Bermuda and the southeast U.S. Authorities stated that rough surf, and more frequent rip currents are expected at the end of the week from Florida to North Carolina by week's end.

Officials are urging shipping ventures to monitor the progress of the developing system as it could impact transportation. 

As the storm system develops further, or depletes, AndNowUKnow will continue to keep you updated.

BENTONVILLE, AR - Walmart is shining a light on its moves to bolster service by serving its employees, with CEO Doug McMillon at the forefront.

The company recently launched a new ad with McMillon as the face of the retail giant, showcasing trendy tech, a smiling face and, my personal favorite, a lot of fresh produce.

“The reason I share? I’m proud of the people work with. That’s why we’re investing $2.7 billion over two years in training, education, and higher wages,” the executive says, concluding with the message of being committed to “taking care of the people who take care of you.”

While it isn’t unique, it is rare, and Wall Street Journal noted that he’s the first leader of Walmart to use the strategy. The news source called the move “risky,” listing previous companies to have employed the tactic like Chrysler, Men’s Warehouse, and Sprint.

While there were critics of the message, WSJ reported that employees and policy leaders responded well to the ads.

Dan Bartlett, Walmart’s VP of Corporate Affairs and the one who worked with the team on the concept, said that leaders and workers liked that McMillon went on television to state that supporting workers is a priority. Bartlett added, however, that the company has no plans for the CEO to appear in future ads.

The Instagram and Facebook savvy were well displayed, and seemed to have connected the CEO to consumers more. The report noted that when the commercial aired searches for ‘Walmart CEO’ and ‘Doug McMillon’ spiked, and that he gained about 10,000 followers on his Instagram account.

You can watch the ad for yourself below.

AndNowUKnow will report on the latest as Walmart and other retailers continue to launch strategies and marketing tactics in the bustling buy-side. 

Walmart

FOWLER, CA - Bee Sweet’s domestic season is here, and consumers can start looking forward to seeing more citrus varieties available on the shelves of their local grocery stores. The focus for Bee Sweet as we reach towards the New Year? Specialty citrus varieties.

“The start of Bee Sweet’s domestic season is always exciting because that’s when we see more specialty varieties,” said Bee Sweet Citrus Sales Manager Joe Berberian. “While we’re able to provide mandarins, oranges, and lemons to our consumers year-round, our domestic season gives us the opportunity to push more exotic varieties such as grapefruit, Cara Caras, Pummelos, Blood Oranges, and Meyer Lemons.”

According to the company, specialty citrus refers to those specific varieties that are not readily available year-round. Cara Caras, Blood Oranges, Pummelos, Melo Golds, Grapefruit, Page Mandarins, Minneolas, and Meyer Lemons are just some of the varieties that Bee Sweet named in its press release, and will be providing to its consumers. In addition the parades of flavor provided by these unique varieties, specialty citrus also offers a wide array of health benefits.

“Specialty citrus is a growing phenomenon in the food industry because we’re constantly learning of its unique characteristics and the ways it can be incorporated into meals,” added Director of Communications Monique Bienvenue. “Meyer Lemons are the perfect cooking lemon, Cara Caras make for an exceptionally sweet snack, and Blood Oranges are great as salad toppings. The list goes on and on.”

As the company continues to grow its focus on consumer health and wellness, Bee Sweet’s marketing team has targeted unique characteristics of specialty varietals to encourage consumers to be more creative with citrus in the kitchen. Branded recipes, a variety of specific health tips, and a plethora of information can all be found on Bee Sweet’s website and social media platforms.

November through April is the prime season for specialty varietals, so check out the company’s complete list of citrus and availability at http://www.beesweetcitrus.com/variety-availability/.

Bee Sweet Citrus

PITTSBURGH, PA - Giant Eagle is moving forward on a strategic plan to reduce overhead by offering to buy out upwards of 340 corporate employees.

“The company has realized a need to maximize cost efficiencies, reduce overhead costs, and streamline our supply chain,” commented Dan Donovan, Manager of Corporate Communications for Giant Eagle, according to news source Trib Live. Donovan stated that, like many others in regional and national food retail, the banner has been impacted by various industry factors recently. “These efforts include a voluntary separation offer made available to a number of team members in its corporate offices.”

Giant Eagle currently has more than 420 locations and about 34,000 employees, with annual sales totalling $9.6 billion.

Factors for some of the impacts Donovan listed included, but aren’t limited to, deflationary trends in food pricing. Trib Live also reported analyst speculations that competition from discounters in the retail circuit have contributed to the market.

“It's all about the money and trying to keep the company profitable,” Milwaukee-based grocery industry analyst David Livingston, told the publication. “It's a cost-saving move because that's what a buyout generally is about.”

The company prides itself on adaptability, however. As we previously reported, CEO Laura Karet named reinvention as key to keeping relevant. As the ever-changing trends continue to influence the market, keep checking in with AndNowUKnow.

Giant Eagle

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Target is about to shake up the retail realm with its latest plan to put a focus on fresh produce and tap on in consumer penchant for fruits and vegetables. Target will be installing vertical farms in some of its locations.

“Food is a big part of our current portfolio today at Target—it does $20 billion of business for us,” continued Casey Carl, Target’s Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer to Business Insider. “We need to be able to see more effectively around corners in terms of where is the overall food and agriculture industries going domestically and globally.” 

Target’s new focus on fresh will reportedly help the retailer gauge just how consumers want their produce, and how engaged they want to be with their food. Target’s Food + Future CoLab allows the company to do just that; shape the future of food, and deliver on the needs of consumers.

The Food + Future CoLab team announced at the White House that food grown from its in-store garden would be on sale starting in the spring, according to Business Insider. The initial in-store trials could also potentially see consumers picking their own produce from the Target farms. 

“Down the road, it’s something where potentially part of our food supply that we have on our shelves is stuff that we’ve grown ourselves,” continued Carl. 

The Food + Future CoLab was launched by the retailer in January in collaboration with Idea and the MIT Media Lab. This new research partnership is also allowing Target to pursue even further innovations, like taking vertical farming to new metaphorical heights. 

“Because it's MIT, they have access to some of these seed banks around the world,” Greg Shewmaker, Entrepeneur-In-Residence, Food + Future CoLab, stated. “So we're playing with ancient varietals of different things, like tomatoes that haven’t been grown in over a century, different kinds of peppers, things like that, just to see if it's possible.”

The Target farms will use artificial lights and hydroponics to grow its produce. Daily Meal elaborated that while Target’s vertical farms will initially focus on leafy greens, the retailer is exploring growing potatos, beetroot, and zucchini for its next varieties.

As Target and its Food + Future CoLab move towards this new retail strategy, AndNowUKnow will continue to update you in the latest developments and its impact on the buy-side sector.

Target

CHICAGO, IL - Logistics giant and parents of the CHEP and IFCO brands, Brambles, is taking on a few of the industry’s most pressing issues in a big new way. The company has signed a three-year agreement with the international non-profit organization The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN). In Brambles’ fight against hunger, poverty, food waste, and malnutrition, the company will be providing supply chain knowledge, in-kind contributions, volunteers, and donations to help finance GFN operations.

“Brambles is highly committed to deliver sustainable value in the communities where we operate. Food banks are a great example of that,” explained Brambles CEO, Tom Gorman upon the announcement of the new partnership. “Our new relationship with GFN builds on our multi-year engagement working with our customers to support food banks around the world. In addition, Brambles efforts to expand both the capacity and capabilities of GFN Network to address hunger is an important part of our comprehensive approach to addressing food security.” 

The company is announcing this agreement as the United Nations FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) has reported the global value of food lost or wasted annually at 1.3 billion tons, or $680 billion in industrialized countries and $310 billion in developing countries. Statistics have also revealed nearly 800 million people suffer from hunger every day. 

“We are honored to partner with Brambles to leverage its expertise, products, and leadership to help drive efficiency and scale in food banks around the world,” said Lisa Moon, President and CEO of GFN. “We would like to thank Brambles for their commitment to the fight against world hunger while also advancing sustainability.” 

According to a press release, GFN’s food banks distributed 421,840 metric tons of food to 6.8 million needy people last year, as part of a partnership with 27,000 charitable organizations and social centers. The GFN network consists of a total of 792 food banks located in 32 countries.

“We are focused on reducing post-harvest food loss, improving the ability of small holder farmers to access modern packaging that protects the integrity of the product and enhances food safety,” added Gorman. “Whether we are working with individual food banks, the GFN, The Consumer Goods Forum, or Enactus, our employees are dedicated to improving access to food and economic opportunity and to improving the sustainability of our environment.” 

With Zero Hunger as the number two goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), food loss and waste are recognized by Organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations FAO, and the Consumer Goods Forum, (CGF) as critical challenges in the fight to reduce hunger, protect the environment, and grow economic opportunity. ANUK looks forward to seeing the great work in store from this new partnership.

Brambles

ORLANDO, FL – Amongst the innovators of PMA Fresh Summit, ANUK had our own show floor offering for attendees as industry members rushed to see who could name notable produce buyers the quickest. So, who came out on top?

It was a close race to the first three positions on the leaderboard, and our subsequent cash prizes, as all 10 names to make the board achieved a 5/5 score. 

Securing a first place win with the fastest time of 11.209 microseconds, Adam Mefrakis of NatureFresh Farms™ took home the $500 prize.

Second place went to Steve Dabich from United Melon, who also boasted a lightning quick time of 12.062 microseconds. This score enabled Steve to secure our $300 prize. 

Pulling ahead of the rest of the pack to pick up third place came Matt Mandel of SunFed. Obtaining our $100 prize with a speedy score of 14.724 microseconds.

So did you make the top ten? Peep the list below and see if you made it close to the top:

Congratulations not only to Adam, Steve, and Matt, but to all who made our leaderboard during our PMA edition of Quiz Quix! 

Missed the quiz initially? It's not too late, try your hand at our latest quiz by clicking the link below.

Know Your Produce Buyers

Keep an eye out for the next opportunity to test your industry knowledge in the days to come. Just sign in either via email or one of several social media accounts and you’ll be all ready to jump into the competition. 

Quiz Quix is our way of encouraging some healthy, fun, informative competition within the industry. Signing in will give us a token to verify you and allows us to put your name in the ranking. It doesn't give us access to more than your name and email address.

Keep following AndNowUKnow as our newest product continues to take shape!    

LOS ANGELES, CA - Straight from your favorite cooking shows and foodie blogs, those authentic ethnic produce items consumers have been craving just got a whole lot easier to purchase. Under its Coast Authentic line, Coast Produce is now offering a line of popular produce items from Asia, India, as well as several Hispanic products.

“The Coast Authentic line is our response to the authentic ethnic trend that has been taking off with restaurants around the country. With cooking channels, nutrition books, and foodie blogs, now more and more people are inspired to add these diverse ingredients to their diets,” explained Coast Produce’s Marketing Manager, Victoria Parr. “Shoppers are seeing benefits like weight loss help from bitter melon, combatting inflammation and aging with turmeric, and fighting digestive problems with ginger, all while either keeping their tables authentic or adding new attention-grabbing flavors and textures.”

Coast Produce's new line has already grabbed the attention of retail partners like Safeway, Albertsons, and DeCa Commissaries, who have begun carrying these traditionally “specialty” items alongside the more common use items.

“When we started Coast Authentic over this past summer, our goal was to make room to add more diversity to our existing Coast Asia brand,” Victoria says. “We were inspired by chefs like Chef Jet Tila, and this line is a way of embracing the multicultural offerings that he and others have made popular.”

In conjunction with grower partners in California, Baja, MX, and Jamaica, the company is currently providing the following produce items:

• Ginger
• Turmeric
• Shishito peppers
• Thai Dragon Chile
• Salsa Verde Pepper mix including Caribe, Habanero, Jalapeño, tomatillo, serrano Chile and Anaheim's
• Several eggplant varieties
• Baby Broccoli
• Shanghai Bok Choy
• China Peas
• Gai Lan
• Long Beans
• Bitter Melon
• Okra

And Coast Authentic is still growing. Victoria tells me that next on the horizon for the line is to add Mini Persian Cucumbers, Tindora from Indian traditions, and Sunchokes.

“Currently, we are overwrapping the line in clear plastic trays that are 100% recyclable. We are researching using soy-based inks on our labels and Sustainable Forestry Initiative certified sourcing for our cardboard boxes as well,” Victoria adds. “These choices are in response to the growing populist trend, and offer clear product identification and extended shelf-life. We feel that this is perfect time to come out with a line of healthy fresh foods with an ethnically inclusive marketing message, in earth-friendly packaging.”

In line with its sustainable packaging initiatives, Victoria tells me that Coast Produce also has Primus GFS food safety certification.

Coast Produce