FT LAUDERDALE, FL - After its new brand unveiling earlier this year, CarbAmericas is now expanding its sales team, welcoming 30-year industry veteran Troy Mesa to the crew. In his new position at CarbAmericas, Mesa will manage sales accounts as well as external relationships throughout various categories. He will be based out of the CarbAmericas headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

After graduating from Chico State University, Mesa worked for the California Asparagus Association and Rivermaid Trading, then moving to North Bay Produce in Michigan. During his tenure at North Bay, he served as Sales Manager, overseeing sales for a multinational grower cooperative. Most recently, Mesa worked with Sol Group Marketing as Key Account Manager, working with retail, foodservice, and wholesale customers. Mesa also previously held positions at Rosemont Farms and Pero Family Farms as Category Manager and Account Manager, respectively.

“We are very energized by the newest addition to our team,” said Jeff Friedman, President of CarbAmericas, according to a press release. “We’ve been looking for an individual with his expertise and know that Troy’s knowledge and experience will fit nicely with the different categories we manage here at CarbAmericas.”

The announcement comes amidst the implementation of CarbAmerica’s strategic five-year plan following their rebranding. CarbAmericas has been sourcing produce from South and Central America for 15 years. In addition to being an importer with dedicated growers, CarbAmericas is also an exporter and a processor.

We wish Troy all the best in his future produce endeavors!

CarbAmericas

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that New York Supermarket Inc. satisfied a reparation order issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).

According to a USDA press release, the Elmhurst, N.Y., company can continue operating in the produce industry upon applying for and being issued a PACA license. Deng Long was listed as the officer, director, and major stockholder of the business and may now be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee.

PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions; this may result in a reparation order being issued that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.

Once a reparation order is fully satisfied and it is confirmed that there are not any outstanding unpaid awards, the USDA lifts the employment restrictions of the previously named, responsibly connected individuals. The USDA also requires any unlicensed company that fully satisfies all unpaid reparation awards to obtain a license if it continues to operate in the industry.

In the past three years, the USDA resolved approximately 3,700 PACA claims involving more than $66 million. Its experts also assisted more than 7,100 callers with issues valued at approximately $100 million. These are just two examples of how the USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.

Agricultural Marketing Service

PITTSBURGH, PA - With fresh and organic-focused chains gaining more popularity than ever in the retail sector, how can traditional grocery chains keep up? The answer according to Giant Eagle CEO, Laura Karet, is reinvention.

“We’re consistently trying to reinvent ourselves. The world is changing fast – the way people shop, the way people eat,” Karet explained in an interview with Columbus Business First. “It’s perfectly clear to me that it’s getting more competitive and that’s only going to continue.”

And reinvent is something that Giant Eagle seems it has been adept at, especially when it comes to fresh. Earlier this year, Giant Eagle announced it was testing “Produce with Personality,” at five Pittsburgh-area locations, selling aesthetically flawed produce at discounted prices.

“We were noticing this more global trend and wanted to play our part,” Dan Donovan, Manager of Corporate Communications, told Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We’re always looking for new ways to deliver value to our customers. If you can participate in the worldwide effort to reduce food waste, that is fantastic as well.”

Giant Eagle has other advantages over other retail counterparts, Karet told the paper. The CEO refers to its reinvention in groceries, increased fresh and prepared foods at its GetGos, FuelPerks gas rewards program, and gift card selection, on top of some of the reinventions in produce.

“Everyone eats,” Karet noted. “We’re in a business that’s appealing because everyone needs it and everyone needs it frequently.”

And Karet and the Giant Eagle team seem to be taking that notion to heart in its newest location. A two-story Market District Express-branded store will be opening in Bexley, Ohio the first of September, featuring two floors of groceries, a full-service restaurant that will cook meals with produce bought in-store, an open-air patio, deli, sushi bar, Starbucks, and butcher. 

Will Giant Eagle continue its march towards reinventing itself towards fresh? You can bet if it does, AndNowUKnow will bring you the update. 

Giant Eagle

BENTONVILLE, AR - Walmart has announced a successful second quarter to its fiscal year 2017, beating expectations on both earnings and sales.

“We had a strong quarter, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.07. Excluding the $2.7 billion currency impact, we delivered total revenue of $123.6 billion, an increase of 2.8 percent over last year,” Doug McMillon, President & CEO, said on an earning call in regards to the report. McMilllon added that this was the company’s 8th consecutive quarter of positive comp sales and 7th consecutive quarter of positive traffic.

Financial highlights for the quarter included:

• Total revenue was $120.9 billion, an increase of 0.5%. On a constant currency basis, total revenue was $123.6 billion, an increase of 2.8%.
• Walmart U.S. delivered positive comp sales for the eighth consecutive quarter, up 1.6%, driven by the seventh consecutive quarter of positive traffic, up 1.2%. Neighborhood Market comp sales increased approximately 6.5%.
• Net sales at Walmart International were $28.6 billion. Excluding currency impacts, net sales were $31.3 billion, an increase of 2.2%.
• Globally, on a constant currency basis, e-commerce sales and GMV increased 11.8% and 13.0%, respectively, representing an acceleration from the first quarter.

When it comes to Walmart’s focus on fresh, McMillon credited grocery with much of the positive return seen in its moves on e-commerce.

“We’re also showing progress in e-commerce [...]. This was primarily due to growth in our marketplace offering in the U.S., the continued rollout of online grocery and growth of pick-up in stores and clubs,” he stated on the call.

As the news broke of the quarter’s end, the retailer’s stock saw a decided jump, peaking this morning at an almost 1.5% jump at 9:30 a.m. EDT, $75.19 per share.

While the company did not address the recent move to cut its price-matching program from hundreds of stores, McMillon did say, “We’re committed to providing Everyday Low Prices, using data and analytics to better serve our customers both through stores and e-commerce.”

As for what’s to come, aside from continuing to offer low prices to consumers, it looks like even more focus on growing its online presence.

“We remain focused on building e-commerce capabilities globally and executing our omni-channel plan, as evidenced by our recent alliance with JD.com in China and agreement to acquire Jet.com in the U.S. Walmart is uniquely positioned to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience where we save them time and money," McMillon said.

AndNowUKnow will continue to track Walmart’s and other retailer’s plans to grow their fresh offerings and reach throughout the year and beyond.

Walmart

JALISCO, MX - NatureSweet’s San Isidro operation is now the tenth facility to offer ‘Responsibly Grown. Farmworker Assured.’™ labeled products through the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI), pushing EFI over a milestone in covering nearly 5,000 agricultural workers.

“We are very excited in partnering with EFI to transform the lives of agricultural workers,” said Hector Espinosa, Best Company to Work For Director at NatureSweet San Isidro, according to a press release.

EFI is a nonprofit organization that looks to bring together workers, growers, and retailers to produce safer, more responsibly grown fruits and vegetables. The addition of NatureSweet to the program is significant as 4,689 agricultural workers now work on EFI-certified facilities in which Leadership Teams representing labor and management provide continuous verification of compliance with EFI standards. Of the 10 certified facilities, EFI has trained a total of 222 Leadership Team members, 45 percent of whom are women.

“This 10th certification means that nearly 5,000 agricultural workers now have the training, tools and work environment to actively collaborate with management to provide higher levels of assurance to customers and consumers,” said Kenton Harmer, Certification Director at EFI, according to the statement. “Companies like NatureSweet are helping to pioneer a unique combination of people development and rigorous third-party verification."

Lilian Autler, Workforce Development Specialist at EFI, added, “Everywhere we go, we encounter agricultural workers, supervisors, and managers who are eager to learn and proud of the work they do every day to produce safe, healthy food. For many agricultural workers, EFI trainings are a unique opportunity. Over and over, I have watched Leadership Teams move from being a loose collection of people who happen to work in the same place, to becoming co-workers who know and trust each other, care about each other, and want to work together to improve their workplace.”

EFI-labeled tomatoes from NatureSweet San Isidro adhere to EFI’s strict food safety standards, which are built on industry best practices for preventing and detecting contamination in the fresh produce supply chain.

EFI noted that there are currently 15 more facilities already in the training and audit process, and it expects to scale significantly in the coming years.

NatureSweet EFI

NYSSA, OR - With year-round production and a fully-integrated stem of operations, Owyhee Produce is stepping up its consumer strategies in the onion segment with a few surprises along the way. I recently took some time to speak with Shay Myers, General Manager, about the company’s offerings and recent PMA Foodservice win.

“Right now we’re transitioning our onion harvest from the San Joaquin Valley in California to the Treasure Valley region in Idaho and Oregon,” Shay says of the company’s year-round offerings. “We started harvesting in this region on July 18, and packing on the 25th [of July].”

Out of the eastern Oregon region, Owyhee is currently shipping Spanish Medallion and Ranchero varieties. Shay says that retailers can also take advantage of its domestic sweet onions from the Northwest, which are available now through mid-to-early winter with excellent quality. Owyhee Produce, is a third-generation company with its parent company Froerer Farms. Froerer Farms was first founded in 1954 by Shay’s grandfather.

“We’re a ‘dirt to dock’ operation, which means we do everything from planting, to packaging, to sales and marketing, and logistics,” Shay explains as to what makes this multi-generational operation unique. “This gives us the unique opportunity to really control every aspect of the operation, pay particular attention to the varieties we offer and our harvest dates, and keeps us customer driven.”

These unique outlooks are also represented in a weekly market update which Shay sends out to the company’s buyer partners. The update contains relevant information on the market, such as whether to buy ahead or bide their time, supply chain tips, and also gives information on market trends or changes.

“We also offer the market outlook, which is a 30,000-foot-view of what’s happening the marketplace,” Shay expands. “It gives what we think the outlook on pricing will be over the next two to four weeks, and sometimes even further, to offer our buyers an advantage.”

So what’s next for the company? For those of us who attended PMA Foodservice, we already know the answer; mint oil.

The company recently launched the product at the event in Monterey, which helped them come away the 2016 Best in Show winner at the event. The oil boasts a clean taste with potent packing.

“Our oil is specifically used for flavors, like in your favorite mojito or flavored drink. We’re currently selling it in 0.5 and 1 oz. bottles. In the 1 oz. bottle, you can get 4,000-5,000 servings out of it,” Shay says of the company’s newest endeavor. “We’re currently focusing on expanding the opportunities here as well.”

Shay says that the company currently offers three varieties of the oil, with a fourth on the way. The oil is 100 percent pure, with no carriers or alcohol dilutions.

With the Owyhee team continuing to focus on consumer and retail trends, and offering innovative solutions and products to match, AndNowUKnow will have its eyes on where this event winner is headed next.

Owyhee Produce

MERCED COUNTY, CA - The United States’ largest off-stream reservoir has reached its lowest volume in 27 years, sources are reporting. San Luis Reservoir in California’s Silicon Valley is currently only 10 percent full, due to several contributing factors.

Typically, the San Luis Reservoir is fed from the Sacramento River and the Delta, according to Mercury News. Both of which get water from California’s largest reservoir, Shasta Lake. At 75 percent full, many are surprised at why officials have decided to reduced the rate at which they pump out Shasta’s water.

One new regulation designed to protect the Delta Smelt, a non-native species to California (a fact which many do not know), now requires the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to reduce pumping from Shasta from roughly 13,000 cubic feet per second to 10,500. The idea with the regulation is to preserve the cold water that helps keep young and hatching fish alive. The goal for the state is to keep water for the fish at 52 degrees.

While this was a win for many environmentalists, officials like Jason Peltier, Executive Director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, believe the state is being overly cautious in its efforts, according to Mercury News.

"The unending practice of taking water from human use and giving it to fish in hopes of helping the fish is a failed enterprise," said Peltier, who helps represents San Joaquin Valley farmers. "The fish are not responding at all. At the same time human, social, and economic destruction continues to accelerate.”

While some water from the San Luis reservoir is going to farmers with senior water rights, another culprit for the low water levels is Mother Nature herself. This past year’s rainy winter did see some depletion of drought conditions throughout California, but this was not evenly distributed across the state. Because the southern Sierra saw just a fraction of the wet weather that the northern Sierra did, runoff into the Delta was greatly limited.

There’s not all gloom on the horizon, however. With the recent edition of the Farmer’s Almanac predicting rainier weather for California in spring, summer, and fall of next year, the state’s reservoirs may be in better shape sooner than you might think.

DAVIS, CA - Intelligence and consumer engagement company, Engage3, announced a recent milestone in the form of a collaboration with news and information provider, McClatchy.

Together, the two said they will work towards launching a new artificial intelligence (“AI”) powered personalized promotions solution for retailers and brands.

“There is a real need for this type of solution in the market,” said Engage3’s SVP of Personalization, Rob Culin, formerly of dunnhumbyUSA and IBM’s DemandTec. “Globally, $1 trillion is spent annually by brands on promotions with about 2 out of 3 failing to generate a positive return. We are applying patented price optimization technology for personalized offers that will set the standard for the industry. We are thrilled to launch this with McClatchy, a very progressive and innovation-driven company with a strong customer base and deep relationships with retailers.”

With the goal of enabling retailers and brands to provide consumers with personalized offers based on their buying intent and past purchasing history, the company stated that the solution will help retailers and brands optimize trade and promotion, while delivering relevant offers to consumers.

“Millennials now represent a fast growing segment of retail sales and expect offer personalization from businesses,” said Christian Hendricks, VP of Products, Marketing, and Innovation at McClatchy and Chairman of the Local Media Consortium. “We are excited to partner with the team responsible for inventing price optimization. Together, we plan to bring a very innovative solution to market enabling retailers to personalize advertising and promotions, improve trade fund ROI, and pay for ads directly driving sales.”

In a press release, Engage3 noted that its Consumer Engagement and Personalization platform demonstrated a 5X performance improvement in the success of promotions, per a study conducted by Arizona State University. By comparison, promotions driven by segmentation showed a 3.5X improvement.

This will now combine with McClatchy’s vast consumer and retailer reach, with the aim of addressing inefficiencies in trade and promotional spending.

The company is currently publisher of 29 newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a rapidly expanding digital presence achieving more than 45 million monthly unique visitors and 250 million monthly page views. Published brands include:

• The Miami Herald
• The Kansas City Star
• The Sacramento Bee

The initial rollout and launch are currently slated for the fourth quarter of this year across select McClatchy media territories.

Engage3 McClatchy

VANCOUVER, CANADA - In the height of an excellent British Columbia season, SunSelect has been introducing additional packs to its unique Outrageously Fresh line, comprised of colorful mason jar-shaped bags containing snacking veggies. Combined with ideal quality, sustained demand, and upgraded technology it seems the Outrageously Fresh line will continue to be outrageously successful.

“We’ve seen a terrific response to the three, four, and six pack pepper bags, as well as our two-pound BC pepper units making their debut in the Outrageously Fresh brand,” said Len Krahn, SunSelect’s Chief Operating Officer, according to a press release. “The bright colored packaging is eye-catching at retail, and once consumers see SunSelect’s association with Outrageously Fresh, they know they can buy with confidence.”

Aaron Quon, Executive Director of Greenhouse at Oppy, SunSelects exclusive marketer, notes that the British Columbia pepper season has been characterized by excellent quality and consistency across red, yellow and orange volume, and credits technology upgrades at SunSelect for enhancing quality and efficiency.

“We moved our packing operation to our Delta location and invested in a new grading line that involves greater automation and more drop lanes,” Krahn explained in a statement. “This accomplishes a higher output using considerably less labor and delivers a more consistent pack.”

With British Columbia still in full production, Krahn is looking ahead to the fall when the grower’s California pepper season begins in Tehachapi, where light and climate favor high quality production.

“We’ll offer new-crop peppers starting in October,” he said. “This will be the second full-scale pepper season in Tehachapi, where we are producing them on 24 of our 64 acres. As the only large scale U.S. greenhouse grower to offer sweet bell peppers in the winter, we’re excited about the distribution and promotional opportunities ahead.”

Between British Columbia and California, SunSelect offers sweet bell peppers year-round.

SunSelect and Oppy also offer a wide range of tomatoes, including grape, cherry and gourmet medley in mason jar bags and topseal punnets, as well as tomatoes-on-the-vine and cocktail tomatoes throughout the year in the Outrageously Fresh brand.

 Oppy SunSelect

WATSONVILLE, CA - Berries and breakfast belong together. That’s why this summer, Well•Pict Berries challenged its fans to submit innovative, original breakfast recipes starring strawberries or raspberries as part of a qualifying event for the 2016 World Food Championships. The winner of the challenge has been selected, and will be competing in the breakfast category at the championships in Orange Beach, AL, in November.

“In choosing a winner for the ‘A Very Berry Breakfast’ contest, we were looking for creativity and uniqueness. We wanted to see a breakfast recipe that was original and delicious - something we hadn’t seen before! The winning recipe was Strawberry Basil Breakfast Fritters with Strawberry Syrup. Not only does this recipe sound incredible, it really brings in the element of creative originality that we were looking for,” said Dan Crowley, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Well•Pict, of the winning combination.

The “A Very Berry Breakfast” contest was a Preferred Qualifier for the championship event, ensuring that the selected winner of the contest received a guaranteed spot to compete in the breakfast category, a waived entry fee valued at $300, as well as a travel stipend in the amount of $1,000.

Crowley noted, “We were excited to hold the ‘A Very Berry Breakfast’ contest this summer, and we’re looking forward to having our winner represent Well•Pict Berries at the 2016 World Food Championships this November. We wish her the best of luck!”

The World Food Championship brings together foodies from around the globe, where champions of qualifying events convene for a chance to win a share of the $300,000 prize. The program includes everything from live-event integration to robust multimedia platforms serving culinary stars, home cooks, brands, and destinations. In the past four years, the World Food Championships has awarded more than $1 million in prizes, and launched the careers of several successful contestants.

AndNowUKnow wishes the “berry” best of luck to the Well•Pict winner in its upcoming competition!

Well•Pict