MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Making moves to extends its wholesale arm even further throughout the nation, SuperValu Inc. has announced that it has entered into a long-term supply agreement with Marsh Supermarkets as its primary grocery supplier.

“Marsh Supermarkets is a terrific grocery chain that has served customers and communities across Indiana and Ohio for 85 years,” said Mark Gross, SuperValu President and CEO, in a recent press release. “Their shoppers have come to expect quality, value and a great fresh experience and we’re pleased Marsh has entrusted us for this business going forward. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to combine both our wholesale and logistics experience with our professional service offerings to deliver a comprehensive solution for them.”

In addition to providing the chains as a wholesale provider for fresh produce, SuperValu will now service Marsh Supermarkets and its subsidiary, O’Malia Food Markets, as the primary supplier for the following traditional categories: 

• Grocery
• Deli
• Bakery
• Seafood
• Dairy
• Frozen foods
• Meat 

“It’s great to see this growth in our wholesale business, and I’m also excited about what this means for the growth in our broad services offering,” Gross added.

SuperValu will also provide professional services and merchandising support to Marsh, including strategic pricing analysis, shelf management programs, and advanced merchandise planning.

SuperValu said that this new agreement will also bestow Marsh’s with benefits from the company’s new SV Insights business intelligence tool and mobile order entry system.

The transition of stores into the new agreement is expected to be completed around the end of September, 2016. Marsh Supermarkets is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, and operates around 70 Marsh stores and O’Malia Food Markets throughout Indiana and Ohio.

For more in breaking agreements and news in the industry, click back on AndNowUKnow for leading buy-side strategies.

SuperValu Marsh Supermarkets

PELION, SC – As the company continues to make moves towards helping consumers make their plate more green this year, and demonstrate the versatility of greens, WP Rawl has announced the release of its second downloadable e-cookbook, Back to Fresh: Cookbook Part II. 

“While working with our Nature’s Greens® brand ambassador and registered dietitian Cynthia Sass on recipe development, we were really inspired,” said Ashley Rawl, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Product Development. 

This e-cookbook is the second to be released in the series of four for the year, and combines fresh ingredients with summer-specific recipes to cultivate meals that are healthy, tasty, and fun.

The company stated in a press release that the versatility of greens are shown in a variety of dishes such as smoothies, salads on the go, and stir fry dinners for the whole family. 

“As the premier grower, processor and shipper in the category, we want to help consumers take the guesswork out of preparing fresh, healthy meals for themselves and their loved ones,” finished Rawl. 

WP Rawl and Nature’s Greens plan to release two more seasonally-minded e-cookbooks for the series later in the year, to feature fun and fresh meal options for an assortment of occasions and tastes. All cookbooks are available for download here. 

Click back on AndNowUKnow for the latest in consumer-based innovations and campaigns to further launch the consumption of fresh produce.

WP Rawl

LOS ALAMITOS, CA – Adding to the expertise of its team, Frieda’s Specialty Produce has announced that the well-known name of produce veteran Kevin Leap will be joining the company as its Director of Business Development.

“I have long admired Frieda’s and the Caplan family, and am happy to be able to work with them as they continue to grow the company and extend the reach of their brand,” said Leap. 

Leap has a long history with the produce industry, beginning with six years spent at retailers Vons. Leap also spent time as Sales Manager at Ready Pac Produce, before moving to Dulcinea Farms as Director of Sales. Most recently, according to a press release, Leap worked with West Pak Avocados, developing new business programs in both retail and foodservice. 

“We are so delighted to have Kevin on board,” said Karen Caplan, President and CEO of Frieda’s. “Kevin has a fantastic reputation and a lot of experience building programs and introducing products to both retailers and foodservice operators across the country. Our sales and business development teams are thrilled to work with him in creating more excitement in the specialty category.”

Congratulations to Kevin and the team at Frieda’s, we can’t wait to see what you work up together!

Frieda's Specialty Produce

SALINAS, CA - As we move into a period of increasing demand for lettuce and leaf items nationwide, shippers are reporting lighter volumes and a tightening market ahead. With summer just barely underway, I spoke with John Georgalos, Commodity Manager for Tanimura & Antle, and Jason Lathos, Manager of Commodities for Church Brothers Farms, about what is contributing to the recent market conditions and what we can expect during July.

“West Coast lettuce volume is reduced this time of year due to the impact of homegrown product,” John tells me as we discuss how the availability of homegrown lettuce started about two weeks ago, but has not had a significant impact on the lettuce market. “We would expect demand in those areas to taper off. It has not. These two factors combined means that demand for lettuce has remained stronger than available supplies.”

In addition, weather contributed to the shortages last week and will this week, as well. The anticipated hot weather during the past two weeks has not materialized as predicted.

Although it has been very hot in some areas, John notes, the Northern Salinas Valley weather was on the milder side and has recently cooled down to below average. T&A anticipated an increase in yields due to warm weather, but in fact, yields have gone down. Another factor for the company is that it is seeing fewer 24-sized lettuce than planned.

“Lastly, the 4th of July demand, which typically tapers off during the tail-end of the week before the holiday weekend, remained strong all week,” John adds. “A result of trying to fill orders for the holiday meant we harvested more than expected last week and early this week. Industry holdover inventory will be minimal this week. The strong demand for lettuce this week should continue and this will mean that lettuce prices should stay strong moving forward.”

Jason echoes the effects of local deals and tells me that Church Brothers’ lettuce acreage and budgets for this time of year are usually cut back. At this point, there is Canadian lettuce crossing into the North East and the Colorado deal starting up either the first or second week of July.

“We cut back our acres to be ready for these local deals and it keeps us from being oversupplied and having extra acres that increase supply and flood the market,” Jason tells me. “Another factor for cutting back acreage is the increase in broccoli, carrots, and onion acres due to the San Joaquin Valley trying to mitigate the water shortages.” Overall acreage for the second turn is hard to find for lettuce due to the increase in demand for other crops. Open ground is hard to find for the second turn.

During this time period, Church Brothers is also getting ready to start its turn around, or second turn, on planting that will keep the company in supply through November. During this turn, different varieties will come on in anticipation of the changing weather and growing conditions.

“This second turn sometimes creates a small gap in supplies. We are currently in that gap and with the increased demand for California lettuce, the markets have firmed up,” Jason adds. “Weather has also been an issue. We have had very big swings in overall conditions. One week it may be in the low nineties and the following week we don’t get over the low sixties. The current lettuce market is in the low teens. Next week it is forecasted to be in the high teens with a big possibility of hitting the twenty.”

As we move toward more uncertain weather in California and increasing demand, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for continued updates on the market.

Church Brothers Farms Tanimura & Antle

NEW YORK CITY, NY - Fresh prep food chain Chipotle’s Chief Creative and Development Officer, Mark Crumpacker, was confirmed to have been charged with cocaine possession.

The arrest was made at 9 a.m. yesterday, July 5th, New York Police Department Sgt. Lee Jones reported to NBC New York. His attorney, Gerald Lefcourt, told the news source that Crumpacker was not in New York over the holiday weekend and turned himself in voluntarily.

As we reported last week, Crumpacker was reportedly indicted following a year-long investigation into a ring of cocaine traffickers responsible for upwards of $75,000 worth of cocaine throughout New York City.

One of Chipotle’s upper executives, the company placed Crumpacker on administrative leave when the news broke, according to the report, commenting in a statement that it “made this decision in order to remain focused on the operation of our business, and to allow Mark to focus on these personal matters.”

Crumpacker is one of its higher-paid executives, having been given a $4.3 million pay package last year, according to SEC filings.

The executive was released on a cash bail of $4,500, with a court date set for Sept. 8, 2016, according to his attorney. Until then, we’ll continue to keep you up to date on all the latest as more details come to light.

Chipotle

GULFPORT, MS - After months of speculation, Chiquita Fresh North America LLC has officially confirmed the rumors that it will be moving its Gulf operations from New Orleans, Louisiana, back to Gulfport, Mississippi this coming August.

“We are pleased to return our port operations to Gulfport where our Chiquita ripening and distribution facilities are located,” explained Chiquita President and CEO, Andrew Biles in a statement. “We believe that Gulfport is optimally situated to service our customers most efficiently with both North and Southbound vessel services.”

This move comes just two years after Chiquita returned to New Orleans after an original forty-year stint in Gulfport, Mississippi. Part of the deal to come back to New Orleans in 2014 included $15 million in incentives from the state and port, according to Bloomberg, as well as an offer of 10 years of subsidies estimated at over $1.1 million a year from the state, based on how much cargo the company handles.

Chiquita had also reportedly kept operations for storing fresh produce for ripening at John Fayard Warehousing in Gulfport rather than exit the city in its entirety in 2014.

While there are not yet any statistics from the city of Gulfport about how much money or jobs may return to the city as a result of the move, AndNowUKnow will keep our eyes out for continued details.

Chiquita

GRAND JUNCTION, MI - Michigan has kicked off its blueberry harvest with the inaugural “First Pick,” an event that had President/CEO of MBG Marketing, a grower-owned cooperative, Founding Partner of Naturipe Farms, Larry Ensfield, introducing South Haven Mayor Bob Burr to a few growers.

“It is always a pleasure to meet our local blueberry growers and have the opportunity to partake in the First Pick,” Mayor Burr commented, according to a press release.

He and Ensfield visited Harris Blueberries LLC growers Scott and Marcy Harris, as well as Scott’s uncle, Al Harris on their 250-acre property that started out on two acres in 1978.

“Harris Blueberries represents an impressive number of generational family growers throughout our community who make such a strong impact both locally and throughout the United States and beyond with their blueberries,” the Mayor said.

Harris, a first generation grower who credits his uncle in helping to get the farm where it is today, is currently converting all new plantings to trickle irrigation to save water, and wind machines for frost protection.

“I relish the chance to develop a farm into something that is sustainable and can endure for generations to come,” Harris said, whose daughters and extended family members are also becoming involved in growing blueberries. “I want to ensure they understand the value of our work and take pride in the product we produce for consumers.”

Growers of Naturipe are aligned with the Cultivate with Care™ program, the company said, which has a commitment to environmental stewardship. Naturipe’s early season varieties Bluetta and Duke which will peak the first half of July, with Blue Crop, Draper, Liberty looking to peak around the last two weeks of July and through mid-August, and Elliot and Aurora, among others, to give a strong late season, supplying the eastern U.S. through September.

As Michigan, one of the largest blueberry-producing states, looks to another bountiful season, AndNowUKnow will bring updates as we move through the summer months and beyond.

Naturipe Farms 

ORLANDO, FL – As the company continues to look towards highlighting seasonal produce and healthy eating resources, Produce for Kids has announced the launch of its new summer edition of the “We Heart RDs” program for retail dieticians, now mailed out monthly.

“In 2016, we heard from numerous retail dietitians looking for healthy eating support materials to share in-store with families,” said Trish James, Vice President of Produce for Kids. “Based on the number of requests, it made sense to condense our information into monthly kits so that these retail dietitians have timely, seasonal recipes, tips and resources to get families excited about filling their market basket with more produce.”

The program was launched last March in the form of a free kit containing family-focused healthy resources, recipes, and activities for retailers to utilize in-store. According to a press release, each kit contains the following components which switch out with each season and mailing:

• Counter card for easy identification of in-season produce
• Recipes for in-season produce
• “I’m a healthy eater” stickers
• Tips from the Produce for Kids team of blog contributors 

For the summer season, Produce for Kids has partnered with the National Watermelon Promotion Board for summer kits which shipped on June 1. These kits contain summer eating tips from Produce for Kids, and a brochure from the Watermelon Board for fun and family-friendly water recipes for retail dietitians.

“The We Heart RDs kit has been a great resource for me as a corporate retail dietitian,” said Alyson Fendrick, RD, LD, CPT Corporate Dietitian for HAC Retail. “I love the materials as it gives us timely social and print media ideas, as well as live demo kits for in-store use. I can provide our customers with easy family meal options that fill their plate with produce.” 

For August, the company stated that it will feature the Power Your Lunchbox Pledge by Produce for Kids for a back-to-school themed “We Heart Rds” kit. The Michigan Apple Committee and Avocados from Mexico are both planning to contribute materials for retail dietitians to share with shoppers.

Past instances of the kit included the third shipment, sent in May of 2016, which featured healthy tips for Mother’s Day, spring recipes, Cinco de Mayo recipes, and nutritional avocado information from Avocados from Mexico. 

The “We Heart RDs” kits are currently utilized by over 300 retail dietitians, at 45 grocery stores in the U.S. and Canada. Interested dietitians can sign up for their free kits by going to produceforkids.com/rds, and supplement the kits by downloading printable materials, such as the Build Your Own series, and signing up for the e-newsletter.

As the industry continues to increase consumption of fresh produce for the next generation of consumers, AndNowUKnow will have the latest in program innovations and announcements.

Produce For Kids

CALIFORNIA - While El Niño delivered some relief, with statewide drought levels lowering over the last year, its counterpart La Niña looks increasingly likely come autumn.

"We only had one year of normal conditions," David Pierce, Climate Researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said, according to KPBS. "We had this two-year deficit of precipitation on top of that. So I personally think that a kind of defensive position, as far as our water resources, is warranted at this point."

Pierce stated that current indications are an enhanced chance of a dry winter, "which is unfortunate because we just had this normal winter that helped us."

Right now the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center has the chances of a La Niña forecasted at 75 percent. A proverbial flip-side to El Niño, which we have previously reported is a warming of a certain patch of the central Pacific that changes weather patterns worldwide, La Niña is a cooling pattern in the equatorial Pacific.

Where El Niño is associated with flooding in some places, droughts elsewhere, and, for California, a wetter winter, La Niña tends to be linked to a drier season for the west coast.

Currently, about 60 percent of California is considered in drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, down significantly from the 90 percent last year.

Pierce reiterated that this, like the predictions for El Niño’s influence, were just predictions and not guarantees.

While the researcher reported confidence that California shouldn’t expect to be out of the drought any time soon, this year’s El Niño was also reported to be a Godzilla pattern, yet last winter was referenced as "normal."

As these predictions solidify and we await more news and, hopefully, yet another wet winter, keep checking in with AndNowUKnow.

U.S. Drought Monitor

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Target’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), Mike McNamara, is laying it all on the table as far the company’s priorities in the coming months—supply chain and digital technology. Formerly the CIO of the UK’s Tesco, McNamara is certainly not a stranger in using technology to tighten the effectiveness of a supply chain. He spoke with Forbes about how he has seen the company’s supply chain change over time, and what he see for the future.

“It is all about digital, number one, and supply chain number two,” McNamara tells Forbes as Reporter Peter High asks him to lay out his current main focuses. “The focus and the needs of our supply chain have changed massively over the last few years as direct to guest fulfillment has become more and more important. If you go back five to ten years, our distribution network and our whole supply chain was geared around sending full cases of product from distribution centers domestically to stores domestically.”

Now, he explains, the supply chain is much more of a network, where the company’s entire inventory is available to all its consumers all the time.

“We will ship from a point to a guest that makes the most economic sense, or gives the guest the shortest lead time. That means that the thing that was once linear is now a network.”

It’s no secret that Target has been seeking to revamp its supply chain practices in recent months. In May of this year, Reuters reported that a dozen suppliers confirmed that Target began demanding they assume more of the costs associated with marketing and selling slow-moving items, as well as cracking down on supplier relationships by tightening deadlines for deliveries and increasing fines for those who miss the deadline.

“The needs of our supply chain and the demands on our supply chain have changed massively over the last five or ten years, so we have a huge investment as a business into our supply chain not just from a technology point of view, but from a broader business point of view,” McNamara goes on in the interview. 

The company’s CIO also touched on digital several times during his talk with Forbes. With marketing moving away from broadcast and television and towards more personalized approaches on smartphones and tablets, he says keeping on the pulse of technology is “a huge priority.”

For more from McNamara's interview with Forbes, where he touches on the company’s earlier data breach new technologies, and more, read the transcript here.

Target