MONA, UT - Planting season is in full swing at Houweling’s Tomatoes' newly built greenhouse in the state of Utah. As Houweling’s first greenhouse operation in the state, the site excellently complements the grower's greenhouse facilities in Camarillo, CA and Delta, BC.

Chief Marketing Officer David Bell shared with ANUK his expectations for the 28 acre facility, one which he believes will allow Houweling’s to continue to grow its national footprint, portfolio and specialty and proprietary varieties.

“What we are most excited about is our ability to take what is already a successful pairing of programs in California Grown and BC Grown and bring this growth model into the Utah market,” he told ANUK, while elaborating on how Houweling’s extensive brand platform and evolving portfolio offer exciting possibilities for its retail partners.

The patented Ultra Clima semi-closed greenhouse design used at this facility gives Houweling’s the ability to optimize conditions effectively and efficiently, even during times of extreme variations in climate. Furthermore, the site's close proximity to a natural gas powerplant, Rocky Mountain Power, will allow Houweling’s to capitalize on the supply of traditionally wasted heat and CO2 available in the area. This gives Houweling’s the distinct advantage of enjoying power-saving, sustainable year-round growing.

The Utah location also offers Houweling’s exciting possibilities with respect to its continual push towards more sustainable farming practices. There already exists a robust growing economy in Utah concentrated around Salt Lake for the company to take advantage of. Together with strong demand for locally and regionally grown produce, the consumer culture Houweling’s will enjoy in the Beehive State meshes well with its focus on consumer education and sustainable growing.

With a concerted “Utah Grown” marketing effort, Houweling’s will be promoting the wide line of tomato varieties throughout the year, including:

• Specialty beef tomatoes
• Tomatoes on the Vine
• Proprietary Sweetoms grape tomato
• Cocktail tomatoes
• Roma tomatoes

With Houweling’s inaugural harvest expected to begin in early to mid February, business is busy in the company's Utah operations. There certainly seems to be plenty to be excited about, however. Congratulations on this latest expansion, Houweling’s!

Houweling's Tomatoes

NEWPORT, KY – Castellini Group of Companies is developing a 180,000 square-foot fresh-cut fruits and vegetables processing and product distribution center in Conley, Georgia. The company will invest $52 million into the project, which will create 300 jobs over the next few years.

“Our expansion in the Southeast will allow us to better serve current customers and continue our growth strategy by opening up new markets,” Castellini Group of Companies President/CEO Bill Schuler told AreaDevelopment.

The new facility will process and distribute product to wholesale, retail and food service customers on the East Coast. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that this new distribution center will allow Castellini to reach 80% of the U.S. market in a single day’s truck drive.

“By working together with the state of Georgia and Clayton County, we’re able to further grow our business while bringing much needed jobs and economic growth to the region. We appreciate all the assistance they’ve provided to help make this initiative a reality,” Schuler added.

Site preparation for the 180,000 square-foot facility has already begun. It is currently scheduled to open in September 2015.

Castellini Group of Companies

VALENCIA, CA – Sunkist has released the latest installment in its new Sunkist Citrus Hacks video series.

This new video focuses on Sunkist’s S’alternative program, which aims at educating consumers on how they can reduce sodium intake by seasoning food with fresh lemon. 

Speaking on the Citrus Hacks series, Joan Wickham, Sunkist Grower’s Advertising and Public Relations Manager, told AndNowUKnow, “To generate excitement about winter citrus, we developed Sunkist Citrus Hacks to teach tips and tricks that can help make enjoying citrus easy and, of course, fun!”

Watch the video below:

For more information on the series and to view the first four installments, check out our previous article here.

Sunkist will be promoting the videos on its social media channels as well as sharing them with customers.

Sunkist

With the release of iOS 8.1.2, we’ve got 5 more tips to help improve your productivity. From quickly managing your e-mail to reaching your favorite contacts faster, check out these tricks to get the most out of your iPhone.

Quickly Manage Your E-mail

If you’re using the default Mail app, you can swipe from left to right to mark a message as being read. If you swipe from right to left, you can reveal a second menu that lets you either reply, forward, flag, mark as unread, move, or notify you of future messages in that particular conversation.

Quick Photos

If you’re texting someone using iMessage, pressing and holding the camera icon above the keyboard will bring up a menu to let you either quickly take a picture (swipe up) or record a video (swipe right).

See archived photos from text messages

Looking for an old picture you texted to a friend or colleague? Go into a conversation and tap on “Details” on the top right. You’ll see a gallery of all the old pictures that you’ve sent under “Attachments.”

Reach your favorite contacts faster

Meet the speed dial of the 21st century. Double click on the Home button to see a list of your favorite and most recent contacts on the top of the screen. To add someone to your favorites list, go to your Phone app and then tap on “Favorites.” From there, you can add anyone from your Contacts List.

Reachability (iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+ exclusive)

Still getting used to the iPhone 6’s larger screen size? Apple has introduced a new option to help users reach apps and other options with just one hand. Double tap (not double click) on the home button and the screen will shrink down.

iOS 8 is now available for iPhone 4S and above. To update your phone, go to Settings > General > Software Update

For 5 more iOS 8 tips, check out our previous story here.

Let us know what you think about these tips by voting in the survey below. 

TAMPA, FL – IFCO has been awarded the “Tafel Teller 2014” award by the Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel e.V. in Germany. According to a press release, this award was handed out in recognition of IFCO's support of international food banks.

"On behalf of the Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel e.V., I would like to thank IFCO SYSTEMS for their committed support to the food banks and for the successful and always pleasant cooperation,” shared Jochen Brühl. Brühl, Federal Family Minister and patron of the food banks, Manuela Schwesig, and the Chairman of the Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel e.V.

”We really appreciate receiving this award," shared Wolfgang Orgeldinger, CEO of IFCO Systems. "The food bank business corresponds very well with our own business model and they do a great job in helping people in need. This is the reason why we concentrate our social activities on supporting food banks worldwide.”

Since beginning its food bank support program, IFCO has:

• Donated nearly 150,000 RPCs to over 70 food banks in Europe, North America, and South America.
• Co-financed the purchase of 43 refrigerated vehicles.

In 2014 alone, IFCO has:

• Germany: Co-sponsored 8 refrigerated vans for German food banks and donated 13,000 RPCs.
• Portugal: Donated approximately 1,900 RPCs to Food Bank Algarve.
• Spain: 2.200 IFCO Magnum Boxes towards Gran Recogida Madrid.
• UK: Donated 5,000 RPCs to The Trussell Trust
• France: Assisted in the donation drive by Banque Alimentaire at an Intermarché market.
• Italy: Donated roughly 1.000€ to the Banco Alimentare.
• South America: Continues to support Ong Banco de Alimentos.
• North America: Worked to support over 100 food banks across the continent.

Great work, IFCO!

IFCO

SAINT PAUL, MN - Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has thrown another roadblock in the way of Sysco's proposed merger with US Foods. In a letter addressed to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, she shared serious concerns whether any divestiture by Sysco could prevent a monopolistic environment if this merger were allowed to go through. 

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the AG's office had heard several complaints from Minnesota-based businesses arguing that the proposed merger would leave them "fewer choices among distributors and potentially resulting in higher prices for consumers."

Sysco declined to comment on the Attorney General's comments directly. Sysco Spokesman Charley Wilson only shared that, “We continue to have constructive conversations with the FTC in its review of our proposed merger with US Foods.” 

As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted, Minnesota is not among the group of about 25 states which are also reviewing this merger. These states, which include Florida and Indiana, share concerns that US Foods and Sysco are the only two national distribution companies which service their state and therefore a merger could seriously damage competition in the state.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for additional updates on the Sysco/US Food merger as this process continues. 

Sysco

US Foods

With a mission to deliver high quality berries 12 months a year, Well-Pict is continuing to innovate with new California varieties. 

Well-Pict has been a leader in sustainability for over 40 years, leading the way with crop rotation techniques. Well-Pict also uses cutting-edge organic farming techniques such as bug vac and integrated pest management in place of pesticides. Its packaging solutions such as 100% recyclable plastic have also allowed the grower to take big steps toward a more sustainable future.

For more information on these exciting topics be sure to check out the video at the top of this page!

Well-Pict

MORGAN HILL, CA – Sakata Seed America is releasing two new SunPatiens® Guides: New Landscapers’ Guide to SunPatiens & SunPatiens Floating Garden Guide.

Landscapers have been using Sakata’s hybrid impatiens series for differing opportunities and challenges. With that in mind, the company developed Landscapers’ Guide to SunPatiens, a comprehensive how-to for landscapers, to help them achieve greater success with the series.

Sakata has also developed a how-to guide for making beautiful SunPatiens Floating Gardens. According to a press release, major theme parks, botanic gardens and locations across the U.S. have successfully utilized SunPatiens in their Floating Gardens. The new SunPatiens Floating Garden Guide helps landscapers and home gardeners create their own Floating Gardens.

SunPatiens is the first impatiens series to thrive in full sun and shade as well as transitioning easily through the seasons while maintaining vibrant color and continuous coverage. Their growing popularity can be attributed to four main characteristics:

• Full-sun shade versatility
• Continuous, non-stop blooming from spring through fall
• Carefree, low-maintenance plants (low fertilizer requirements, self-cleaning)
• Strong insect and disease resistance (not impacted by downy mildew)

Both of the new guides can be downloaded from Sakata’s website.

Sakata Seed America

AUSTIN, TX – Whole Foods Market is expanding its presence in south Florida next year with four new stores.

The Miami Herald reports that the retailer will be opening the first of its four new south Florida stores in Miami on January 14^th. This 41,000 square-foot store will be the company’s 22^nd location in Florida.

Juan Nunez, President of the Florida Region for Whole Foods Market, spoke to the Sun Sentinel about the new stores saying, “We are thrilled to be expanding our presence in South Florida.” 

The other new stores will be between 40,000 – 44,000 square-feet. The new locations include:

• Pompano Beach, FL
• Davie, FL
• West Palm Beach, FL

The Herald reports that these three additional stores will open every two weeks through the end of February of 2015.

Whole Foods Market

ORLANDO, FL - Darden Restaurants released its Q2 2015 results on Tuesday, December 16th 2015, reporting a 4.9% increase in sales over the same quarter from last year. This quarter's report was a signficant one, marking the first financial quarter in which the new Starboard sponsored Board of Directors had influence over the company's operations.

"Our brands performed well during the second quarter," said Interim CEO Gene Lee. "We have been working diligently to execute our strategy, including getting back to basics while delivering the best possible guest experience. It is starting to show in both improved revenue and profitability. While it's still early, we believe our renewed focus on operating fundamentals, coupled with our more streamlined support structure, will help us continue to grow and capture market share."

Some highlights from Darden's financial report include:

• A 4.9% increase in total sales to $1.56 billion, compared to $1.49 billion from the same period last year.
• A 133% increase in earnings per diluted share from continuing operations to $0.28, compared to the adjusted earnings of $0.12 from the same period last year.
• Comparable same-restaurant sales results of:
• +0.5% for Olive Garden (beating industry estimates of -0.5%, according to CNBC)
• +2.6% for LongHorn Steakhouse
• +5.0% for The Capital Grille
• +4.9% for Eddie V's
• +3.7% for Yard House
• +1.2% for Seasons 52
• -0.6% for Bahama Breeze

Going forward, Darden has tightened its projected range for adjusted diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations for fiscal 2015 to $2.25 - $2.30. Including the impact of the 53rd week, this would represent a 32%-35% increase, according to a press release. When last reported in September, the low end of Darden's guidance was $2.22.

Congratulations on these key improvements, Darden!

Darden Restaurants

Starboard Value