TAMPA, FL - IFCO SYSTEMS has opened a new 200,000 square foot RPC Service Center in Fresno, California, the company’s sixth in the U.S. The new facility is equipped to wash, sanitize, and dry more than 95,000 RPCs per day, and ship and receive approximately 120 truckloads of RPCs for IFCO’s grocery retail partners and grower shipper customers weekly, according to a press release.

“We are pleased to open our most advanced facility to date in Fresno, complete with the latest food safety systems and sustainable operations,” said Dan Walsh, President of IFCO North America. “Our growth during the past few years has demanded the expansion of our service center network so our grower and retailer partners have all the safe and clean RPCs they need to serve their customers.”

The Fresno service center currently has more than 80 employees and is designed to allow for further expansion.

IFCO’s five other service centers in the U.S. are located in San Antonio, TX; Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Atlanta; Portland, OR and Chicago. The company owns and operates 49 service centers in 19 countries.

Congrats on the opening of this newest facility, IFCO!

IFCO

PORTLAND, OR – Pear Bureau Northwest has hired Kathy Stephenson as the company’s Marketing Communications Director.

“I feel I have found the perfect niche: marrying my passion for marketing communications and fresh produce and agriculture. This is an exciting time to champion a message about healthy eating with the growing awareness that our diet impacts our well being. The Pear Bureau programs are innovative and refreshing, and I feel privileged to join this well organized and hard working team,” Kathy said.

According to a press release, she brings over 25 years of food experience in marketing communications and product development to the Pear Bureau Northwest team.

Kevin Moffitt, Pear Bureau Northwest President and CEO said, “We are very pleased to have Kathy join our team. Her experience will move us forward with our promotions at retail as well as our PR and advertising aimed to increase consumer awareness and consumption of fresh pears.”

Most recently, Kathy provided marketing and advertising management support to Oregon Fruit Products LLC and Brucepac Inc. along with other clients.  She has an MBA from UC Berkeley in Berkeley, CA and a B.S. in Food Science Technology from Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR.

Congratulations on this new position, Kathy!

Pear Bureau Northwest

SALINAS, CA – The holiday season is proving to be a busy, yet productive one for Naturipe Farms. The company’s cranberry season is in full swing as Thanksgiving is just weeks away, and the crop this year is looking just as good, if not better, than the last.

“Naturipe Farms has a very strong organic and conventional cranberry program,” Keith Parker, Cranberry Product Manager, told AndNowUKnow. “What makes us unique is we pack each order as they come in. At Naturipe, we feel it is better to pack each order fresh to ensure the best quality for customers. This helps alleviate any soft or shriveled cranberries in the package.”

Naturipe has a full conventional and organic line-up of fresh cranberries. Packaging options for its organic line include a 7.5 oz. clamshell, 8 oz. bag, and 12 oz. bag. For the conventional line, Naturipe offers a 12 oz. clamshell and bag, 2 lb. bag, and 3 lb. bag.

Kyla Oberman, Naturipe’s Marketing Manager, recommends that retailers cross-promote cranberries with complementary products such as oranges and cloves or goat cheese and crackers to gain consumer attention. “Sampling this product combination as well as handing out recipe ideas and product information, including health benefits, are also well received by consumers.”

The company can load cranberries out of multiple facilities: direct out of Wisconsin, or out of its two distribution centers on the East (Manfredi, PA) and West (Oxnard, CA) Coast. “This makes it easier for our customers to load the cranberries with the other berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries) they might be loading with us,” continued Parker. “This also makes it easier for customers to load lesson pallet quantities if needed.”

Congrats on the excellent start to the Thanksgiving season, Naturipe! 

Naturipe Farms

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Target has announced that it is closing 11 underperforming U.S. stores.

The retailer said in a press release, “The decision to close a Target store is only made after careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of a particular location.  All eligible store team members are being offered the option to transfer to other Target stores.  Team members who choose not to transfer will be offered a separation package.”

The stores that are closing are located in Georgia, Iowa, Illinois (2 stores), Indiana, Kansas, Michigan (3 stores), Minnesota and Texas.

Though this is Target’s largest round of store closures in recent years, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal points out that the retailer opened 63 stores over the past three years.  The company currently has approximately 1,800 U.S. stores.

Even after the announcement of these closures, Target’s stock closed yesterday at $61.89 per share, up $0.77 for a 1.26% increase.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more updates and the latest retail news.

Target

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Love Beets has unveiled new packaging for its five flavors of marinated baby beets: Sweetfire Beets, Honey + Ginger Beete, Mild Vinegar Beets, White Wine & Balsamic Beets and Organic Mild Vinegar Beets. 

The new packs feature state-of-the-art top seal technology to keep each beet fresher for longer and allow for easier portioning and storage across meals, snacks and recipes. For retailers, the packs can now stand upright on the shelf.  According to a press release, this product ‘refresh’ is a part of the company’s larger overall re-brand to better represent its whimsical identity.

Love Beets

CORAL GABLES, FL - Fresh Del Monte is beginning a modified “Dutch auction” tender offer in order to purchase up to $175 million worth of outstanding shares of its company stock.

During this tender offer, Fresh Del Monte shareholders may either offer all or a portion of their shares at price between $30.50 to $34.50 per share. Shareholders also have the option of tendering their shares without specifying a purchase price. In this case, the shares will be purchased at a price determined in accordance with the tender offer.

At the expiration of this offer, Fresh Del Monte will purchase those shares priced at the lowest price point within the prespecified range, up to an aggregate value of $175 million. All shares tendered at a price point exceeding Fresh Del Monte's accepted price point will be returned to the original shareholder. All purchased shares will be paid for in cash.

According to a press release, this tender offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on December 2, 2014, unless extended or terminated by the company.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for further updates on the future actions of Fresh Del Monte and the fresh produce industry.

Fresh Del Monte

SINT-JANS-MOLENBEEK - The Delhaize Group released its Q3 financial report on November 6th, 2014, revealing impressive growth both in terms of revenue and operating profit. While analysts quoted by Reuters only predicted an operating profit of €182 million, Delhaize revealed that it blew past these estimates by €10 million with an operating profit of €192 million (over $237 million) in Q3.

“In the U.S., comparable store sales growth was very strong at 5.3%, resulting from both continued good momentum at Food Lion and favourable, albeit temporary, competitive dynamics at Hannaford,” shared Frans Muller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Delhaize Group. “These positive volume trends resulted in a 10% increase in our U.S. underlying operating profit. In August, we have launched the first 31 Food Lion stores deploying our new 'Easy, Fresh & Affordable' strategy. Although it is too early to draw conclusions, they are experiencing good initial customer response. We will roll out the next 45 stores next week.”

Other highlights from the financial report include:

• Revenue growth of 3.3% at identical exchange rates (3.3% organic growth) and 5.9% revenue growth for Delhaize's United States operations.
• 5.3% same store sales growth in its United States stores. This result beat the expectations of analysts quoted by Reuters, who only anticipated 3.0% same store sales growth this quarter.
• 4.2% underlying operating margin in the United States.
• Free cash flow generation of €118 million.

In its Q3 financial report, Delhaize also revealed that it has agreed to sell its 66 Bottom Dollar Food stores to Aldi in the interest of focusing on its core base of operations in the United States. 

Congratulations on a strong Q3 performance, Delhaize!

Delhaize Group

GUADALUPE, CA – Beachside Produce, LLC is gearing up for the holidays with the peak of the production of its California Brussels sprouts and celery approaching.

According to a press release, the company’s crop is looking great and supplies will be plentiful through the Thanksgiving pull and into the Christmas and holiday season.

Beachside grows its Brussels sprouts domestically in Lompoc and Guadalupe, CA.  The product ships from both the Lompoc and Santa Maria Valleys.  They are offered in Iced 25# Regular and Jumbo sizes in both carton and RPC packs.  The product lineup also includes 18/1# packs offered in RPC’s. 

The company is also offering festive 9 count Brussels sprouts stalks through the holiday season.  The stalk can be roasted in an oven to make a special presentation on the holiday table.

Beachside’s celery is also in full swing.  In a release, the company states that it has ample supplies predicted from mid-November through January 2015.  The celery will be available in naked packs and sleeves in 24, 30 and 36 sizes.

The company is also packing celery sticks and hearts weekly for the holiday pull in both retail and club packs.

Beachside Produce

SANTA PAULA, CA – To determine who has the recipes for the most creative and delicious lemon cocktails in the world, Limoneira is kicking off a series of international mixology contests.

On November 18, Los Angeles’ most distinguished bartenders and mixologists will be serving up their most inventive lemon cocktails at the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles.

“We’re excited about our upcoming lemon mix-off in Los Angeles and eager to see the innovative lemon cocktails these talented bartenders create,” said John Chamberlain, Limoneira’s Director of Marketing.  “This will be part of a series of competitions that will take place in New York, Chicago and Hong Kong, among others, in 2015.”

At the event, competitors will have 15 minutes to put together an original concoction for each member of the judging panel along with an additional one for presentation, according to a press release.  To get the creativity flowing, the contests have no limits on ingredients and contestants are not required to use a particular type of spirit.

The winners from each contest will face off against each other at a final round for a chance at a grand prize.  Let’s meet some of the competitors and judges participating part in the LA event.

Competitors:

Joseph Brooke, from The Edison and Mixology 101, is a fast-rising star in the mixology world.  He came to LA six years ago and has spent time working in some of LA’s most popular nightspots.  He graduated from Southern Wine & Spirits’ mixology and fine service course and received his BAR-Ready certification from AKA Wine Geek in 2010.

Brian Leon is the famed mixologist from Nobu Malibu.  For 8 years, he has served drinks to regulars at Nobu like Robert Downey Jr., Courteney Cox, Mel Gibson, Nicole Richie, Pink and more.

Melodee Murphy gained her mixology chops in the world of hotel bartending, family owned restaurants, and private events and has most recently found her home at James Republic in downtown Long Beach.

Other notable competitors Include Ferrari Watts from Rivera 31, Michael Nemcik from redclay, Nic Hirsch from Loft Bar and Montague Laguna Beach, and Patrick Reynolds from Wildcat and Santa Barbara

Judges:

Lanee Lee is a Los Angeles-based writer covering cocktails, cuisine and quirky destinations.  She is also the co-founder of Voyage Vixens, an online female-centric travel blog and YouTube series.

Lesley Jacobs Solmonson is published “Gin: A Global History” in 2012.  She is the cocktail/wine writer for the LA Weekly and also writes for Chilled magazine.

Other judges include Hadley Tomicki from Urban Daddy, Beth Fisher from Busy Beth Fisher, and Elana Lepkowski from Stir and Strain.

Guests attending the private event can watch the bartenders competing while enjoying an assortment of hors d’oeuvres, Diabolo sparkling French soda, Four Brix wine, handcrafted Italian liqueurs from Venturs Limoncello Company, and lemon-centric libations from Greenbar Craft Distillery.

Good luck to all of the mixologists participating in this event!

Limoneira

NEWARK, DE – The inaugural PMA Fruittrade Latin America will kick off soon in Santiago, Chile through the collaboration of PMA, Fedefruta (the growers association of Chile) and Yentzen Consulting Group.

According to a press release, this first-of-its-kind event for South America is replacing both Fedefruta’s and PMA’s long standing individual conventions in the region.  The event is scheduled for November 12-13.

“This new collaboration is part of PMA’s strategy to help the industry build consumer connections by linking members to the people, markets and insights needed to grow business and increase consumption,” said Nancy Tucker, PMA’s Vice President of Global Business Development. “This event is designed to help industry members build connections – to experts, ideas, trends and talent – produce and floral companies can focus on building consumer demand for the products they grow, ship and sell.”

This convention is going to feature business round-tables that connect retailers and suppliers.  According to a press release, a group of international buyers including Associated Wholesale Grocers, Cencosud, Costco Wholesale Canada, Eurosupermercado, Grupo Éxito, Grupo Pao de Acucar/CBD, The Kroger Co., Sam's Wholesale Club, Save-a-lot, Ltd., Spinneys Dubai LLC, Supermercados Tottus, Tesco, and Wal-Mart Mexico, Inc. will participate in this unique ‘matchmaking’ event.

“I am looking forward to participating in PMA Fruittrade Latin America,” said Oleen Smethurst from Costco Wholesale Canada.  “I expect to make new connections and that the program will be very enriching and give me the insight I need on key markets.”

Additionally, Carlos Furche, Chile’s Minister of Agriculture, will join ProChile’s Director Roberto Paiva, Fedefruta President Juan Carolus Brown and Tesco Sourcing Manager Simon Mandelbaum for PMA Fruittrade Latin America’s inaugural session on November 12.  The session will focus on how the organizations are addressing the needs of the industry. 

Another session entitled “Turning Trends into Market Strategies” will feature Naturipe Vice President of Marketing Robert Verloop, Nielsen Perishables Vice President Sherry Frey and Cencosud’s Stephan von Meyenn.  It will focus on consumer trends and how they differ around the world.

"As a grower, the topic of global consumer trends can be so broad that it can be difficult to relate it back to what we grow today and what we should grow in the future,” says Verloop. “How does a grower in Chile respond to the consumer demand of healthier, convenient snacks? I think the answer is in rethinking your supply chain and business models.”

For the full list of education programming for PMA Fruittrade Latin America, click here.  This new event is sure to become a staple in the industry.

PMA