AUSTIN, TX - Between Hunter Pence's two-run home run and Madison Bumgarner's gem, Whole Foods hit a postseason milestone of its own during Game 1 of the World Series, launching its first national advertising campaign. In case you're not a baseball fan, I recommend checking the commercial out for yourself in the video below:

The ad is a significant departure from Whole Foods' traditional marketing strategies, which have for years eschewed national advertising in favor of word of mouth and local outreach in order to grow its brand. As long as Whole Foods enjoyed little competition in the organics market in the United States, such methods were fine, but WGBH News notes how Wal-Mart's excursion into the organics department has forced the company to reassess this strategy.

According to the Washington Post, Whole Foods says that it plans on spending $15-$20 million on its “Value Matters” advertising campaign. The advertisements were designed to capitalize on the growing body of customers who value the way their food was grown just as much as how good it tastes.

“They care about themselves, our planet; they want to trust their [food] sources; they’re seeking information to make meaningful choices,” shared Jeannine D’Addario, Global Vice President for Communications for Whole Foods, in the Washington Post.

"There's no question that people are increasingly moving to use their dollars for political, social, ethical, [and] humanitarian [purposes],” added Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn on Boston Public Radio when asked to comment on this consumer trend. "We will use our wallets in a way that we know commands attention."

Whole Foods likely hopes that these customers will use their wallets at its stores if it can successfully share its story with them, fostering a connection between customers and the farmers and ranchers who raise their food. That aim strikes at the heart of the Value Matters campaign.

The same could be said of Whole Foods' new produce ranking system which rolled out earlier this month. The key is more information, more story, more answers to the “why this” question behind the purchase decision. With these initiatives Whole Foods is seeking to tell the story of its food, to show where it comes from and why the customer would want to be a part of that story.

If Whole Foods can do this successfully, the hope is that it will be able to cement its standing and customer base in the organics market even with the approach of Wal-Mart.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for any future updates on Whole Foods and the evolution of the organics market.

Whole Foods

WATSONVILLE, CA - In this educational video, Well-Pict is teaching retailers how the get the freshest, best tasting berries to customers by ‘Protecting the Cold Chain’ to increase profits in the produce aisle.  Check out the video here:

The cold chain refers to the process of keeping the berries at 33 degrees from the cooling house to the supermarket.  Well-Pict’s growing partners pick, package and ship the 100% proprietary berries.  Within 4 hours, they are packed fresh in the field into ready to ship clamshells, according to the video.

They are then palletized and trucked to the nearby cold storage facility where they are immediately cooled to 33 degrees, the perfect temperature to ensure peak freshness for storing berries.  This is where the cold chain begins.

Well-Pict loads the berries into refrigerated trucks within hours for domestic deliveries.  Temperature probes are put into select packages in the field that record the data through the whole trip.  They are then checked in the retail shop. The goal is to maintain the 33-degree temp throughout the entire process.  For any 1-hour break in the chain, it means 1 day less in the store.

Retailers should immediately unload the shipment into the backroom cold room.  Ideally, berries should be kept in refrigerated cases for optimal freshness.  According to Well-Pict, the most profitable berries come from the cold chain.

Well-Pict

NEW KENSINGTON, PA – Yerecic Label has been honored with the Environmental Leadership Award at the 2014 Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute, Inc. (TLMI) Annual Meeting on Monday, October 13^th. Yerecic Label has long been a leader in sustainability, having diverted 99.4% of its waste away from landfills in order to become landfill free as far back as February 2013.

“Becoming landfill free was a big initiative for Yerecic Label in 2013,” said President Art Yerecic. “Consumers and buyers are becoming more conscious of environmental issues and are seeking products with sustainable business practices. It’s important for us to be able to assure our customers and end-users that we are dedicated to preserving the environment.”

“As a company, we are passionate about making our practices sustainable and eco-friendly,” agreed VP of Manufacturing Brian Hurst. “Since 2010, we have taken it upon ourselves to remove solid waste, eliminate chemical waste and reduce energy usage in order to create measurable environmental benefits.”

Hurst plays a big part in Yerecic's suitability initiatives as the leader of its Label Initiative for the Environment (L.I.F.E. ®) team, a TLMI program which the company has been a certified member of since 2010. He leads a cross functional group of 10 associates from all departments within the company. According to a press release, the L.I.F.E. Program assesses a company based on a variety of criteria which include clean production techniques, waste numbers and the organization’s commitment to the environment.

In addition to its landfill free initiative, Yerecic Label has also:

• 2011: Purchased 20% of its electricity from renewable sources.
• 2012: Changed from halogen lighting to T-5 high efficiency lighting, decreasing energy usage by 34% the first year, and an additional 10% in 2013, based on the square footage of the facility.
• 2013: Installed a new compactor which has diverted 2.5 million pounds, or 1,264 tons, of landfill from waste to energy. An evaluation of the BTU's generated showed this waste-to-energy program has produced enough heat since its inception to supply 290 houses for an entire year.

Yerecic Label makes it a point to help others take the same strides which have brought it so much success. An active participant on the TLMI Environmental Committee, it shares its knowledge and best practices with other TLMI members and the rest of the label industry. Yerecic Label has in fact assisted three label converters in their successful attempts to gain L.I.F.E.® certification through the L.I.F.E.® mentor program.

Congratulations on the well deserved Environmental Leadership Award, Yerecic Label!

Yerecic Label

WENATCHEE, WA – CMI has rolled out its new pouch bag line for Queen Bee Honeycrisp™ apples.

The program began early this fall as a test and was almost immediately expanded nationwide due to strong demand from retailers.

“The CMI Queen Bee Honeycrisp™ project was developed this summer,” said Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing for CMI.  “With a large crop we knew there would be a big opportunity to drive additional Honeycrisp sales.  At the same time, our national analysis of scan data results revealed that there was a big retail opportunity to increase dollars by creating options for supermarkets to devote more shelf space to Honeycrisp.”

Check out this promotional video from CMI that features the new packaging:

With only one PLU number, is can be difficult for retailers to add Honeycrisp SKU’s without the use of poly bags. Luckily, poly bags have historically been used to attract value-oriented shoppers, according to Lutz.

“Our research revealed that particularly with Honeycrisp, rather than focus on value there was an opportunity to entice consumers to actually increase transaction size by providing high quality pouch bag packages that better align with the Honeycrisp image,” Lutz added.

For this new package, CMI’s marketing team focused on solutions that would ultimately boost supermarket performance by offering new options to accommodate a variety of retail price tiers.  According to a press release, the team settled on three new high graphic color packages, a 2lb and a 3lb pouch for snack-sized fruit, and an industry-first with the two-count package for jumbo fruit.

In terms of dollars, Honeycrisp is the number 2 apple in the U.S. behind Gala. 

CMI

HOUSTON, TX – Sysco is facing more challenges in its proposed purchase of US Foods for $3.5 billion.  Reuters reports that the top two lawmakers on the Senate’s antitrust panel have urged regulators to scrutinize the plan.

Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee, the Chairwoman and ranking member of the Senate’s Antitrust Subcommittee, said in a letter obtained exclusively by Reuters that the deal being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission “raises important competition issues the commission should carefully review and closely scrutinize.”

The letter, sent to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, said that the lawmakers took no position on whether the FTC should try to block the deal. 

As we previously reported, executives from Sysco are in talks with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to try to save its merger with US Foods from a potential antitrust lawsuit.

The New York Post reports that the FTC is expected to decide by October 31 if it will block the deal between the number 1 and 2 food distributors in the country. If the FTC does indeed approve the deal, the two businesses would represent more than 25% of the $231 billion U.S. food-distribution industry.

Sources tell the Post that Deborah Feinstein, FTC’s Head of Competition, has told the FTC’s five commissioners that she is ready to sue to block the deal unless certain conditions are met.  Those conditions may simply force Sysco to divest assets in areas where there’s too much geographical overlap. A Barclays report states that a number of industry experts believe that Sysco would have to divest approximately 15 facilities, or $6 billion of its revenues.

According to Reuters, Sysco is currently trying to craft a package of potential asset sales with enough weight to convince U.S. antitrust regulators to approve the deal.

Sources with knowledge of the FTC’s viewpoint tell Reuters that the Commission remains concerned about the loss of the only national competitor to Sysco.  Currently, Sysco and US Foods are the only companies with a geographic reach large enough to offer nationwide contracts to deliver a range of goods to customers.

For now, we will have to wait and see what the FTC decides.  Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for the latest updates on this developing story.

Sysco

US Foods

ORLANDO, FL - Some investors are raising an eyebrow at the latest word out of Darden Restaurants revealing that interm CEO Gene Lee has received a $300,000/year raise, bringing his total compensation package to $1.114 million. While this level of compensation, in and of itself, is not unusual for a CEO of a company the size of Darden, and in fact is similar to the salary of former Darden CEO Clarence Otis, according to the Orlando Sentinel, its timing has raised questions.

As AndNowUKnow covered in a previous story, Darden has just recently seen its entire Board of Directors swept out of office by Starboard nominees. Starboard has made its criticisms of Darden the fixture of news headlines for weeks, criticising the company for everything from its sale of Red Lobster to the amount of salt it puts into its pasta water.

The question has been raised regarding whether now is the appropriate time to give Lee such a sizable raise, considering the myriad of pressing issues on Darden's plate. The company has just instated a new Board of Directors, is in the midst of a major effort to revitalize its Olive Garden chain, and is working to reassure investors of its ability to get back to its former levels of profitability in the industry. With so much still left to be done, the timing of this annoucement has struck some as inappropriate. 

While the question is a fair one, it is likely that Darden's Board found such a move necessary in order to be able to attract the best talent during its search for a new CEO. This search had already begun when Lee was appointed interm CEO, with Jeffrey Smith, the Starboard CEO and independent, non-executive Chairman of Darden's Board, telling USA Today at the time that the Board’s search committee will conduct “a full search for the next CEO of Darden.”

The success of Lee and whichever successor Smith and the Board find most suitable to replace him will best tell whether this move was a necessary expenditure or a costly mistake. In the meantime, the industry can only watch and hope that Darden Restaurants' new leadership is able to guide the company into a brighter, more profitable future.

Darden Restaurants

Starboard Value

IRWINDALE, CA – Ready Pac Foods, Inc. has named Phil Yamamoto as Ready Pac’s Vice President, Procurement.

“Phil has built his reputation on a unique ability to maximize profitability by streamlining operations and improving productivity,” said Peter Laport, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Ready Pac. “Phil’s leadership style will bring a fresh and collaborative perspective to Ready Pac and I’m eager to see him flourish within our team.”

In this role, Phil will be responsible for establishing a consistent, dependable, and cost-effective supply of materials and agricultural goods to provide the most efficient delivery of high quality products, according to a press release.  He will also help in the assessment and rebuilding of the company’s current supply chain footprint.

Prior to this position, Phil was a Global Director of Supply Chain Management for Reiter Affiliated Companies where he supervised sourcing, procurement, market analysis, national and international contracting, and cost savings for 3 regions, 10 districts and over 40 production operations.

Before Reiter, Phil spent over 20 years working in senior and executive management positions.  He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing and Management from Adams State College in Alamose, Colorado and his Master of Business Administration from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.

Congratulations on this new position, Phil!

Ready Pac

MISSION, TX – The Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) has announced Dr. David Katz as the keynote speaker for the upcoming Viva Fresh Conference and Expo on March 26-28, 2015 in Austin, Texas.

Dr. Katz is the founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center and the principal investor of the NuVal nutritional guidance system, which is currently in about 2,000 U.S. supermarkets in more than 30 states, according to a press release.

“The Viva Fresh Expo provides a platform to assist the produce industry in promoting the health benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables.  As a visionary leader in preventive medicine, who has authored and co-authored 15 books, Dr. Katz can provide important insights and information for the industry to raise the bar on education and the critical health benefits of fruits and vegetables,” said Bret Erickson, TIPA CEO.

Dr. Katz has a myriad of honors for his work.  He has been named one of America’s Top Physicians in Preventive Medicine three times by the Consumer’s Research Council of America, serves as a judge of best diets for the annual ranking published by U.S. News & World Report, named one of the 25 most influential people in the lives of children by Children’s Health Magazine and in 2012-14 has been named one of the 100 most influential people in health and fitness in the world by Greatist.com.

The keynote session is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 from 10:00 am – 11:30 am and will be the follow-up to the previous day’s educational sessions.

Viva Fresh Produce Association

TIPA

GLENDALE, WI – Maglio & Company has announced that Paul Schulz will be joining its executive team as the new Director of Sales and Marketing.

“Paul is a valuable addition to our company and will play a crucial role as the Director of Sales and Marketing,” said Sam Maglio, President of Maglio & Company. “As we continue to evolve the way we deliver value to customers, I’m confident Paul will be one of many keys to our success.”

“I am extremely happy to be part of a growing company,” Paul shared. “I’m looking forward to both sharing former experiences with the team and learning from them as we help customers define and execute on their fresh produce strategy.”

According to a press release, Paul has over 25 years of experience in the food industry as a top contributor in sales and marketing departments. He has a proven track record of establishing and managing strategic partnerships and has held several management positions with Sysco Corporation and Reinhart Foodservice.

Congratulations on this new position, Paul!

Maglio & Company

SANTA PAULA, CA – Limoneira Company has contracted Compac Sorting Equipment to manufacture its new pack line solution.

“After more than a year of research and visiting citrus and stone fruit houses in California, Argentina and Mexico, Compac's sorting solutions stood out as the best choice for Limoneira,” said Stewart Lockwood, Director of Packing, Lemon Operations at Limoneira.

According to a press release, Limoneira’s pack line will require cutting-edge engineering of multiple sorting systems to meet the stringent quality selection standards of fruit for both export and domestic markets.

“They offer the ideal combination of cutting-edge technology, superb manufacturing quality, excellent service and technical support and non-stop research and development. We carefully studied, tested and compared the optical graders and sorters of six different vendors and I truly believe that Compac's blemish-detection technology is at least a generation ahead of everyone else,” Lockwood added.

Compac’s line features advanced InVision software, which has set the benchmark for vision technology, according to a press release.

“InVision is built on a philosophy which balances ease of use with power and flexibility. It is this philosophy that has allowed our equipment to outperform all other solutions on the market,” says Ken Moynihan, Vision Systems Program Manager for Compac.

To achieve a high standard and efficiency, InVision uses digital cameras to scan produce.  The cameras take up to 30 images of every piece that passes along the line, and InVision then builds a complete 3D model, which assigns it to the correct packing destination.

This new pack line and its advanced technology should make the process faster and gentler for Limoneira’s produce.

Limoneira