Fresh off the celebration of Melon Day on Aug. 10, the Westside Produce/Classic Fruit alliance is excited to announce the launch of the JA17 Allen Family Farms melon label, a special project they have been working on with the Allen family.

For the first time the Australian-bred Soluna apple variety will be available to U.S. consumers, bringing a new level of quality, taste and innovation to American shelves.

Mission Produce Inc. announced that Juan Wiesner, Mission’s president of Central and South America, will retire from the company effective Nov. 1, following 14 years of dedicated leadership. As part of the company’s strategic succession plan, Simón González, a 13-year Mission veteran, will be promoted to senior vice president, international farming, upon Wiesner’s retirement.

Syngenta Vegetable Seeds will officially launch its new Romaine campaign, For Every Season. Every Field, at the highly anticipated Future of Veg Field Day in Salinas on Aug. 12 and 13. The event will spotlight Syngenta’s comprehensive Romaine portfolio, developed to deliver reliability, flexibility and market-ready performance for growers facing increasing complexity in the field.

Dustin Duerr has joined Coborn's as the retailers new director of produce and floral merchandising. In this role, Duerr will lead the strategy, sourcing and execution of Coborn's produce and floral programs, ensuring quality, freshness and innovation.
 
Duerr brings over 20 years of grocery industry experience, most recently serving as director of produce and floral at Cub Foods. His background spans store operations and category leadership across produce, floral and center store, including 10 years as a store director at both Cub Foods and Rainbow Foods.

Although the company won’t occupy a booth at the upcoming New England Produce Council’s Produce, Floral & Food Service Expo, Kurt Zuhlke & Associates expects to get a lot out of attending and walking the show floor.