Fairway Group Holdings Corp. has named Jack Murphy, a seasoned retail executive with strong experience in specialty food retailing, as its chief executive officer. Murphy was a co-founder of natural foods grocer Fresh Fields Inc. before it was sold to Whole Foods Inc., and most recently he served as CEO of Earth Fare Inc., an organics and natural food chain with locations in the Southeast and Midwest.

C.H. Robinson recently announced the opening of a new office in Hamburg, Germany, as well as the promotion of two office managers.

Oliver Schmidt, who joined C.H. Robinson in April 2014, will now manage the new road transportation office in Hamburg, which focuses on new customer sales and executing road transport services. Schmidt has been working in the produce industry since 1994, developing a comprehensive background in road transport, air, ocean, project cargo, and supply chain consulting while working for large and mid-sized German logistics companies.

Cranberry Partners LLC, based in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, has allied with Naturipe Berry Growers Inc., headquartered in Salinas, CA, to offer a new fresh cranberry sauce kit.

Cranberry Partners takes title to, and markets, a “significant” volume of fresh organic cranberries, according to Bob Wilson, managing member.

Although technology continues to usher in new automation to the onion industry with rapid-fire regularity, some aspects of customer service are literally best left in the hands of the shippers, according to Grant Kitamura, general manager of Murakami Produce in Ontario, OR.

Export markets are increasingly important outlets for U.S.-grown potatoes in general and specifically for Idaho, according to Frank Muir, president of the Idaho Potato Commission.

The Asociación Agricola Local de Productores de Uva de Mesa, known commonly by the acronym AALPUM, announced that it will hold its second International Table Grape Symposium Feb. 5-6 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

The organization said it hopes to improve on the quality and impact of the first event, which was held in January 2013. The event will cover a variety of topics suggested by producers, researchers and technical advisers, including best practices for producing early crops. In all, 18 presentations are planned for the two-day event.