Holtzinger Fruit, a Washington state fruit packer-shipper-marketer announced the hiring of Lawna Wyatt and Sandra Steineke, and the promotion of Scott Hanses to chief operating officer.

Village Farms' web site has undergone a change highlighting a fresh approach with the company's new logo and branding strategy. Recently, Village Farms launched its Taste the Name strategy for all its produce packaging, depicting flavor profiles graphically on product labels in large text.

"The Biggest Loser" brand will debut this fall in produce departments nationwide, thanks to a multi-year licensing agreement between Giraffe Interactive and NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group. The goal of the agreement is to create promotional programs that leverage the power of “The Biggest Loser” as a lifestyle brand to promote the increased sale of fresh produce.

Nelly Yunta, vice president of U.S. imports, customs brokerage and consulting for Customized Brokers, Crowley Maritime Corp.’s logistics group, told The Produce News in mid-January that the primary imported products the company was clearing were blueberries.

“We are in the middle of the season, and from what we’re seeing, we believe that there is a higher volume of imports this year,” said Ms. Yunta. “We’re definitely expecting a growth.”