NEW YORK -- About 340 exhibitors helped attract close to 3,000 people to the second annual New York Produce Show & Conference, with both numbers representing dramatic increases from the inaugural event last year.

This year's event, held Nov. 7-9 at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan, had about 340 booths at the trade show, up from 220 last year, according to John McAleavey, executive director of the Eastern Produce Council, which co-sponsored the event.

After a successful introductory season, Caldwell, ID-based Crookham Co. is looking toward 2012 to expand Amaize, the best-eating sweet corn in the company’s 100-year history.

Touted as “the best corn you will ever eat,” Amaize is a new breed of white sweet corn that has taken 20 years to perfect. It delivers great flavor, pop and crunch that provide an excellent texture and eating quality. Consumers have responded enthusiastically. George Crookham, chief executive officer of the company, knew he had a winner when a farmer told him, “This is what sweet corn should taste like.”

Rainier Fruit Co., headquartered in Yakima, WA, is in an interesting position, Marketing Director Suzanne Wolter said Nov. 14 to The Produce News.

“Rainier has established a tremendous following for our cherries due to our reputation for quality and service throughout the U.S., Canada and some export markets,” she stated. “Even as our volume has grown, we’ve found ourselves in a demand-exceed situation daily each season.”

With its promotional campaigns in place and movement brisk for both apples and pears from the Northwest, Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers, a Wenatchee, WA, grower-shipper, is targeting a broad consumer base this season.

Dan Wohlford, national sales representative, said that Oneonta’s popular Pear the Taste and kid-friendly snaQ promotions are seeing good response from retail, and 2011’s smaller fruit-size profile is lending itself to both programs.

Good volume and excellent quality are traditional hallmarks of the Red Wing single-center onion from Sweet Clover Produce in Walla Walla, WA, and Bill (Sweet Willie) Brownfield said that this year’s crop lives up to the reputation.

Austin, TX-based Whole Foods Market Inc. is recording rising sales and booming profits as it continues to expand its global reach. The company opened five new stores last quarter, grew its footprint in the United Kingdom by opening its first store in Scotland Nov. 16, and has plans for future expansion in the United States and abroad.