Laudan Chaffin has joined Berry Fresh as its marketing director. With 10 years of marketing and sales experience in the produce industry, Chaffin will play a pivotal role in strengthening and elevating the Berry Fresh brand.

Building on Berry Fresh’s investment in unique genetics, high-quality growing and increased supply, she will help lead Berry Fresh’s marketing efforts to new levels of excellence and bring fresh perspectives to existing initiatives.

Each new season in the Treasure Valley  brings its own rush of excitement as the onion industry readies for harvest to begin. That excitement is very often spiked with a jolt of adrenaline as crews work to get the onions in the barn and Mother Nature throws in a shenanigan or two.

And then, with storage onions in, the pace picks up even more. Loads increase, and coordination is tight among sales teams, shed crews and  transportation coordinators.

Apeel Sciences announced the launch of RipeTrack, a suite of measurement tools and monitoring software that provides suppliers, distributors and grocery retailers unprecedented insight into produce ripeness through a fully digitized, user-friendly platform. RipeTrack benefits all nodes of the produce supply chain and ultimately results in measurably higher quality produce for consumers.

Masser Family of Cos. promoted Lela Reichart to the newly created position of executive vice president of marketing from her previous position as vice president of strategic development.

As inflation continues to rear its ugly head consumers have had to make tough decisions in the supermarket, particular the fresh sections, which are traditionally pricier than center store. In the produce aisle dollar sales continue to grow, yet volume has been predictably down as shoppers try to get the best bang for their buck.

Nash Produce has been concentrating on sweet potatoes since 2006 and has become a leading supplier out of its farm in Nashville, NC.

Thomas Joyner, president of Nash Produce, noted that the combination of rich North Carolina soil and a great climate for the local family farms provide the perfect environment for growing the world’s best sweet potatoes.