Due to Peter Persoon's unexpected passing, a vacancy has arisen on the board of the Beekenkamp Group. Beekenkamp Group is working to fill this vacancy as soon as possible. Erik Leeuwaarden is currently taking over the duties of Peter Persoon.

Erik Leeuwaarden is a member of the supervisory board of the Beekenkamp Group. Erik has been active as financial director of Royal FloraHolland for more than 20 years. Erik, together with An Beekenkamp, ​​Marc Driessen and Peter Zaat, will form the board of directors of the Beekenkamp Group in the coming period.

The New England Produce Council’s 22nd annual Produce, Floral & Foodservice Expo was held Aug. 24-25 at the Omni at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. Floral industry members in attendance showcased their products for a packed trade show floor. The show was a great opportunity to get facetime buyers in the New England area.

The floral industry is gearing up for the 2022 Fun N’ Sun convention, taking place Aug. 29-31 at the historic Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, CA. The convention is hosted by CalFlowers, a leading, national floral association with members across all industry segments in 47 states.

“This convention has been going on for a very long time,” said Steve Dionne, executive director of CalFlowers. “We have an every other year format, but we actually skipped last year because of COVID, so everyone is very excited to get together this year.”

Crunch Time Apple Growers, a cooperative of more than 150 growers throughout New York state who are united with one mission: to introduce new, flavorful apple varieties to the marketplace, is seeing continued success with its SnapDragon and RubyFrost varieties.

Food costs continue to rise — both eating at home and eating out — and many consumers are desperate to figure out ways to save during these less-than-optimal times. To offset these rising food costs, consumers are bargain hunting when grocery shopping, eating more meals at home and cutting back on restaurant visits, according to Information Resources Inc. and The NPD Group. The two recently merged to create a leading global technology, analytics and data provider.

Meijer announced that it's seeking submissions from local and diverse-owned businesses for its latest Supplier Diversity event focusing on general merchandise and apparel. Interested vendors must provide video submissions, describing their brand and products, by Sunday, Sept. 18 to be considered for the opportunity to pitch to Meijer merchants at a live virtual event this fall.