This year's California fresh fig season is earlier so retailers should start placing their orders now.

With a new hire handling its sustainability effort, including food safety and ethical certifications at the grower level, GLC Cerritos Inc. is poised for solid growth as it moves into its third season as the U.S. based sales firm for Grupo Aguacatero Los Cerritos.

Resulting from a chance mutation, Green Dianthus was discovered by plant breeders about 15 years ago, and a plant oddity that would normally have been discarded was recognized as the versatile gem it is.

UNCASVILLE, CT — Bozzuto’s Inc.’s Merchanding Marketplace 2024 saw more produce booths than ever before, according to Greg Veneziano, the company’s vice president of perishables.

“This is a record year of produce booths for us — well over 60 booths,” he said during the event, held Aug. 6-7 at Mohegan Sun, here. “This is a great venue. The customers love it, as do the vendors. The plan is to be back here in March.”

ALDI and Instacart will expand their partnership globally. The partnership includes the rollout of Instacart’s Connected Stores technologies across ALDI stores in the U.S., including In-Store mode and Carrot Tags, as well as Instacart’s fulfillment technology to power e-commerce orders. In addition, ALDI is testing Caper Carts in Austria. Caper Carts are Instacart’s AI-powered smart carts designed to ease the checkout process and personalize the shopping experience for customers.

The New England Produce Council will host its 24th Annual Produce, Floral & Food Service Expo Aug. 19-20 at Encore Boston Harbor, and it is once again much anticipated among produce players around the country.