The International Fresh Produce Association initiated its women’s mentoring program on Monday, April 17 at the Women’s Fresh Perspectives Conference in Orlando, FL. The purpose of this program is to create mentorship relationships among women in the fresh produce and floral industry.  

The Produce for Better Health Consumer Connection Conference recently took place at the Omni Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, AZ. The conference featured a series of presentations, panels and spark sessions exploring various topics, including the future of the foundation's impact on produce consumption, how to capture people's attention in a three-second world and how to inspire fruit and vegetable consumption by crafting culturally inclusive communications.

Westfalia Fruit kicked off its 2023 Gem avocado season, expecting a strong supply of fruit from mid-April through mid-July.

Gem is a gourmet avocado that Westfalia holds exclusive marketing rights in Africa, the European Union, and many other regions of the world. Gem is truly a unique avocado with gold-flecked skin and a creamy, buttery texture. It is a larger piece of fruit with a slightly nutty flavor.

Per Bank has been named the next president and CEO of Loblaws. He will formally join the company by Q1 2024. The appointment follows a global talent search initiated in August 2022 in anticipation of Robert Sawyer’s planned retirement as Loblaw’s chief operating officer at the end of 2023.

Oppy established a new dedicated collaboration with Food Forward, one of the nation’s largest independent urban produce reclamation and upcycling organizations. Food Forward successfully upcycles healthy fresh produce to food insecure communities, mitigating food waste through their partnerships with produce donors across the country as Southern California’s largest independent produce reclamation and urban gleaning organization.

Ecstatic was the word used by Eduardo Garcia Chamorro, creative marketing director of Freshcourt, to describe business during the first quarter of 2023.

“The world is changing now, and we are here for it,” he said. “A new study by Nielsen showed the top five items in deli are all avocado products, and we are excited to be part of this growth. All age groups are consuming more avocados.”