Progressive Produce recently announced several measures to help the company meet its expanding growth, including a new label and new additional staff.

Scott Leimkuhler, senior vice president of sales, explained, “With our new cold storage facility in La Mirada that opened last year, plus the new faces we’ve added to the asparagus and citrus team, we’re excited and confident in our growth with our partners.”

Diversification and expansion shape the focus of Farm Direct Supply in Fort Lauderdale, FL, as the company looks to increase the viability of the Peruvian source.

“The demand for our value-added and commodity programs has been excellent this year, in spite of the inherent challenges COVID-19 has presented,” said Chris Horrell, FDS general manager. “It has challenged us to build deeper, more meaningful supply chain partnerships that will be the cornerstone of our future.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has filed an administrative complaint against Fresh Produce Inc. for alleged violations of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The company, operating from Texas, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to 15 produce sellers in the amount of $374,069 from May 2018 through August 2019.

Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc. has officially launched its first e-commerce website with same-day delivery in the Dallas market. Additionally, to celebrate the launch and help local consumers make lemonade out of this lemon of a year, for a limited time, Fresh Del Monte  will be adding a free order of lemons, a delicious and good source of vitamin C, and a lemonade recipe to each order placed through its website through the end of October, one per customer while supplies last.

Save Mart launched an on-demand grocery delivery service to its guests at the flagship store in Modesto, CA, in partnership with leading robot delivery company Starship Technologies. Marking the one-year anniversary of its opening in October, Save Mart’s flagship store serves as an innovation lab and is the first grocery store in the U.S. to partner with Starship Technologies. Based in San Francisco and a leader in the field, Starship Technologies recently passed the 500,000 autonomous deliveries milestone.

Growers Express LLC announced that Kirk Wagner is promoted to chief operating officer.   

Wagner serves as a member of the executive team, reporting to the board of directors, and working closely with President Tom Byrne and CEO Mark Dendle to set company performance goals, develop and implement strategies, procedures, and business plans.  Wagner continues to serve as the company’s general counsel, a position he has held since joining the company in 2011.