The Christmas season is a magical time for floral businesses, offering numerous opportunities to engage customers and boost sales. Rio Roses has six tips to enhance the customer experience and drive sales during the festive season.

1. Transform Visual Merchandising

Cucumbers grown by Agrotato, S.A. de C.V. in Sonora may be contaminated with Salmonella. Sixty-eight people from 19 states have infected with the outbreak strain, including 18 people who have been hospitalized.

As a result SunFed Produce LLC is recalling all sizes of whole fresh American cucumbers packaged in bulk cardboard containers labeled with the “SunFed” label or in a generic white box or black plastic crate with a sticker that provides the implicated grower’s name, “Agrotato, S.A. de C.V.” The recalled cucumbers were sold Oct. 12-Nov. 26.

On the heels of Thanksgiving, the unofficial sweetpotato eating holiday, the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission is reporting a smaller annual yield despite a slight increase in acreage after a challenging growing and harvest season. Estimates are that yields may be down 20-30 percent across the industry.

Founded in 1934 as a modest produce stand in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, Bushwick Potato Commission has grown into a major supplier of fresh potatoes and vegetables along the entire Eastern Seaboard.

Now in its fourth generation of family leadership, the company recently celebrated its 90-year legacy grounded in a commitment to quality, community support and sustainable practices.

Maurice Auerbach Inc., the leading distributor of garlic and specialty produce in the Northeast, procures its wide range of products from various corners of the globe. Based in Secaucus, NJ, the company, operating under its AuerPak brand, focuses on garlic, shallots and an array of other specialty offerings, which include tropical and Asian produce, along with organic garlic, asparagus, ginger and tofu.

The company’s key products will be featured at the upcoming New York Produce Show.

Ahhh… the most wonderful (and busiest) time of the year is here! Retailers everywhere are gearing up for the holiday frenzy, and the produce industry is no exception. In the mad dash before Thanksgiving, consumers snapped up a jaw-dropping 50 million pounds of sweet potatoes, according to the National Grocers Association.