The JUICI apple season is off to a strong start, with sales performance already showing almost double the gains over last year, according to CMI Orchards.

CMI Vice President of Business Strategy Loren Foss recommended retailers add JUICI to their assortment to capture incremental sales by delivering on quality, flavor and the excitement that comes with a limited-availability item.

When it comes to preparing floral businesses for Valentine’s Day, it’s all about the customer experience. Rio Roses provided five steps to prepare floral stores for a successful Valentine’s Day by focusing on customer experience, product selection and innovative marketing.

Asparagus is known as a springtime vegetable, but it is also available year-round and grows throughout the world with imports coming from Peru and Mexico. Once the seeds are planted, asparagus requires three years to be established before it reaches maturity. The plants can live up to 20 years while they continue to produce.

Though Chilean fruit imports, including its signature table grape crop, have seen declining volume to the U.S. market in recent years, New York-based William H. Kopke Jr. Inc. is maintaining a leading position it has earned for many decades.

Bosc pears are a favorite among pear lovers due to their crisp, sweet flavor as well as their versatility in recipes from salads to baking. Kicking off the new year, Pear Bureau Northwest highlighted the most popular Bosc pear recipes from 2023 in a social media campaign in January entitled, “Begin the Year with Bosc."

The recipes can all be found at usapears.org/top-bosc-recipes-of-2023 as part of USA Pear’s online collection of more than 400 recipes.

Bagged avocados continue to emerge as a preferred choice for shoppers during holiday gatherings. A recent Avocado Holiday Retail Recap report by the Hass Avocado Board noted a rise in sales of bagged avocados during the 2023 summer holidays.