Produce personnel training takes new twist with new Produce Corner website
The Produce Corner with Bob Corey, which spanned 23 years as a local news insert on TV stations throughout the country and for three years on the Food Network, is now available on YouTube.
Costco’s organic sales double, still growing
Costco Wholesale Corp.’s sales of organic produce have seen tremendous growth recently. In 2014, the company’s organics were approaching $3 billion in sales, which Richard Galanti, chief financial officer, said was more than twice what the company did two years earlier.
Southern Specialties names Sysco winner of its True Partner Award
Southern Specialties presented the company’s first “True Partner” award to Sysco produce at the Southeast Produce Council’s Annual Southern Exposure convention.
Southern Specialties created the award to recognize the customer that best supports the sustainable efforts of the company.
Retail View: Produce snack sales on the rise
The number and sales of produce items at retail that fit into the convenience or value-added category continue to grow, according to Galina Zelfond-Orlosky, category business manager for produce for Daymon Worldwide.
Zelfond-Orlosky is stationed in New England for Daymon, an international firm that specializes in representing branded product at the retail level.
“We are seeing significant growth in retail business for these items,” she told The Produce News.
Organics are fueling growth at Grimmway Farms
With more than 33,000 acres that are certified organic, carrot giant Grimmway Farms, based in Bakersfield, CA, is a significant player in the production of organic carrots and other fresh vegetables.
Bob Borda, vice president of marketing for the firm, said the firms Cal-Organic Farms division sells about 65 different vegetables under the Cal-Organics banner including all the leafy greens, cauliflower, leeks, broccoli, bok choy and, of course, carrots.
Juice carrots continue strong performance
Chris Smotherman, sales manager for Arvin, CA-based Kern Ridge Growers, said the juicing craze continues to take hold, which is a great boon for the carrot industry.
While you can juice just about any produce item, there aren’t too many sold in volume and at a price point that actually makes juicing economical. But carrots are such an item.
“Many retailers carry bulk carrots (in 25 or 50 pound sacks) just for that reason,” Smotherman said.
Gourmet Trading Co. announces interim president
Gourmet Trading Co. announced that Peter Lineen, current executive director of Gourmet International Holdings, has been named interim president of Gourmet Trading.
Lineen has vast experience in business advice and planning, and he is an experienced company director and board member, having been a CPA with his own firm for over 30 years.
$150 million investment in Hunts Point
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to invest $150 million to revitalize the Hunts Point Terminal Market in the Bronx, NY, over 12 years, "fortifying a vital aspect of our infrastructure: our food supply,” he said Thursday, March 5, at an Association for a Better New York event.
Lack of snow and rain worries Californians
Even as a fast-moving front created the very rare sight of sleet on Southern California beaches, the March snowpack measurements in the high Sierras revealed a water content that was as low as the driest years in California’s recorded history.
A very wet December throughout the state has kept season-wide (July 1-June 30) precipitation totals at near-normal levels.