Art in Bloom: Fine art meets supermarket floral in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS — Fresh flowers and timeless art came together, here, at the 31st annual Art in Bloom event held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts May 1-4. Presented by Friends of the Institute, over 150 floral arrangements, created by professionals and amateurs to interpret and complement pieces of visual art from the MIA’s permanent collection, were on display to more than 35,000 visitors (the highest attendance to date) — all longing for a breath of spring.
Retail View: Supermarkets must adapt to survive
Recently, publicly traded Safeway Stores put itself up for sale and found a suitor. Many looked at the sale and opined that the mega-supermarket format has passed it prime, with the firm being worth more to investors if it is sold and broken into pieces than if it continues to operate as one of the nation’s largest supermarket chains.
IFE 2014 to open in New Orleans
John Moore, branding expert and former Starbucks marketing manager and Whole Foods director of marketing, will be the keynote speaker at the International Floriculture Expo on June 12, according to a news release from the show organizers, Diversified Communications. Moore’s presentation, “Espresso Shots of Business Wisdom,” will provide industry insights that all floral professionals can apply to their floral businesses.
Summertime — when the living is easy?
Congratulations — you did it. The spring holidays have passed and you are still alive. The reports coming in from around the country show that April and May were strong floral sales months, and hopefully that will reverse the flat sales trend from the first quarter of 2014.
So now that we are into June, what happens next?
WGA board meets in Washington, discusses immigration reform
The Western Growers Association board of directors, who descended upon Washington, DC, for the association's board meeting the third week of May, left town believing there still remains a window of opportunity for action on immigration reform this year.
A.J. Trucco launching several new and expanded programs
“There are many new things going on at Trucco,” said Nick Pacia, vice president of A.J. Trucco Inc., located on the Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx, NY.
“One is our new domestic blueberry program. We are excited to announce that this summer we are launching this program for the first time,” he continued. “We currently have a strong Chilean blueberry program, and we are now happy to offer our customers an additional supply of blueberries during June. Our plans also include an expansion of our domestic program so that we can continue to lengthen our blueberry season.”
Next generation at the Baldor Specialty Foods’ helm, TJ Murphy holding tight to the high bar set by the company
At age 28, TJ Murphy, chief executive officer for Baldor Specialty Foods Inc., in the Bronx, NY, already has a vision of what the future landscape of the food industry will look like decades down the road.
Murphy is the son of Kevin Murphy, founder of the company, who died last year at age 58 from cancer. But TJ has worked for the company since 2002, given a couple of gaps to study at school.
California cherry market remains hot as season winds down
Lack of volume has created a demand-exceeds-supply situation for California cherries, which is expected to remain the case until shippers from the Golden State finish up their crop around June 10 and Washington shippers enter the deal.
School nutrition dominates Capitol Hill action on USDA budget
WASHINGTON — First Lady Michelle Obama blasted lawmakers May 27 for "playing politics with kids' health" after some members of Congress voted to roll back the school nutrition guidelines.
A House subcommittee approved its U.S. Department of Agriculture spending bill that would allow schools that demonstrate economic hardship to apply for waivers from the new standards during the 2014-15 school year.
Lime market getting back to normal
Most everyone seems to agrees that the winter-spring lime market that reached dizzying heights was quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime event that won't soon reappear.
Punctuating that fact is the current lime market, which has the smallest fruit — 230s to 250s — selling for $8-12 per carton, which is just a small fraction of the price they bought during the height of the shortage.
There is still a shortage of the largest fruit — 175 per carton and larger — but that market is still in the more normal $20-40 range.