Tops Friendly Markets buyout complete
Tops Friendly Markets announced the acquisition of Tops Holding II by a group of senior managers closed Dec. 1.
Sage Fruit apples featured on 'The Biggest Loser'
The Nov. 12 episode of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” included a segment dedicated to creating nutritious family meals using fresh fruits and vegetables. Apples from Sage Fruit were among the featured items as part of The Biggest Loser’s Farm Fresh partners.
Generation Next: From playing in bands to managing brands, Mamma Chia’s Anya Kaats is an industry superstar
She graduated high school a year early; worked for a casting company in New York City at age 16; lived in Paris; studied abroad in Amsterdam; toured the country as a musician; and packed her bags at the drop of a hat to move cross-country for her career.
To refer to Anya Kaats, a New York native and the 25-year-old brand manager of Mamma Chia, as ambitious could be the understatement of the year.
Associated Potato Growers’ volume up this season
It was a difficult growing season and a long Red River Valley potato harvest season.
“We have excellent quality,” said Paul Dolan, manager of Associated Potato Growers, Inc., located in Grand Forks, ND. “We struggled but the rains were definitely needed at harvest time” to soften the valley’s hard soil to help harvest the region’s potatoes without crop damage.
Peruvian onion and growing ‘baby’ Vidalia program leading the charge for Herndon Farms
A booming Peruvian onion deal and growing popularity of its niche “baby” Vidalia onions have made this a busy time of year for Herndon Farms LLC of Lyons, GA.
“We want to play to our strength and our strength is what we do in the field,” said Herndon Sales Manager John Williams. “We can be the eyes and ears for our customers on the ground and in the field as an importer from Peru. There’s no third party involved and we have the same people monitor the quality as we do with Vidalia.”
CPMA lobbies Parliament on food safety, other issues
In mid-November, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association held its third annual Fall Harvest, which saw members of its organization come to its nation's capital to talk about some key produce industry issues.
CPMA President Ron Lemaire said there were three main topics on the table: the Safe Food for Canadians Act; establishing a single produce license administrator; and creating some type of bankruptcy priority position for produce sellers similar to the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act Trust in the United States.
Grimaldi’s expands to Florida from its legendary Brooklyn roots
Grimaldi’s, Grimaldi’s, Grimaldi’s — around Tampa Bay, FL, that is all anyone hears about lately.
Grimaldi’s is a legendary Brooklyn, NY, pizzeria that over the last few years has expanded across the South and West, with operations based in Arizona and more than 30 locations in California, Texas, South Carolina and a half-dozen new stores in Florida - three of the most recent in Tampa Bay, thus leading to the talk on the streets.
Valliwide salesman takes extreme measures to help impoverished children
Tod Parkinson spent years as a salesman for Valliwide Organic. In 2010, he left the sales desk to return to the fields and farm land that he leased.
The shift from sales to farming also marked a shift from profits for the Reedley, CA-based sales company to building the first high school in the Huruma slum in Nairobi, Kenya.
What prompted the move was Parkinson’s involvement in a nonprofit and a small group study of Rick Warren’s best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life. The nonprofit, When I Grow Up, partners with local leaders.
Bob Carey, former PMA president, dies at 82
The Produce Marketing Association announced Dec. 2 in an email to its membership that its former president, Bob Carey, died Friday, Nov. 29, at the age of 82.
Strong season culminates for South African citrus
The 2013 South African citrus season has concluded after a strong season.
"It has been a very good season for our citrus," Suhanra Conradie, chief executive officer of the Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum, said in a press release. "In our 14th year, the volumes consistently have been [about] 40,000 tons each year. This season brought 39,462.98 tons to the U.S."