California Giant Berry Farms and Stemilt Growers host food blogger event
California Giant Berry Farms and Stemilt Growers teamed up in Seattle to host a fresh fruit-inspired cocktail party exclusively for food bloggers. Tom Douglas, a star chef, Seattle restaurateur and two-time James Beard Award winner, and Jody Hall, owner of the popular Cupcake Royale in Seattle, inspired the crowd of 125 food bloggers during the event.
Joe Ange promoted at Markon
Salinas, CA-based Markon announced the promotion of JOE ANGE to purchasing director.
Continental Fresh founder thrives by bringing water to others
When Continental Fresh’s managing member, Albert Perez, was in high school, a trip to the Dominican Republic altered the direction of his life, but most importantly, it has improved the lives of thousands of people in that Caribbean country.
“While I was in college I started a foundation to help the people in the Dominican Republic,” he said. “Every year for the past 30 years, we have gone down there and built a project — typically an aqueduct or a school.”
National Mango Board continues effort to promote the mango
Throughout the fall, as the source of supply for mangos is centered in South America, the National Mango Board will continue to push consumption through promotion and public relations.
All year long, the board creates customized promotion with retailers and also continues its effort to garner publicity for the tropical fruit. Megan McKenna, NMB’s director of marketing, said media outreach is a continual process as is the work its does with social media. Its entire marketing campaign goes by the Mangover moniker with several splinter efforts.
Fresh mushroom value, per capita consumption continues to rise
Laura Phelps, president of the American Mushroom Institute in Washington, DC, said that for the third consecutive year, mushroom sales have exceeded $1 billion in value, with sales totaling 896 million pounds, according to the annual U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service mushroom survey. Pennsylvania accounted for 62 percent of the total volume of sales and second-ranked California contributed 13 percent.
Stemilt and Lantao the first to bring Starkrimson pears from the U.S. to China
Stemilt Growers of Wenatchee, WA, and Lantao of Shanghai, China, have teamed up to be the first marketers of Washington-grown Starkrimson pears in China under the new protocol between the United States and China announced earlier this year.
Just like its name implies, Starkrimson pears have a crimson red color that brightens as its ripens. It has a juicy texture and sweet flavor with a floral essence.
Nutrition education remains at fore of CPAC’s consumer marketing efforts
Continuing in its direct-to-consumer marketing campaign, the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee will again dovetail with the U.S. Potato Board’s promotional efforts.
Linda Weyers, assistant director of CPAC, said, “Our goal is to educate consumers on the fact potatoes are very nutritious and also non-fattening, and we will be coordinating our message with the USPB’s ‘Hungry Girl’ campaign starting this fall.”
70th annual Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association convention
Attendance and sponsorships soared by more than 20 percent over recent years at the 70th annual Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association convention, Sept. 22-25 at the Amelia Island (FL) Ritz-Carlton. State and industry leaders gathered to discuss topics like labor, pending healthcare reform, new varieties coming from the University of Florida research pipeline and the overall state of the industry.
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Bayer partners with Florida Specialty Crop Foundation to fight citrus greening
AMELIA ISLAND, FL — With the Florida citrus market decimated by HLB, also known as citrus greening disease, to the tune of more than $4.5 billion in crops and some 8,300 jobs lost, a new private-public partnership announced at the 70th annual Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association convention at the Ritz-Carlton resort, here, will provide a significant boost for research.
Big Idaho Potato Truck continues to roll as IPC continues consumer outreach
When the Idaho Potato Commission first unveiled its plans for a Big Idaho Potato Truck that would tour across the country, the industry could have scarcely imagined how successful the truck and its crew would be at garnering media attention as well as attracting crowds wherever it went.