To-Jo’s ‘Bella Blended’ mushrooms a hit at PMA Foodservice Expo
Paul Frederic, senior vice president of sales and marketing for To-Jo Mushrooms Inc., headquartered in Avondale, PA, told The Produce News that the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference & Expo in Monterey, CA, on July 26-28 was “the best ever show from our prospective.”
Besides displaying its full line of fresh mushrooms and processed mushroom products, To-Jo featured its new “Bella Blended” meatballs.
Giorgio Fresh is an eager proponent of Mushroom Council’s Swap It or Top It
Bill Litvin, regional sales and national account manager for Giorgio Fresh, headquartered in Temple, PA, said the popular trend in the mushroom category, which is currently being promoted by the Mushroom Council, is the idea of Swapability.
“Consumers are encouraged to eat healthier by swapping out an ingredient in a standard meal with mushrooms, or using mushrooms as a topping,” said Litvin. “This can include topping a burger with a Portabella mushroom, chopping up mushrooms and combining them with meat to create a unique burger and many more ways.”
Auerbach is major supplier of whole and peeled garlic to the Northeast
Maurice A. Auerbach & Co. in Secaucus, NJ, is a major player in the whole fresh and whole-peeled garlic business across a broad section of the northwestern United States.
About a year-and-a-half ago, the company relocated from South Hackensack, NJ, to its new Secaucus facility with more than twice the space and eight times the cold storage capacity. The state-of-the-art facility has “full temperature control and cold chain throughout, including the docks and the packaging area,” said President Paul Auerbach.
Christopher Ranch controls its product from seed to distribution
“One of the things I think really sets us apart is we have control over the garlic all the way from seed through distribution,” said Patsy Ross, vice president of marketing for Christopher Ranch LLC in Gilroy, CA, in an interview with The Produce News July 22.
That distinction contrasts Christopher Ranch garlic particularly with imported product, according to Ross. “We know where the garlic has been and where it is going. I don’t think that can be said of imports.”
No surprises: This year’s garlic crop appears to be just what Garlic Co. expected
The Garlic Co. in Bakersfield, CA, held steady in its planted acreage of garlic for the 2013 harvest, and as of late July it appeared the harvest was going to be right on target with company expectations, according to John Layous, a partner in the company.
“We didn’t do any kind of an expansions or contraction of acres,” he said July 24. “We just grew our normal amount, and so far, the crop looks just exactly that — what we expected to get.”
Main Street Produce expects to ship Santa Maria strawberries through December
Main Street Produce Inc. in Santa Maria, CA, is in the fortunate position of being able to produce a strawberry crop from the same plantings over a very long season. “We are still picking on the plants that we planted back in October” and expect to continue harvesting from those same fields — always weather permitting — through December. The harvest from those fields started in March, giving the company 10 months of continuous production from the plants, according to President Paul Allen.
Service key to success at Bernardi & Associates
In late July, Joe Bernardi, president of Bernardi & Associates, was doing what he does every day: finding tomatoes for his many customers around the country.
Sunkist's Mark Tompkins retires, Brian Slagel new director of North American sales
Mark Tompkins, director of North American sales, is retiring from Sunkist. He began his career with Sunkist Growers 50 years ago in Calgary.
“We will miss the wisdom, steady leadership, dependability and humility that Mark Tompkins has brought to Sunkist,” Kevin Fiori, vice president of sales and marketing, said in a press release. “Mark’s contributions are many and very much appreciated by Sunkist. His legacy will live on in the people he mentored who sell Sunkist’s citrus every day. We wish him and his family all the best in retirement.”
Sweet Clover Produce ramps up on sweets, reds, whites and yellows
Heading into summer with good volume and quality on all varieties, Sweet Clover Produce in Walla Walla, WA, is now shipping its famed Walla Walla sweets as well as organic yellows and reds and conventional reds, whites and yellows.
Sales Manager Bill (Sweet Willie) Brownfield said earlier in the season that healthy stands and good irrigation were harbingers of a strong season.
Growth in new grape varieties, switch to all gusseted bags are big changes at Hronis
There are two major changes at Hronis Inc. in Delano, CA, for the 2013 grape season, according to Pete Hronis, vice president of sales and marketing.
One is a major increase to new varieties, which is “quite an amazing change,” he told The Produce News. “Number two, we are now 100 percent in what they call the handle bag or stand-up gusseted bag,” which makes it “easier for the consumers to pick up the grapes and continue on their way.” That has been “the other big change for us here at Hronis.”