Ocean Mist Farms adds new items for Chinese New Year
Just in time for Chinese New Year, Ocean Mist Farms is shipping two new vegetable items: shrink-wrapped bok choy and Napa cabbage.
Bok choy is often associated with Asian cooking, but the vegetable is finding mainstream consumer appeal. Chefs and home cooks use it as an ingredient in soups, stir-fries, appetizers and main dishes.
Chuck Perry hired by Traina Foods
Patterson, CA-based Traina Foods, a grower, processor and supplier of California and imported sun-dried fruit and tomatoes, announced the hiring of CHUCK PERRY as regional sales manager for the East Coast.
Warm winter could help stretch Florida Classic’s season into the summer months
Unseasonably warm winter temperatures — even by Sunshine State standards — could stretch the season for Florida Classic Growers of Dundee, FL, according to Al Finch, vice president of sales and marketing .
Melissa’s believes category will grow tremendously in future
Melissa’s World Variety Produce in Los Angeles is feeling a definite increase in organic sales as the economy takes its slow turn upward, Robert Schueller, director of public relations for the company, said.
“We have had considerable sales growth from the previous year, and we see a bright future in the year to come,” he said.
Rulemaking addresses diminishing water supply in valley
The Colorado State Engineer’s Office continues to work through the rulemaking process to regulate the use of water in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. District Engineer Craig Cotten said the State Engineer’s office is hoping rules will be finalized during 2013. The complex process, which began several years ago, has become all the more earnest as Colorado’s drought conditions continue to worsen.
Ruiz Sales running Super Bowl lime promotion at H.E.B.
Ruiz Sales, an Edinburg, TX-based importer and distributor of tropical items from Mexico, is running a special exculsive H.E.B. Super Bowl-themed promotion on limes at H.E.B. locations in Texas during the week leading up the the big game.
USA Pears gain access to China
For the first time, U.S.-grown pears have officially gained access to the Chinese market.
NatureSweet to acquire EuroFresh
NatureSweet Limited, a leading grower of premium fresh tomatoes in North America, announced the company intends to purchase substantially all of the assets of EuroFresh Farms, based in Willcox and Snowflake, AZ. NatureSweet, which markets under the "NatureSweet" brand, and EuroFresh Farms are two of the leading producers of high-quality tomatoes in North America. EuroFresh Farms is also a leading U.S. grower of greenhouse cucumbers.
Current potato season exciting and exceptional for RPE
Randy Shell, vice president of marketing and new business development for RPE, said the 2012 potato marketing season has been full of excitement. “We are anticipating an approximate 15- to 20-percent increase in volume over 2011,” he told The Produce News on Jan. 4. “It looks to be a very good year for product volume when compared to the last two years. Product quality is looking excellent with a good mix of sizes, including good supplies of large russet potatoes.
Skyline Potato considers irrigation alternatives in 2013
Center, CO — In the face of a continuing drought and the additional cost of metered wells for irrigation in the San Luis Valley, Skyline Potato Co. in Center, CO, is considering drip irrigation for some of its fields in 2013.
Skyline General Manager Randy Bache and his son, Rob, who works as part of the sales team in both conventional and organic potatoes as well as overseeing food-safety operations at Skyline’s Colorado facilities, drip is not only a physical possibility but could also be a money-saver in the end.