Silbermann stresses making connection with consumers
HOUSTON -- "Are we listening to consumer trends?" The industry's answer to that question is critical to its future success, according to Brian Silbermann, president of the Produce Marketing Association, based in Newark, DE.
In his state-of-the-industry address delivered at the Oct. 13 breakfast general session during the PMA Fresh Summit International Convention, here, Mr. Silbermann emphasized the importance of focusing on basics, noting that "the first and perhaps most important basic rule is to listen to consumers."
Don Harris leaves Wild Oats
HOUSTON -- Don Harris, who has served as the top produce executive at Wild Oats for the past five years, did not survive as the melding of the chain into Whole Foods was completed.
"I am happy that everyone on my team found positions with Whole Foods or with the Smart & Final aspect of the deal," he told The Produce News during the recent Produce Marketing Association annual convention. "But at the end of the day, there just wasn't a spot for me." He confirmed Oct. 13 "that as of midnight last night, I am out of a job and looking for another one."
PFK breaks $1 million mark for Children's Miracle Network
HOUSTON -- Since 2002, the Produce for Kids retail-supplier fundraising partnership has raised $1,187,707 for Children's Miracle Network, benefiting and saving the lives of countless children, John Shuman, president of Reidsville, GA-based sweet onion handler Shuman Produce Inc. and founder of PFK, told the audience gathered here to celebrate the success of the program.
A year after crisis, spinach sales still slow to rebound
Most experts who track sales of a product after a food-safety scare, expected sales of fresh spinach to rebound within six months of last year's E. coli outbreak linked to fresh spinach.
But about a year later, sales are still down by 16-18 percent, and while there are signs that recovery continues, it is happening at a slow pace.
Sundia unveils ready-to-eat organic and low-calorie fruit cups
When Sundia Corp. debuted in 2005, industry heavyweights paid little attention. Two years later, the San Francisco Bay area company has one of the faster-growing produce brands in the United States, successfully challenging established names in produce departments across the country and Canada.
At the recent Produce Marketing Association show, Sundia unveiled "True Fruit Lite" and "True Fruit Organic," which are perfectly ripened fruit products in Sundia's proprietary "Grab n' Go" packaging that features a spork for on- the-go consumers.
Congressional committee finds trouble with AQI program
WASHINGTON -- A congressional hearing raised serious questions about the adequacy of border security from foreign pests and diseases, prompting one congressman to say that the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection program was "in shambles."
"Stopping foreign pests and prohibited agricultural products from entering the U.S. might not be as sexy as stopping terrorists, weapons or drugs, but it is certainly just as important," said Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, who called the Oct. 3 hearing.
Well-Pict offering new packaging and organic options
Well Pict Inc. in Watsonville, CA, has several new developments in both its organic and conventional lines, which it featured at this year's PMA Fresh Summit convention Oct. 12-15 in Houston.
In response to the changes and demands of today's marketplace, Well Pict said that it is continuing to expand packaging, product options and availability for its premium proprietary variety berries.
Are food-safety costs being shared?
At last year's Produce Marketing Association convention in San Diego, the spinach recall was top of mind and was the major topic of conversation throughout the convention -- both in organized seminar sessions and on the exposition floor.
CAC promotion reaches far and wide
The California Avocado Commission's fully integrated marketing campaign promoting fresh California avocados generated consumer awareness and demand this season with its "California Avocado Irresistible Challenge."
Using a combination of radio spot advertising, outdoor advertising, on-line banner ads, trade communications (foodservice and retail), public relations, point-of-sale support materials and a dedicated web site, the campaign generated millions of impressions, over 100,000 consumer entries and dozens of entries in the in-store display contest.
Peri & Sons launches Onions All Year program
Yerington, NV-based Peri & Sons Farms has expanded its Nevada operations into Firebaugh, CA, with a multi-million-dollar, first-phase packaging and storage facility to accommodate a new trademarked year-round onion program that has been dubbed Onions All Year.
The 12-month deal comes nearly 30 years after David Peri started his farm in Nevada in 1979 at age 21.