Market Minute: Essential Easter produce items
It’s never too early to start preparing for the holidays. To stay ahead of your competitors, meet with suppliers now and set plans for the top vegetable items that shoppers expect to purchase for their Easter dinner. Early coordination ensures you can meet demand and put your best foot forward.Shoppers consistently look for asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, celery and sweet potatoes as basic vegetables when planning their Easter meals. Meeting with suppliers early gives you the best chance to secure adequate quantities to create fully stocked produce displays.
Pazazz keeps apple category momentum strong
Honeybear Brands is bringing fresh energy to spring sets with its exclusive Pazazz apple variety as retailers seek a great-tasting, quality apple that satisfies discriminating consumers. With the Honeycrisp market tightening, shoppers will enjoy the bold, juicy flavor of Pazazz at an affordable price.
Lon Kreger named Stimera's new CEO
Stimera, formerly known as BioAge, has appointed Lon E. Kreger as CEO. The leadership transition marks an important step in the company’s evolution as it moves from product validation and early market traction toward broader commercial scale.
Ramsan Foods looks forward to strong avocado season ahead
Ramsan Foods is a 100 percent Mexican-owned company that focuses on avocados as spring approaches. “As Roots by Ramsan Inc., we are very excited to begin the new season starting this spring,” said Alejandro Ramos Sanchez, CEO of the company. “We are getting to know new people as well as new clients. We are also presenting our new avocado product which is the 100 percent avocado pulp.”
Register for Sustainabloom’s upcoming webinar: How sustainability shows up in everyday floral operations
Sustainability is often discussed in broad terms, but what does it actually look like in the day-to-day operations of floral businesses?
Industry Viewpoint: Nutrition needs infrastructure, not just messaging
With fruit and vegetable consumption remaining below recommendations, awareness is not the problem — execution is. As March marks National Nutrition Month in the United States, and buzz around federal nutrition guidance remains in the headlines, the produce industry has a real opportunity.
Heritage Grocers Group names new CEO
Heritage Grocers Group named David Hinojosa as its new CEO, following a comprehensive search. Hinojosa will lead Heritage into its next phase of growth, with a continued focus on operational excellence, fresh food leadership and strengthening the company’s deep connection to the communities it serves. Under Hinojosa’s leadership, Heritage plans to accelerate strategic growth across its banners while continuing to invest in fresh foods, operational excellence and community-driven retail experiences.
USDA-funded IFPA initiative incentivizes regenerative farming
With the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s focus on regenerative agriculture, the International Fresh Produce Association was awarded federal funding as part of USDA’s Advancing Markets for Producers grant program, marking a successful navigation of administration priorities from a climate smart emphasis to market competitiveness.
Henry meeting elite retailers’ needs for increased California volume
After spending last year celebrating its centennial, Henry Avocado is in the familiar position of looking forward this year. Chris Varvel said the company will meet the increasing demand for California avocados in 2026, just as it did last year.Although the crop in 2025 was smaller than the prior year, Henry saw a 38 percent increase in packing volume. Based on customer feedback, Varvel says Henry is the preferred supplier to elite retail and foodservice buyers because of the consistency found in the Bravocado brand.
Trendspotting: Generational shifts define how produce aisle is shopped
Let’s be honest for a second, not all data is created equal. Every year there are dozens of reports, surveys, polls and papers that are intended to help shape the way the produce industry conducts business.