The new year brings with it a fresh era for Blue Banner Co., as its recent launch of Goody builds an inspired wave of service and supply for the citrus industry. The company is taking action to counteract issues facing the industry: reduced consumption of citrus, particularly grapefruit; increased pressure from imports, which are shrinking California’s window of sales; and the lack of retail promotional support to drive more sales of citrus. 

Imported grapes are arriving and are ready for promotion in weekly produce ads. New crop Peruvian grapes are showing outstanding color, sizing and are full of flavorful eating quality. The Chilean grapes will also be arriving regularly as well, opening the market for some great ad promotions.

CalFlowers announced the appointment of Gustavo Gilchrist, president of Kennicott Bros. Co., to its Board of Directors. Gilchrist joins the CalFlowers Board alongside Julie Ortiz and John Louie, whose appointments were announced previously.

Sunkist Growers is celebrating the upcoming Lunar New Year with the introduction of its Year of the Horse limited-edition packaging program, part of Sunkist’s annual Lunar New Year initiative, which evolves each year to reflect the zodiac animal and cultural traditions observed around the world. The global program is designed to help retailers bring seasonal relevance and cultural storytelling to the citrus category during the Lunar New Year period.

Simbe launched Tally 4.0, the most advanced generation of its shelf-scanning robot and the flagship data capture method of its Store Intelligence platform. Built on a decade of partnership with the world’s leading retailers and cutting edge technology organizations, Tally 4.0 introduces major advancements in runtime, vision, sensing and edge AI, turning every shelf into a real-time source of ground truth.

The California Avocado Commission recently conducted board of directors elections, which were confirmed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The board elected new executive officers including Board Chair Rachael Laenen, who has served on the CAC Board for since November 2020, with three of those years as an executive officer.