Ahold USA announced Nov. 26 that David Lessard has been promoted to vice president of produce and floral, effective immediately.

L&M Transportation Services Inc., a Raleigh, NC-based third-party logistics company, will establish a new Northwest transportation office, located in Othello, WA.  

The new office will be managed by Dave Long, who has over 35 years of experience in the potato and onion industry. The Othello WA office will be set up to handle produce and dry freight truckloads for the Pacific Northwest.  

Wada Farms Marketing Group LLC in Idaho Falls, ID, has recently introduced a new premium retail onion pack which it calls the Medallions Sleeve Pack, according to Chris Wada, director of marketing.

The unique pack is the first retail onion package of the particular style in the market, and currently the onion packer who co-packs the product for Wada Farms is "the only [packer] in the country currently able to even run this style," Mr. Wada said.

Jake Jacobsen, vice president of sales for Eagle Eye Produce Inc. in Nogales, AZ, said the company has staked its reputation on providing superior fresh produce grown and handled under the highest food-safety standards. "We would just like to really point out that we have generations of growing experience behind us, and that we love to farm and ship fresh, premium produce," he told The Produce News on Nov. 28.

With the regular introduction of new varieties in the fruit business a key element of success, growers are always on the lookout for what may be around the varietal corner.

The nursery industry has traditionally provided that service and continues to serve growers well, but a new product company called Proprietary Variety Management promises to add an innovative direction to that activity.

The Oppenheimer Group is delivering grapes grown with a little extra heart through the holidays, thanks to Brazil's largest Rainforest Alliance-certified grape producer.

Fazendas Labrunier grows Red Globes, Festivals, Thompsons and more in Brazil's São Francisco Valley. While Labrunier has marketed through Oppenheimer since 2008, this season brings a much-anticipated fully Rainforest Alliance-certified crop.