a p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e f r e s h p r ... - fpfc.org · pdf filecertification notes...
TRANSCRIPT
APRIL / MAY 2014
VOLUME 42 NUMBER 2
A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E F R E S H P R O D U C E & F L O R A L C O U N C I LA P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E F R E S H
Day at the Races
Here’s to the next
1,000,000,000 lbs.Seems like yesterday we eclipsed the 1 billion pounds threshold for
Hass Avocados consumed, and now we’ve got 2 billion pounds in
our sights. To keep the momentum going, the Hass Avocado Board
is introducing the Love One Today™ program to help promote
our nutritional research initiatives and make avocados even more
compelling to consumers.
Visit HassAvocadoBoard.com to learn more about the Love One Today
program and for the latest retail data, consumer insights, category
reports, and more.
© 2014 Hass Avocado Board. All rights reserved.
Editor’s Viewby Tim Linden
Executive Notes by Carissa Mace
Council NewsFPFC Highlights
Trade NewsIndustry Highlights
Volume 42, Number 2 APRIL / MAY 2014
FRESH DIGEST (ISSN-1522-0982) is published bimonthly for $15 of FPFC membership dues; $25 for annual subscription for non-members by Fresh Produce & Floral Council; 16700 Valley View Ave. Suite 130; La Mirada, CA 90638. Periodicals postage paid at Buena Park, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FRESH DIGEST, 16700 Valley View Ave. Suite 130; La Mirada, CA 90638.
APRIL / MAY 2014 3
4
6
8
37
Editor’s View
ON THE COVER: Photo provided by User Friendly, Ink.
9
12
14
16
18
20
29
30
31
36
FPFC Market Report Expanded to Meet Needs of Industry Focus on the Council
Changes Inevitable with Safeway/Albertsons Merger Focus on Retail
‘Gator Eggs’ Could Be Just the Ticket for Small Avocados Focus on Marketing
Certification Notes North Shore’s Commitment to the Environment Focus on Sustainability
Smaller California Crop But Supplies Should Be Plentiful Focus on Avocados
FPFC Family Day at the Races Event Photos and Thank Yous
Giumarra Touts “Easy As Pie” Plum Promotion Focus on Plum Marketing
Frieda’s Wants to Change the Way America Eats Focus on Specialties
February NoCal Luncheon Event Photos and Thank Yous
Henry Avocado’s California Harvest to Peak at Ideal Time Focus on Avocados
4 FRESH DIGEST
About a year ago, I received a T-shir t from a friend who works for or-ganicgirl, the Salinas, CA, based company that specializes in organic packaged greens such as spring mix, arugula, romaine hear ts and kale….yeah kale.
In fact on the front side of the shirt it says “kale yeah!”. On the back side is an organicgirl label with the firm’s catch phrase “good clean greens”. Yes, everything is in lower case, including the official name of the company. Apparently, their marketing gurus are devotees of the famous poet ee cum-mings, who actually capitalized his own name most of the time…but that’s another story.
The organicgirl T-Shirt fits me perfectly and is in my normal rotation. As a work-at-home guy, my T-shirts get a workout. And also as someone who doesn’t have anyone in the office to hang around the water cooler with, I go to the store quite often if only to get out of the house. Because I am at the grocery store a lot and I wear my “kale yeah!” T-shirt a lot, it stands to reason that quite often I am wearing that T-shirt when shopping. Mind you I don’t try to wear that T-shirt when I go to the store and most of the time I am not even aware of what T-Shirt I have on when I head to the store. I just don’t look at my own chest very often during the day.
Every time – every single time – my kale shirt elicits a comment from a shopper or two…and usu-ally from the checker. Yesterday, I was in a Safeway in my town of Orinda walking down the Snapple aisle (my wife is addicted to the diet peach flavor). A mother and her teen-aged daughter were com-ing up the aisle. Mom pointed at me and yelled “I have a bag of kale in my cart.” The daughter looked mortified that Mom would actually talk to a stranger. I suspect it wasn’t the “stranger danger” concept that had been drilled into her since she was a kid, but typical teenage angst that whatever Mom does E
DIT
OR
'S V
IEW
By Tim Linden
is embarrassing. Every time this happens, I am caught off guard
though I shouldn’t be. When strangers start talking to me about kale, it is momentarily disconcerting. My first thought is always “How do they know I write about produce? Am I wearing it on my fore-head?” No I am wearing it on my chest.
This time, I had just come from the produce department and I did have a “Safeway farms (also lower case) Cafe Bowl Baby Kale Salad” in my cart within easy reach. “I have my kale also,” I said. “It’s great for you.”
The daughter looked a bit relieved that her mother’s foray into social interaction wasn’t met with complete silence.
Another time, I had a guy stop me in an aisle and start asking me about kale. He told me he was a runner and that he is a devotee of homemade juices. He asked me if kale would be good to use. I told him it had a great nutrition profile, and I love to eat it in both salads and sautéed, but that I was not a juicer and I can’t vouch for how it would taste as part of a juice mix. A checker asked me how to cook it after seeing my shirt and the bag of kale in my order. Yes when I am wearing this shirt, I typically buy kale. I feel obligated to. In fact, it just might be why my friend gave me the shirt in the first place.
Most of the time, people just say they like the shirt, but these other interactions are not rare. People just assume I am in the kale business and I guess they are right.
Over the years, I have worn many T-shirts and caps received from growers and shippers and others in our industry. Occasionally something I am wearing is commented on but not too often. In fact, I believe that if you add together all the times my produce clothing has been commented on, my “kale yeah!” T-shirt represents about 50 percent of the total.
There is just something about kale that has caught the public’s interest. It is the vegetable industry’s answer to quinoa. Put quinoa and kale together – as some industry firms have done – and you have overdosed on trendiness.
kale yeah!
Tim Linden
There’s Something About Kale
6 FRESH DIGEST
First off, the FPFC does its best to be as mem-ber/customer friendly as possible. We are not very bureaucratic here. Staff and the volunteer board do their best to make any experience with the FPFC as easy and painless as possible. However, we are still a business and the funds we deal with consist of member dollars so when it comes to finances, we are very strict in our controls and make things as transparent as possible. We have to answer to auditors who make sure we are dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s (I’m just on a roll with metaphors today!)
Sometimes the controls and policies we have in place can butt up against what is easiest and most convenient for a member so Amy, Brett and I thought it would be good if I took a moment to address the two most common occurrences of policy confusion.
#1 – Event Cancellation PolicyThis one happens A LOT. You’ll note on ALL
event invitations there is a cancellation deadline. Basically, cancel by that date and no issues whatso-ever. We cancel your reservation, you get a credit or refund on your invoice and we all go our merry way. The problem occurs when you call or email the office and say something like “So and so couldn’t make it that day so we need to adjust our invoice.” That is a really big problem. Basically, staff literally CANNOT do that. We don’t have the power. In a policy adopted by the board of directors, any requests to make adjustments AFTER a cancellation deadline must be submitted in writing to the board of directors for review.
There is a method to this madness. You see, these cancellation deadlines are in place for a reason. The FPFC has to guarantee and PAY for attendees at our events based on our reservation count. So if you make a reservation, we pay for you. If you want to cancel AFTER the event deadline, that means we have wasted money by paying for
It was one of those months when I was racking my brain thinking of something to write.
Last month I wrote about the Ap-prentice Program ap-plication process, so I thought I’d first give you a brief update on that. We did indeed receive applications for the program. And yes, many of them came in right at the deadline time. In fact, we received many more applications than we anticipated. As of this writ-ing, the Apprentice Program committee is in the review process, working on determining the slate of participants for our inaugural year. We’ll be able to announce who they are when the next issue of this magazine comes along in a couple of months.
Okay. So I’ve done that update. Now what?....
I asked Amy and Brett in the FPFC office if there is anything they wanted to make sure you knew about. Basically I’m grasping at straws and passing the buck, to mix metaphors.
Just a reminder who Amy and Brett are – Amy Wun has been with the FPFC since 2008 and serves as Manager, Member Programs. She basically is in charge of event logistics. She moved to this position in November, when we hired Brett Roberts from the Produce Marketing Association. Brett is Manager, Member Services, and basically he is handling all member fulfillment needs including accounts receivables and payables.
Amy and Brett thought it would be a good idea to explain a few policies that we have here at the FPFC. You see, they are the ones on the front lines (to use another metaphor) and when a member is unhappy or unclear on a policy, they are the ones who hear about it first.
Carissa Mace
EX
EC
UT
IVE N
OT
ES
By Carissa Mace
Method to the Madness
Foxy.com | The Nunes Company, Inc. | PO Box 673, Salinas, CA 93902
Think inside the bun.
©2014 The Nunes Company, Inc.
At Foxy we are dedicated to delivering you the freshest, highest quality organics – everyday. From field to fork
and four generations of family farming later, we are committed to offering your customers premium quality,
organically grown vegetables from a brand you can trust. Foxy Organics – to the health of your business,
the health of the planet and the health of your customers.
Call (831) 751-7500 to order today. Ask for Jesse, Kevin or Brendan.
8 FRESH DIGEST
CO
UN
CIL
NEW
S Schedule of Events2014 Northern California
Fresh Produce & Floral Expo
Tuesday, April 8, 201412:00 pm - 4:30 pmExhibitor Move-in and Set-up All deliveries must be made during this time. The loading dock closes at 4:30 pm 4:30 pm - 9:00 pmExhibitors will be allowed to stay in the exhibit hall to set up their booths dur-ing this time. Fairgrounds staff will be on duty to assist. 5:00 pm - 7:00 pmNEW Pre-Expo Cocktail ReceptionExpo attendees and exhibitors are in-vited to Players Restaurant at the Hilton Pleasanton at The Club for cocktails and appetizers.
Wednesday, April 9, 20146:30 am - 10:00 amExhibitor Set-up and Registration 9:00 am - 12:30 pmGeneral Registration 9:00 am - 10:00 amContinental Breakfast 10:00 am - 3:30 pmExpo Floor Open 12:00 pm - 2:00 pmBox Lunches Available 3:30 pmExpo Floor Closes 3:30 pm - 6:00 pmExhibitor Move Out All exhibits must be loaded out by 6:00 pm
your meal, for example, with no way to recoup the cost. That hurts the bottom line of the FPFC, and remember, the money we receive gets plugged back into member services. As I’ve written about before, member dollars go to fund things like the FPFC Market Report™, the Apprentice Program, funding of school salad bars, etc.
Another method to the madness is that by having it be a board-approved decision, it keeps it fair. Staff doesn’t have the power to “play favorites” or arbitrarily enforce or not enforce the policy. The decision is in the hands of your elected peers.
So the next time Brett has to inform you that he’s sorry, it is past the cancellation deadline so we cannot honor a refund at this time, please understand why this is the case and be nice to him. He’s just doing his job.
#2 – DeadlinesThis is similar to the cancellation policy issue
but a little different. When you exhibit in our shows or attend our events very often we ask you for in-formation by a certain date. As with the cancellation policy, these deadlines are there for a reason.
We carefully look at when the event is hap-pening and backtrack how long it will take to say, produce an event program for an Expo, and then set deadlines to receive information from participating companies. The deadlines are there for a reason – to ensure the work gets done and whatever it is gets completed in time for an event. When we receive information AFTER the deadline, we very often cannot make an exception – the work is already in progress. At a certain point, a deadline REALLY is a deadline.
So the next time Amy tells you she can’t get your booth description in an Expo program because you sent it a week late, she’s not saying that to be mean. It is because production has already begun on the project and we are beyond the point of be-ing able to make changes. A deadline is there for a reason and if everyone understands that, things will go very smoothly for members and staff alike.
Well, for having nothing to write this month I believe I’ve babbled on long enough. Hopefully this helps clarify some policies for you.
I think I need to start thinking about what to write in the next issue now. I can’t bug Amy and Brett again…. Any ideas? Feel free to send them my way!
APRIL / MAY 2014 9
FPFC Market Report Expanded to Meet Needs of IndustryBy Tim Linden
Focus o
n th
e C
ouncil
As a value-added benefit designed to give Fresh Produce & Floral Council members some tangible information about the California retail pro-duce marketing scene, the FPFC Market Report™ has been chock full of sales data breaking down the state’s four top markets for the past two years.
Steven Muro, president of Fusion Marketing, which prepares the report, said the initial concept was to give FPFC members a broader view of the market so they could see how their sales were doing in relation to the rest of the industry. For example, if you were a retailer in Northern Cali-fornia or a tomato wholesaler in Los Angeles, you could compare your sales at retail to others. “You might have sales gains of 20 percent in year over year sales in a specific commodity and think you are doing great,” Muro said. “But then you could look at the report and see that the category was experiencing 25 percent sales gains and see you still have work to do.”
Over the past two years, the quarterly report has offered great insight to those willing to spend the time to study the data and compare it to their own. But like any work in progress, the FPFC col-lected feedback from the industry and has revised the report to make it more user friendly and provide more information. FPFC President Carissa Mace said the FPFC Website Committee was charged with reviewing the effort, assessing feedback and working with the team at Fusion to create an even better report. Each quarter it is published on the FPFC website in the members only section.
The first report of 2014, which covers the fourth quarter of 2013, was published on the FPFC website (www.fpfc.org) in March and incorporates the changes. Muro said it has more information, more commodities are analyzed, it delves deeper into many different commodities, offers a propri-etary power ranking of the Top 10 items in each market and takes a look back at figures from a year earlier to provide more context for the results.
Jennifer Anazawa, senior analyst for Fusion who is the chief architect of the finished product,
said the updated version not only gives the reader the data but much more analysis. “We tell you what happened, what some of the insights are and what that information can mean for your own business.”
For example, in this latest report, in the “San Diego Summary” analysis, it was noted that while random weight fruit made up the majority of both dollar sales (69 percent) and volume (79 percent), the fixed weight category grew at a faster rate out-pacing random weight by 3 percent in dollars and 5 percent in volume. In the Sacramento section, it was reported that broccoli sales were up 31 percent in the 4th quarter for that market, driven by an average sales price increase of 27 percent.
Mary Scott, vice president of client services for Fusion, said the new report is much easier to read with better graphics and highlighted informa-tion that allow the readers to garner information though a quick read if they don’t have the time to drill deep into the data. But the detailed data still exists for those so inclined to give it a thorough read.
10 FRESH DIGEST
FRESH DIGESTCarissa Mace
PublisherTim Linden
EditorTom Fielding
Advertising/EditorialHeather GrayDesign/Layout
FRESH PRODUCE & FLORAL COUNCIL2014 Board of Directors
OFFICERSRich Van Valkenburg
Van Valkenburg & AssociatesChairman of the Board
Brad MartinPerimeter Sales & Merchandising
Chairman ElectMarvin Quebec
Quebec DistributingTreasurer/Secretary
Mike CasazzaApio/Eat Smart
Immediate Past ChairRick Cruz
Vons/A Safeway CompanyPast Chairman Representative
Harland HealthHeath & Lejeune, Inc.
Honorary Past Chairman RepresentativeCarissa Mace
Fresh Produce & Floral CouncilPresident
DIRECTORSAndrew Bivens
Westlake Produce CompanyMark Carroll
Gelson’s/Mayfair MarketsBrian Cook
San Miguel ProduceGreg Corrigan
Raley’s SupermarketsKelly Craner
B & C Fresh SalesKent Kuwata
Smart & Final Corp.Scott Leimkuhler
Progressive Produce Corp.Rick Montoya
Ready PacMarta Moreno
Rose Gonzales Plants, Inc.Jeff Oberman
United Fresh Produce AssociationJennifer Pelayo
Advantage Sales & Marketing – NoCalChris RobinsonThe Pinery LLC
Roger SchroederStater Bros. Markets
Ken SilveiraMastronardi ProduceConnie Stukenberg
CS, Sales & Marketing for Results
There are also other changes both in the look and the content. For example, quarters have changed from 12 weeks to 13 weeks to better match calendar quarters. Markets and regions have changed from gro-cery to multi-outlet (MULO). The new MULO geographies reflect an expanded retail data set that includes sales and volume from Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target and BJ’s in addition to traditional grocery retailers,
Expanded fruit and veg-etable category data now in-cludes variety level information on apples, pears, plums, lettuce, beans, onions, peppers, carrots,
mushrooms, potatoes and tropical fruit. The new “Top10” section for each market highlights the top fruit and vegetable categories.
Commodities make the Top 10 list through a proprietary process based on dollars, volume, growth and seasonality. Each quarter there is also a “Seasonal Star” in both the fruit and vegetable category highlighted because it does particularly well during that quarter as opposed to the entire year. For example, in the latest report apricots are highlighted on the fruit side while rhubarb gets the vegetable spotlight.
Muro said the new “Lookback” section is a limited look-back at historical trends for the up-coming quarter. For example in this March report, which was published in the first quarter of 2014, the “Lookback” section gives an analysis of the approaching season to give retailers and shippers alike the opportunity to plan ahead with hard data at their fingertips.
Scott said in a nut shell, the new look con-tains more text and more graphics, which allow the reader more ways to look at the data and analyze the market place. Muro added that the report gives “more layers of clarity that give a deeper and broader look” at the California retail scene, and more value to membership in the Fresh Produce & Floral Council.
The FPFC Market Report™ continues to contain the valuable charts and information on the fruit and vegetables in the five different geographic sections to help benchmark performance that has been the foundation of the report for the past two years. Those five are Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and California in aggregate.
12 FRESH DIGEST
tions. In 1999, Stater Bros. acquired 43 supermarkets from Albertsons and Lucky Stores when that merger required divestiture, and increased its own footprint by more than a third. Without knowing which chains will benefit, experts are expecting the same thing to happen in Southern California when the Safeway/Albertsons merger is finalized. Perhaps the biggest winner will be the many smaller chains that cater to the region’s growing ethnic populations.
In that same pre-merger discussion, Spezzano speculated that the Albertsons/Safeway merger would also result in some divestitures in Arizona and to a lesser extent in Texas.
While the merged company will have a domi-nant position in the West Coast, experts are predict-ing that the merger will ultimately be approved by the FTC because of the state of the supermarket industry today. Kroger will remain the largest supermarket chain with almost 2,700 locations as well as hundreds of convenience stores and other retail and manufacturing operations. Kroger sales of close to $100 billion in 2013 also are much greater than the combined revenues of Safeway/Albertsons, which are expected to be in the $55-$60 billion range. There is also Walmart looming large in the marketplace with more than 11,000 stores in dozens of countries and annual revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Their U.S. footprint includes more than 4,500 stores. And there are many places now for consumers to get groceries from the traditional supermarkets to the general merchandise stores such as Target to the dollar stores.
AB Acquisition, which is controlled by the investor group of Cerberus Capital Management, will fund the Albertsons/Safeway merger with debt financing of about $7.6 billion, as well as contribu-tions from the investor group and cash on hand at Safeway. Safeway is flush with cash because of its deal last year selling its Canadian division for $5.7 billion.
y.
Changes Inevitable With Safeway/Albertsons Merger By Tim Linden
Focus o
n R
eta
il
In early March when Safeway and Albertsons‘ parent company, Cerberus Capital Management, announced a $9 billion acquisition/merger deal, the initial announcement also said that no store closures were planned.
However, Robert Edwards, the relatively new president and CEO of Safeway, who will have that same title in the resulting company, did admit that that Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust review, which is standard in these types of mergers, could result in some “required divestitures.” He added that those divestitures are “not really classified as closures.”
While that may be true in some technical sense, there appears to be no doubt that the merger will result in many supermarket locations either closing or being sold in the Southern California marketplace, and probably in Arizona and Texas as well. Both Safeway and Albertsons have more than 200 stores in Southern California, and many serve the same customers. The merger, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, will create a company that includes more than 2,400 stores, 27 distribution facilities and 20 manufacturing plants with more than 250,000 employees.
Longtime Southern California retailer Dick Spezzano of Spezzano Consulting Services was asked about the rumored merger in late February prior to it happening and he speculated that it would certainly require the divestiture of many stores in Southern California. He said Albertsons and Safe-way have many stores in the same neighborhoods in the Southern California region. Typically the FTC requires, as a condition of the merger, that stores in the same area be sold to competing chains.
In fact, the merger of chains in Southern Cali-fornia over the past two decades and the resulting divestitures have fueled the growth of many of the area’s regional chains, including Stater Bros. and the many smaller ethnic chains that have 10 to 50 loca-
14 FRESH DIGEST
‘Gator Eggs’ Could Be Just the Ticket for Small Avocados By Tim Linden
Focus o
n M
ark
eting
Consequently a typical avocado harvest looks like a bell curve with some small fruit, some large fruit and preponderance in the middle. “Just like people, not all avocados grow up to be the same size,” said Megan Shanley of Shanley Farms in Morro Bay, CA.
Some retailers like the large avocados in the 40-48 range. (The count equals the number of avocados in a 40 pound carton of the fruit.) Often retailers and/or packers will put the medium to small sized fruit (64-70 size) in bags for a value deal. But it has been very difficult to find a retail home for the extra small fruit.
Enter Shanley Farms and its new “Gator Eggs.”
The avocado industry in California and worldwide has a harvesting and marketing dilemma. Though some growers do pick their groves more than once and engage in what is called “size picking”, typically a grove is harvested at one time...and yields many different sizes of fruit.
That process makes both financial and lo-gistical sense as it is just too costly and too time consuming to go back to every grove more than once. The U.S. consumption of avocados is ex-pected to come in at about 1.7 billion pounds this year as it steams toward two billion pounds, which may well be hit next year. That’s a lot of acres that need to be harvested just to fill the stomachs of U.S. consumers.
APRIL / MAY 2014 15
said. “These ‘Gator Eggs’ are perfect to be scooped out and eaten at one time. They are under 100 calories each so they are a guilt-free edition of the avocado.”
Shanley brought the concept to the Produce Marketing Association Convention in New Orleans and touted the idea to many different retailers. “We think it is perfect for retailers who handle only a 48 or larger piece of fruit. This gives them an alternative to offer to their customers.”
The egg carton has been specially designed to fit the fruit, which Shanley said is actually larger than your typical egg.
The collaboration with Del Rey will allow Shanley to offer the Gator Egg pack on a year round basis using fruit from all of the California growing regions as well as Mexico. The Gator Eggs are packed six to a carton and eight cartons to a master container. She said the pack is designed to wholesale for $1.99 per egg carton so that any retailer can sell it in their stores for $3.99 per carton or less.
With the avocado market expected to be quite robust this year, that pricing level could offer an excellent value to consumers. Shanley said it will also create a return for growers who have been getting basically nothing for that fruit for years.
Shanley said the PMA unveiling of the idea did generate quite a bit of interest and she expects several retailers to hit the ground running soon after the product is rolled out. “We’ve stirred up a lot of interest,” she said. “After PMA I even got one purchase order from Dubai.”
In collaboration with Del Rey Avocado Com-pany in Fallbrook, CA, Shanley will begin marketing a half dozen, single-serve size avocados in a custom-made egg carton on April 1. Shanley, who handles marketing for the family firm, first conceived of the idea last summer. Shanley Farms markets “Morro Bay” avocados as a premium tasting avocado each season late in the year. Growers in the Morro Bay region, which is northwest of San Luis Obispo, be-lieve their avocados have a superior flavor late in the year. Because of the cool, coastal climate that perseveres in that area, avocados from that region are harvested later and must stay on the tree much longer than fruit from Ventura or San Diego County. Growers in that area swear that that combination of weather and time produces a better tasting piece of fruit in the fall.
Depending upon the year and the size of the crop, Morro Bay fruit often will be available after all other California fruit has been marketed. That will undoubtedly be the case this year as the California crop is expected to come in at around 300 million pounds, which is about 200 million pounds less than last year, with virtually all of the Southern California fruit gone well before the calendar turns to fall.
But last year California had a big crop and Shanley found it very difficult to market the small, size 84 fruit. “It was a great piece of fruit but we couldn’t find anyone who wanted it.”
With her marketing hat on, Shanley believed it was a matter of presentation. She believes it is a perfect piece of fruit for a single serving. “For one person, a large avocado is often too much,” she
1/3 h 4c ad
Henry Avocado
Year-round, custom ripenedfresh avocados.
www.henryavocado.com
(714) 447-4306830) 379-0288
Billie Jo (210) 226-4504
16 FRESH DIGEST
Certification Notes North Shore’s Commitment to the EnvironmentBy Tom Fielding
Focus o
n S
usta
inabili
ty
North Shore Living Herbs has always walked the walk when it comes to sustainable growing practices and techniques, and recently the company was rewarded for that commitment to provide consumers with environmentally-friendly grown produce.
Serena Leiterman, North Shore’s sales and marketing manager, said, “We are very proud to have received our SCS Sustainably Grown Certification.” Leiterman added, “This third-party certification evaluated our growing operation and how we oper-ate overall as a company. We are the first, and only, fresh herb grower in the country to have earned this certification.”
Not only did North Shore Living Herbs earn that SCS Sustainably Grown Certification, they scored a perfect 100 percent on its 2014 GLOBALG.A.P Audit. Leiterman said that North Shore’s greenhouse growing techniques were instru-mental in these achievements and have kept them at the forefront of the industry.
“The audit was very thorough,” she said. “They wanted to see that we are implementing the best practices for environmental, social and quality performance.”
She added, “They also wanted to make sure that we had a plan in place to keep improving our sustainable agricultural systems, and that we sup-port bio-regional production and consumption of produce.”
North Shore Living Herbs, located in the California desert community of Thermal, has always utilized the latest state-of-the-art greenhouse grow-
ing technology in growing its herbs which have their roots attached. Leiterman said, “We grow year-round at our Thermal facility and never outsource our product. Our team is proud we have a product that is always grown in California, and being a stable job provider in an industry that is typically seasonal helps us give back to our local community.”
Of course, one of the major ag industry issues over the past few years has been water, or lack of it. “At North Shore Living Herbs, we use about 70 percent less water than if we were to grow our product in a field,” she said. “Conserving water has always been a priority for us, and we have a propri-
APRIL / MAY 2014 17
their produce. They want companies to be more socially responsible, and our SCS Sustainably Grown Certification helps us communicate that we are environmentally conscious. In the near future we will be incorporating the SCS Sustainably Grown logo on our packaging.”
Leiterman said that North Shore Living Herbs will continue to stress its commitment not only to the health of the environment, but also the health of its consumers.
etary system that filters, recycles, and reuses water at our facility. This system also allows us to have far less impact on our surrounding environment compared to traditional field growing.”
Although located in the California desert, Leiterman said technically “we are in the Colorado desert. Because we grow in a soilless medium (peat moss), we do not contribute to soil depletion and we also protect the groundwater that feeds into the nearby Salton Sea. The Salton Sea has an important eco-system and a crucial stopover for birds during their migration periods, so it is very important that we contribute to the viability of this ecosystem by protecting it from agricultural pollution.”
Leiterman said that North Shore’s inte-grated pest management was also key to receiv-ing the SCS Global Services certification. “We are able to control harmful pest populations in a way that is healthy for the environment and our consumers. Our environmental footprint is very small. We yield more than traditional growing techniques.”
She added that each acre of greenhouse space has the annual yield equivalent to approxi-mately 50 acres of field production.
Alternative energy sources are also an important part of North Shore’s growing tech-niques. “This includes geothermal energy,” she said.
Leiterman went on to say that North Shore has always had the philosophy of “working with Mother Nature, not against her. Leo and Suzette Overgaag (North Shore’s owners) have always been passionate in providing the optimal environment where our herbs our grown. We were the first nutrient film technology grower in the United States to be certified organic, and although our entire line is not organic, we are on the forefront of growing sustainably. We are also proud that our product has a shelf life that is, on average, 70 percent longer than traditional cut herbs. That further reduces waste and has the added benefit of maximizing profitability in the fresh herb category.”
North Shore wants consumers to be edu-cated about where their produce is grown and how it is grown. “We provide consumers with as much information as possible, and that includes social media such as Facebook and Twitter. We encourage them to learn as much as possible about where their food comes from.
“There is a huge trend toward consumers wanting to become more knowledgeable about
1/2 I AD
Vision
PAGE 17
Vision Import GroupNew Jersey 201 . 968 . 1190
Texas 956.843.6600 Florida 863.583.4970
www.visionimport group.com facebook.com/VisionImport Group
Vision Produce Company Los Angeles 213.622.4435
Nogales 520.223.8920 Phoenix 602.256.7783
www.visionproduceco.com
Nature’s Masterpiece
Your Direct Link to the Grower!
The Vision CompaniesImporters, Distributors and Grower’s Agents of Exceptional Fresh Produce
18 FRESH DIGEST
to the previous several years. She said the figures and timing will most closely resemble 2011, the last time California had a crop in the 300 million pound range. In both 2012 and 2013, the California crop was close to the 500 million pound level. With a smaller crop this year, additional supplies from Mexico, Chile and Peru will fill the growing avocado consumption needs of the American consumer during the shoulder periods before and after Cali-fornia’s peak. California packers will concentrate their efforts during a smaller marketing window to fit the size of the crop.
The California crop was originally estimated at about 325 million pounds early in the growing season, but some weather issues have caused most observers to predict that the final number will be less than that. Bruce Dowhan, vice president and general manager of Giumarra Agricom International LLC, Escondido, CA, said on March 13, “We think the final number will be somewhere between 260 and 300 million pounds.”
He confirmed that with that crop size, his firm’s strategy is to market the domestic crop during a smaller time frame. “We expect Chile to stay in the deal a little bit longer this season and probably get started a little earlier on their 2014-15 crop.” Peru will also ship more fruit to the United States during the summer months and Mexico can also
Smaller California Crop But Supplies Should Be Plentiful By Tim Linden
Focus o
n A
vocados
There was a time when a 40 percent reduc-tion in avocados from California from one year to the next would mean limited supplies of the green fruit and reduced promotional opportunities for retailers.
But in this era of global sourcing that is no longer the case. The United States consumed about 1.7 billion pounds of avocados last year, with Cali-fornia providing about 30 percent of that volume with a total crop topping 500 million pounds. This year the expectation is that the final consumption figure will again be in the 1.7-1.8 billion range with California providing a bit less than 20 percent of the volume.
Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the California Avocado Commission told the Fresh DIGEST in mid-March that the marketing window for the California avocado will be a bit shorter this year because of the size of the crop. Instead of hav-ing volume in March and stretching into October and even November as was done last year, volume shipments from the Golden State aren’t expected until late April and the vast majority of the California fruit will be out of the marketplace by Labor Day in early September.
In the peak shipping months from May through August, DeLyser said the weekly volume coming from the state’s packers will be fairly similar
APRIL / MAY 2014 19
moting this year is the use of point of origin stickers on avocados. Research has shown that consumers look favorably on identifying stickers that call to mind the California origin of the state’s avocados. CAC is working with packers to develop this additional labeling. “Our research shows that for more and more consumers that is important,” said DeLyser, adding that the California reference builds on the locally-grown movement.
A significant portion of the California crop is consumed within the state but even outside of the state, consumers often consider it locally grown compared to avocados from another region in the world.
California avocados are expected to be higher priced this year because of the smaller crop. In fact, many are predicting that the California field price could set records topping $2 per pound at times. In fact, in mid-March the Federal Market News Service reported that California avocados were selling for about $37 per carton for the larger sizes in the 32 to 48 count range. Smaller fruit was bringing low $30s or high $20s.
1/3 sq 4c ad
Del Rey
increase its shipments.Dowhan expects the vast majority of the Cali-
fornia crop to stay in the western half of the United States. But he does expect it to bring a premium price. He said when the trees have a smaller crop they do tend to produce larger fruit, which is typi-cally more pricey than smaller fruit.
During this mid-March conversation, Dowhan said some of Giumarra’s California growers were size picking some of their groves and fruit was avail-able. However, he agreed that the time frame for volume from California will be mid-April through August. The mid-April start time is designed to coincide with the heavy pull expected for the Cinco de Mayo promotions.
Along with the Super Bowl weekend and the Fourth of July holiday, the marketing period surrounding Cinco de Mayo is one of the top three sales period for avocados. In each of those marketing time frames close to 100 million pounds of avocados are sold to consumers.
DeLyser said mid-April is when the Califor-nia Avocado Commission will begin its advertising and promotional campaign for California avocados. Because of the smaller crop, CAC has reduced its promotional expenditures by about 8 per-cent but it has still scheduled a robust program revolving around the summer holidays. That has been CAC’s theme for the last several years as it capitalized on the predilection of Americans to throw parties to pretty much celebrate anything. From Cinco de Mayo to Memorial Day weekend through the Fourth of July and finishing up with Labor Day weekend, CAC urges consumers to use avocados in their picnic and party planning. The commodity group uses radio advertising in specific markets, digital media, print advertising in national magazines and outdoor billboards in tar-get markets to remind consumers that California Avocados are “hand grown” and available.
CAC also touts the use of California avocados in foodservice venues throughout the western states.
This year, CAC is conducting a merchan-dising contest for all retailers nationwide who carry California avocados and promote that fact. Retailers will be scored in a handful of dif-ferent categories including feature advertising, in-store displays, digital promotions and use of point of sale material. Total points will be added up and a grand prize and many other prizes will be awarded based on the individual retailer’s participation.
Another expanded effort that CAC is pro-
20 FRESH DIGEST
Amport FoodsAvocados from MexicoBeachside Produce, LLC
Buddy FruitsConsolidated West Distributing
Crunch PakDiMare International
Evolution FreshFresh Gourmet CompanyThe Giumarra Companies
Fresh Produce & Floral Council
Family Day at the RacesSaturday, March 8, 2014
SponsorsApio/Eat Smart
Dole Fresh Vegetables Impact Sales
Del Monte FreshPerimeter Sales & Merchandising
Great West ProduceGreen Giant Fresh Raisins & Dried Fruit
JustSayItLegacy Farms
Marie’s/Ventura FoodsMelissa’s/World Variety
Naked JuiceNorth Shore Living Herbs ®
OdwallaParamount Farms/POM Wonderful
Prime Time InternationalProgressive Produce Corp.
Ready PacTaylor Farms Retail, Inc.
Van Valkenburg & AssociatesVeg Fresh
Vitasoy/NasoyaWestlake Produce Company
Western Mixers Yucatan Foods/Cabo Fresh
Make Everybody HappyOffer Both!
Hollandia Produce, LP PO 1327 Carpinteria, CA 93014(805) 684-4146 www.growerpetes.com
Grown & Shipped by
GFSI Food Safety Audits by
America's Favorite Living Produce
CCOF Certified Organic
Hydroponically Greenhouse Grown
22 FRESH DIGEST
Door Prize SponsorsDiMare International
Garden HighwayGelson’s Markets
Kingsburg OrchardsNorth Shore Living Herbs ®The Oppenheimer Group
Smart & FinalSpezzano Consulting Service, Inc.
WJL Distributing
Jim Fox (r) and Kelly Fox (l) and their kids, with Ashley Overgaag and Nick Cullen-Carroll, North Shore Living Herbs
Jessica Gagel, organicgirl and Perla Martin, Perimeter
Sales & Merchandising
Ray Guerrero, Coral Guerrero, Ida Lopez and Martha Ojeda, Super A Foods
Face painting was fun for the kids
APRIL / MAY 2014 23
More than 700 people attended.
Mark Carroll, Sally Garcia and Diane Carroll, Gelson’s Markets
Brian Cook, San Miguel Produce, with daughter, Savannah
Sheryl and Danny and their son enjoy the day.
24 FRESH DIGEST
Penny Radtke and Alexis Morgan, DiMare International
Mark Carroll and Jim Lowe, Gelson’s Markets
Mike Fox and Tony Garcia, Food 4 Less, with Mihae Finne, Del Monte Fresh
Andy Bevan, Fresh & Easy, with a couple of young Padre fans
APRIL / MAY 2014 25
Rick Cruz, Vons/A Safeway Company, Rich Van Valkenburg, VVA, Raul
Gallegos, Bristol Farms, Kent Kuwata, Smart & Final
Chris and Christy Wigley, A-ROO
Gabe and Anita Aguirre, Ralphs Grocery Company
Roger Schroeder, Stater Bros. Markets, Dick Spezzano, Spezzano Consulting Services and John Hein, Sun Dried Marketing
26 FRESH DIGEST
Lisa Avila, Chris Ortiz, Adriana Nava, Alexis Avila and Ryan Meza, Vallarta Supermarkets
Robert Tamaki, Ralphs Grocery Company, Sue Momita, 4Earth Farms and Matthew Lopez, Better Life Produce
Cliff Tatro and Brigit Triakwalter, Good Foods Group
Kent Kuwata, Smart & Final, presents Maria Herrera, SuperA Foods, with a prize
David Cruz and Zachary Benedict, California Avocado Commission
28 FRESH DIGEST
John and Lori Picco, with Gary and Linda La Porte,
Bristol Farms
Rich Van Valkenburg, VVA, with wife Susan (l) and Mary Cencith, VVA
Rob McDougall, Gelson’s Markets, with sons Rob and Shaun
Ryan Fukuda, Avocados From Mexico, and David Martus, Stater Bros. Markets
APRIL / MAY 2014 29
Giumarra Touts “Easy As Pie” Plum PromotionBy Tim Linden
Focus o
n P
lum
Mark
etin
g
Cherries, apples and peaches are all well known and traditional ingredients for that American favorite, the fruit pie. If Giumarra has its way, a plum pie will be the new American tradition.
At the 2014 FPFC NorCal Expo, April 9, 2014, at the Alameda Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, Giumarra is going to introduce its 2014 Summer Plum Promo-tion, “Easy as Pie”. The promotion includes plums packed in Nature’s Partner branded two-pound zip lock, perfed pouch bags with a peel-off recipe label and a QR code linked to a YouTube video that shows consumers “How to Make a Fresh Plum Pie”.
The video features 89-year old Helen Krause, a retired plum grower from Reedley, CA, who is a local celebrity for her plum pie recipe. Kellee Har-ris, western region business manager for Giumarra, said Jim Krause, an employee of Giumarra and Mrs. Krause’s son, brought his mom’s pie-making prowess to the attention of Giumarra’s marketing team, and the promotion idea was hatched.
Mrs. Krause, who was born in Siberia, Russia, to parents of Germen descent, is a long-time resi-dent of Reedley, and she and her husband, Walter, of 69 years, owned and worked stone fruit orchards in the Reedley area most of their lives. Mrs. Krause learned from a young age the importance of healthy fresh food and how to “bake and share.” She be-lieves baking is “easy as pie” and is particularly skilled at making a wide assortment of fruit pies.
To help launch the promotion, Mrs. Krause will appear at the Giumarra booth at the FPFC Expo and give away samples of her homemade plum pie.
“This new Nature’s Partner plum promotion will lift retail plum sales by giving consumers a reason to buy plums in quantity,” said Jeannine Martin, direc-tor of sales for Giumarra Reedley. “Each bag holds two pounds, and to make Mrs. Krause’s plum pie, a customer needs three pounds, so they will need to buy two bags for the recipe, which is included on the peel-off recipe label.”
Giumarra is offering several merchandising aids to retailers throughout the nation interested in taking part in the promotion. “We have several merchandising tools,” said Harris, “including a bin
wrap, a variety of social media activities and in-store materials.”
The innovative reversible high-color vinyl display wrap can be used with Nature’s Partner Euro shipper boxes or RPCs. One side of the wrap features the plum promotion and QR code linked to the pie-making video, with the other side depicting a multi-stone fruit design that can be used throughout the season.
“The dual design wrap gives the retailer mer-chandising flexibility throughout the season and ex-tends the life of the display materials, making it much more sustainable long term, said Harris. “The plum side of the wrap also features the QR code linked to the pie recipe, so continues to reinforce purchase of several pounds of plums for making pie.”
Nature’s Partner red and black plums will begin shipping in early June and will be available through September; both varieties are available in the promotional pouch bags.
30 FRESH DIGEST
joyful bunch that live what they sell. Of course, the firm is in business to make a profit but it wants to innovate, educate and truly impact the health of its ultimate customers by expanding their consump-tion of fruits and vegetables. And to do it in a way that introduces more consumers to more fruit and vegetable options.
She has another phrase she likes which basi-cally dares people to expand their universe. “Eat one fruit a day that scares you,” she said.
As Caplan talks about her crusade, her energy level climbs, and the examples of ways to accomplish the goal flow freely. It is clear that she sees oppor-tunities everywhere to change the way America eats fruits and vegetables. “A couple of years ago when I was given the opportunity to co-chair the Let’s Move Salad Bar effort in California (in conjunction with United Fresh Produce Association’s San Diego convention), I jumped at the chance. That is com-pletely aligned with our mission. Nothing is better than changing the way kids eat fruits and vegetables and introducing them to many new items.”
She also proudly pointed to an employee-developed and led initiative which has a number of employees exercising as a group and supporting each other. Recently, on its own the group entered into a local race, with each wearing purple, the well-known signature color of Frieda’s, and touting the “power of purple.” Caplan saw that activity as another way to introduce consumers to new products, and more importantly, she believes it is an affirmation of the family-friendly environment Frieda’s Inc. tries to create for its employees. She said when people visit the company’s headquarters in Los Alamitos, they often comment on how happy everyone is. To Caplan, this again reinforces the notion that the entire company is happily on the same crusade.
In its quest to change the way America eats fruits and vegetables, the newest item in the com-pany’s portfolio is fittingly a purple snow pea. There have been snow peas on the market before, but Caplan said this is a better one with a better taste. The company hopes to be able to have it sampled during the upcoming FPFC April luncheon.
Frieda’s Wants to Change the Way America Eats By Tim Linden
Focus o
n S
pecia
ltie
s
Frieda’s Inc. President Karen Caplan admits it might be a little bit over the top but she said her company’s mission truly is “to change the way America eats fruits and vegetables.”
To Caplan, it is a crusade that clearly defines what is at the heart of the company her mother founded 52 years ago. The story of Frieda Caplan introducing kiwifruit to the American consumer is well known. She took the previously named Chinese Gooseberry, gave it a more palatable moniker, and became famous as she introduced America to a line of mostly unknown fruits and vegetables.
It is this kiwifruit story that Karen Caplan tells to strangers when they inquire about what she does. She then hands them a business card which has her company’s mission printed on the back: “Changing the way America eats fruits and vegetables.”
That mission statement, if you will, was only adopted formally a handful of years ago, but Caplan said it has been in practice since the com-pany launched in the early 1960s, and first became identified with the company a couple of decades ago. “I can’t remember the exact story or when it ran, but about 15 or 20 years ago a reporter for Time magazine did a story on us and in it he wrote that we were a company changing the way America eats.”
The Frieda Inc. braintrust liked the descriptor and began using it unofficially as a company tagline when talking about their business and what they do. Then about a half a dozen years ago Karen got the opportunity to spend the day in a group with Seth Godin, an American author, marketer, and entrepreneur, who Caplan describes as the “original blogger.”
“He’s super brilliant and a great marketing strategist. When he says something, I listen,” said Karen. “I asked him what he thought of our mission statement – changing the way America eats. He said it needed to be more specific.”
Voila! “Changing the way America eats fruits and vegetables.”
Caplan said the statement captures the es-sence of what Frieda’s is all about. “It is our crusade,” she repeats.
Caplan said the employees at her firm are a
NoCal Luncheon
February 20, 2014
Thank You Sponsors!
APRIL / MAY 2014 31
Key SponsorsCalifornia Avocado Commission
Earthbound FarmLitehouse Foods
NatureSweetUnited Fresh Produce Association
Associate SponsorsAtlas Produce/Caramel Naturel
Azuma FoodsBing Beverage
IFCO Marzetti
The Oppenheimer GroupProduce Marketing Association
Ed Odron (left) and Mike Maddan (right) of Maddan & Associates
flank Greg Calistro and Jim Corby of Save Mart
Tran Nguyen of Oppy with Karen Nakamura of Kitayama Bros. Inc. were in charge of raffle tickets.
Dave Howald with the California Avocado Commission
32 FRESH DIGEST
Photo SponsorNorth Shore Living Herbs ®
Vanessa Lawrence of Cool Pak, Scot Olson of Grocery Outlet, and Michele Ziegler of Rock Tenn
Chris Vasconcellos of Lucky Stores, was the Master of Ceremonies for the day
Décor SponsorKent’s Bromeliad Nursery, Inc.
1/3 sq 4c ad
Madden
MADDAN & COMPANY, INC.FOOD BROKERS
SINCE 1947
601 MONTGOMERY STREET, SUITE 655SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111
TEL (415) 421-5777 • FAX (415) 421-2031www.maddanco.com
APRIL / MAY 2014 33
Allie Coombs of Fresh Alliance with John Cravens of Yerecic LabelsSteve Spence of Lucky Stores, Rick Johnson of Food Max, Steve Nino of Lucky Stores
Daniel Mazzei and Lawrence Sata with Azuma Foods FLANK Jennifer Pelayo with Advantage Sales & Marketing
34 FRESH DIGEST
Featured speaker Joe Starkey with FPFC Chairman Rich Van Valkenburg
Angela Chaves, Jodi Myers, Maria Blancas of Safeway with Francine Araujo from
Clearwater Nursery
Jeff Oberman and Tom Stenzel of United Fresh flank
Jim Corby, who recently joined Save Mart as director
of produce.
Dean Miller of Wonderful Brands with Jon Nicosia of Earthbound Farm
Mike George of Quality Packing & Shipping;
Nannette Andersen of InterLink Marketing and
Melissa Blake of OK Produce
Justin Dautoff and Ron Tallia of Rocket Foods flank Sophia Farfan of Prime Source
Emmy Hume of AMC with Ryan Quebec of Quebec Distributing
Gavin Brem and Randy Staehle of organicgirl
APRIL / MAY 2014 35
36 FRESH DIGEST
Focus o
n A
vocados
For year-round avocado distributor Phil Henry, there’s little distinction between the oncom-ing domestic harvest and the winding down of the offshore supply. His commitment to consistently provide customers with superior quality fresh avo-cados and great service is never seasonal. It’s the perennial purpose of Henry Avocado.
Whether the California crop is 515 million pounds, as it was last year, or the approximately 300 million pounds forecast for 2014, the company will always be importing high-quality fruit from its handpicked growers in Mexico, Chile and Peru over the summer as needed. Only the numbers will change to meet its foodservice and retail customer requirements for promotable volume.
In fact, no part of the company’s avocado distribution chain takes a season off. Good farming practices, which Henry strictly adheres to on the 2,400 acres under its California farm management program, are a year-round commitment to assure the California harvest will peak as the supply from Chile and Mexico subside.
Those same practices impact volume as well as timing. While the state will experience a 40 per-cent decline in production, Henry’s numbers should only be down 20 percent from last year’s yield. Also on the positive side, the size of California avocados will be a little bigger. Henry anticipates more avail-ability of 40s, 48s and 60s.
California’s 2014 dip in volume is only partially due to the pervasive drought conditions, now in their third year. There’s also the natural yield fluctua-tion that occurs on alternate bearing years, which is an oddity of the avocado trees, according to the California Avocado Commission.
Phil Henry is confident the only negative im-pact of the state’s lower yield will be higher prices, which will be similar to those in 2011. “There will be sufficient fruit to meet our customers’ demand,” Henry advised.
Consumers looking to neutralize the higher price may turn to bags of avocados, which could bring a boost to retailers’ with those items in abun-dant supply.
Henry Avocado, which pioneered pre-rip-ening in 1982, now sells more than 75 percent of
its orders in some requested state of readiness. To accommodate growing demand for custom ripening in the southwest, Henry added 12 forced-air ripen-ing rooms at its Northern California distribution facility in 2013.
This year the company has a net gain of 11 rip-ening rooms after replacing several aging units with modern additions. It gives the grower-distributor a total of 65 in three states.
New marketing programs are also available that will keep the summer crop in demand as well as sustain sales momentum beyond Labor Day. Henry cites the efforts of the California Avocado Commission for its new usage initiatives, like this year’s breakfast items, which first appear in food-service outlets and later become a favorite recipe in consumers’ homes.
Henry’s one-page CustomRipe Ordering Guide, a marketing aid and fixture in the industry for well over a decade, continues to be available through the company’s sales offices in Fullerton, CA and San Antonio, TX. It has helped inform a new generation of buyers by detailing five separate and distinct stages of ripening that can be ordered. Such precise custom ripened deliveries are a proven method to reduce retail shrinkage and increase impulse sales.
In addition to its center in Northern Cali-fornia, Henry Avocado has sales and distribution facilities operating year round from its Escondido headquarters and in Texas and Arizona. All offer bagging options to meet local and regional customer requirements..
Good farming practices, which Henry strictly adheres to with the 2,400 acres under its farm management program, assures peak production when needed most.
Henry Avocado’s California Harvest To Peak at Ideal Time
APRIL / MAY 2014 37
TR
AD
E N
EW
S
Cal Giant Teams Up with Local Basketball Squad
California Giant Berry Farms has teamed up with the Santa Cruz, CA, D-League Basketball Team for the Golden State Warriors this season and launched a kids club to promote health and fitness to fans. The partnership with the Santa Cruz War-riors resulted in significant recruitment in less than a month before it was even publicized, and California Giant berries were quickly named the official fruit of the SC Warriors.
This health and fitness based sponsorship pro-gram, along with a local junior chefs program being launched this summer, serves as the foundation for a national messaging program focused on helping kids enjoy a health and fitness based lifestyle. “Mak-ing exercise and eating healthy fun for kids is the key to really building healthy habits on a long term basis. We are using our own community to develop pilot programs for kids that we can ultimately launch across the country” said Cindy Jewell, director of marketing for California Giant.
Each month during basketball season, players spend court time with local kids aged 5-12 teaching basketball skills, but more importantly mentoring the young fans on how to enjoy exercise and the importance of being active. They all sit down at the end of each skills clinic and enjoy California Giant berries as a replenishing snack. “Moms have approached me each time to thank us for being part of a positive influence in the community and for providing kids their
Simpson Appointed VP at Ready Pac
Ready Pac Foods, Inc. has announced the appointment of Tristan Simpson as vice president, corporate communications. In this newly created position, Simpson joins the Ready Pac Executive Leadership Team, and will lead the company’s com-munications efforts. Her responsibilities include executive messaging, stakeholder outreach, public and media relations, digital media, and internal as-sociate engagement.
Simpson joined Ready Pac in 2011, and has held a variety of roles within the ,arketing area, most recently as senior director of marketing & corporate communications. Prior to Ready Pac, she worked for a variety of companies/brands such as Smart & Final, Paramount Farms, Nancy’s Specialty Foods, Frieda’s, Sun Pacific, and Pandol Bros.
Polymer Logisitics Introduces Produce Crate for Retailers
Underscoring its commitment to innovation within the field of retail-ready packaging, Polymer Logistics has launched the world’s first Wood Ef-fect crate. Perfect for stores who want to give that market fresh impression, the new crate is set to revolutionize the look and feel of fresh produce aisles nationwide.
As more and more retailers are either starting to or are actually upgrading their stores, one area that has been of particular focus has been the fresh produce aisle. Retailers are recognizing the fact that the perception of fresh and local can lead to increased sales. Therefore store design and layout has been adapted to reflect this. While there can be no doubt that improvements have been made, the actual crates that hold and display the produce haven’t been updated according to a press release from Polymer Logistics.
The new Wood Effect crate from Polymer presents the opportunity for retailers to switch away from non-descript plastic crates and to actually influence buyer perception in terms of the market feel. What’s more for retailers who are actually us-ing real wooden crates the new solution from PL is more sustainable and offers a significant advan-tage in terms of hygiene. The crate offers robust product protection during transportation and is both foldable and stackable to maximize truck and store space.
38 FRESH DIGEST
Index Fresh Celebrates 100th Anniversary
Dana Thomas, president and CEO for Index Fresh, recently announced that the company will be celebrating its 100th year anniversary during 2014.
Index Fresh, a global leader in the packing and marketing of avocados, has a long and interesting history. “We were founded by California growers and remain grower owned,” stated Thomas. “That’s a unique strength that has served us well during our first one hundred years and helps us understand the business of avocados from the California growers’ perspective.”
In 1914, the desire by a group of California citrus growers to pack their own fruit led to the cre-ation of Index Orchards, located in Orange County. The company joined the thriving and growing citrus packing industry in Southern California. At the time, Orange County was a rural area known for agricul-tural production. Index Orchards’ first packing house was built at a rail line crossing known as De Moines Station, at the base of the La Habra hills.
“Index Orchards reported quick and profit-able growth in those early years. It became a co-operative and was renamed Index Mutual in 1929,” said Thomas.
It was luck that Index had located their pack-ing house next to the La Habra Hills where the development of the Hass avocado occurred. Quite by accident, Rudolph Hass had planted a tree from unknown avocado parent stock that produced a different variety. He eventually patented the black skin variety and named it after himself in 1939.
Avocados were an exotic fruit then, with several varieties marketed successfully. To help market the new Hass avocado, growers started the United Avocado Growers in the La Habra Hills. In the 1950s, Index Mutual absorbed the United Avocado Growers.
By the 1970s, avocados had replaced the citrus as the primary product handled by Index. Fire destroyed the packing house in 1988, prompting a move to Bloomington, CA, where a new state-of-the art plant was built in 1989. The company changed its name to Index Fresh in 1990, and continued to thrive, packing and marketing avocados from California growers.
With national demand growing fast, Index began to import South American avocados in 1991, and has continued to add new partners from South America and Mexico. Providing avocados year round, especially ripe avocados has fueled avocado demand around the world.
In 1999, as Index’s business grew sharehold-ers voted to convert from a cooperative to a corporation with cooperative members becoming shareholders. This change in business structure was followed by an expansion of the Index packing house in 2003 and 2004.
ACL Introduces Transportation Software
ALC Logistics, the software and logistics divi-sion of the Allen Lund Company, recently introduced a customized Transportation Management Software (TMS) specific for produce.
Built on a platform that has been in place for five years, the TMS produce specific solution is now available to the industry. The software enables companies to have control over their transportation spending and includes customized programming to fit each customer’s needs. Specific to produce, cus-tomers will have control over: load tendering, dock scheduling, spot pricing, and live load tracking.
The ALC TMS Sales team is headed by Vice President Kenny Lund. “We are very excited to roll out this product, at what, we believe, is the right time to help those that transport produce,” he said. “Thirty-eight years of experience transporting produce have gone into this software which adds visibility, creates efficiencies, controls costs and eases the challenges of produce transportation. There is nothing like it on the market; it works with your systems and adapts to your business processes to ultimately save you time and money.”
TR
AD
E N
EW
S
FPFC OFFICE16700 Valley View Avenue, Suite 130
La Mirada, CA 90638
714-739-0177 • fax: 714-739-0226
Website: www.fpfc.org
CHAMP PUBLISHINGAdvertising Office
2311 W. Olive StreetBurbank, CA 91506
818-563-2228 • fax: 818-563-2722email: [email protected]
Editorial Office925-258-0892 • fax: 925-258-0893
email: [email protected]
