Posts Tagged “feature”
San Francisco, CA– Side Delights revealed recently released trend data on the growing focus on the health benefits of foods and the impact it has on consumer behavior. Since the inception of the pandemic, healthy-eating and immunity has continued to gain importance with consumers, and it shows in their shopping habits. The International Food Information Council issued a report, “COVID-19 Pandemic Transforms the Way We Shop, Eat and Think About Food,” based on the recent IFIC’s 2020 Food & Health Survey.
According to the survey, 85% of Americans made at least some change in the food they eat or how they prepare it due to the coronavirus pandemic. 40% of respondents who said they were seeking food or diets for their health benefits were explicitly focused on their immune function and that plant-based items have continued to be a trend into 2021. The connection between healthy eating and reducing disease risk is outlined in the USDA’s newly released Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025. The guidelines recommend nutrient-rich plant-based foods like potatoes for all stages of life – starting as young as six months old.
In addition to what is in their food and its health benefits, consumers are paying more attention to where it is grown. As stated in the Forbes article Food Trends Forecast 2021: Being Healthy In A Post Covid-19 World, “Shoppers have changed how they are choosing their foods with a new yearning for reading labels, understanding what ingredients are in their foods, where their foods come from and which foods they should avoid.” Side Delights potatoes are literally “Grown Where It Matters” to be fresh, high-quality potatoes – grown in the best potato growing areas, stored in high-tech storage facilities, and packed and delivered close to customers/final mile experts so that the healthfulness of the fresh product stays intact for consumption by shoppers. Once the product is in the store, Side Delights offers award-winning, eye-catching packaging and a complete category assortment to address all types of shoppers (value, convenience-oriented, gourmet, and organic).
“In a time where immunity, health benefits, and food sourcing are critical aspects of food quality, Side Delights potatoes are a nutrient-rich choice for any meal at any age, grown in this country’s best-growing regions,” noted Kathleen Triou, President and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network. “Retailers benefit when they leverage this information and feature potatoes in stores and online to remind shoppers to add potatoes to their shopping lists and carts.”
About Fresh Solutions Network, LLC: Fresh Solutions Network (FSN) is the exclusive supplier of Side Delights® potatoes and onions. FSN is a group of family-owned potato and onion growers and shippers who help fresh potato and onion buyers grow their categories, maximize category investment, and increase sales. FSN delivers category insights, collaborative innovation, and customized assortment. Fresh Solutions Network, LLC partners include: Sterman Masser, Inc. (Masser Potato Farms and Keystone Potato Products in Sacramento and Hegins, PA), Michael Family Farms, Inc. (Urbana, OH), Basin Gold Cooperative, Inc. (Pasco, WA), NoKota Packers, Inc. (Buxton, ND), Sun-Glo of Idaho, Inc. (Sugar City, ID) and Mack Farms (Lake Wales, FL).
(FORT VALLEY, GEORGIA) – The Genuine Georgia Group expects to ship nearly 3 million boxes of peaches this season.
With the season start kicking off mid-May, Georgia’s iconic summer fruit expects to have consistent volume over a 15-week period.
“Our peaches have dealt with historically warm winters for the last five years. We’re looking forward to seeing them at their best. Just like us, our peach trees are their most productive, happy and full when they get enough good rest,” says Will McGehee, partner with Genuine Georgia.
Sweet Georgia peaches are a nutritional powerhouse of health. A medium peach packs more than 20 different macro and micronutrients, including fiber, vitamins A, C, E, potassium and zinc. They are also naturally free of fat, sodium, cholesterol, gluten and trans fats. The orange-yellow hue of peaches is a cue that they’re an excellent source of beta-carotene, an important antioxidant that’s converted to vitamin A. In fact, a medium peach (1 cup slices) has about 500 IU of vitamin, equal to about 10% of the Daily Value for this nutrient. Vitamin A is an essential nutrient for optimal growth, bone health and vision.
For more information about the Genuine Georgia Group for the 2021 season, send a note to duke@genuinega.com or will@genuinega.com
By Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc.
Coral Gables, FL – Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc., marketers and distributors of high-quality fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, has announced through a partnership with Apeel, a company fighting the global food waste crisis with its sustainable approach to keeping produce fresh longer, it will now be able to offer its customers longer lasting avocados.
When paired with Fresh Del Monte’s high-quality avocados, Apeel’s innovation will allow them to stay fresher two times longer, helping to reduce food waste. With an infrastructure already in place to help support growth in the category, Fresh Del Monte’s new and existing customers will now be able to partner with the brand on their Apeel application.
Derived from plants, Apeel’s edible coating doubles the shelf life of fresh produce by slowing the rate of water loss and oxidation – the main factors that lead to spoilage. Made of materials found in the peels, seeds, and pulp of fruits and vegetables, Apeel’s coating helps maintain just-harvested quality, flavor and freshness longer than produce without Apeel.
As the only plant-based, end-to-end solution allowing a 2X longer shelf life for avocados, Apeel will help bring a new wave of benefits to Fresh Del Monte’s growers, packers, distributors and retailers and will offer shoppers and their families premium quality avocados that retain their flavor and ripeness for longer.
“As one of the top three suppliers of avocados in the U.S., we are excited to offer our customers the option to work with Apeel,” said Kirk Marquardt, Vice President, Avocado Sales. “At Fresh Del Monte, sustainability is a top priority and we know that Apeel’s sustainable approach to reducing food waste will help to build a more resilient food system for the future. We are confident that our strong avocado program will continue to grow from this exciting partnership.”
With over 100 years of brand recognition and one of the newest and largest state of the art packing facilities in Mexico, Fresh Del Monte remains committed to offering its customers the freshest and most convenient produce options. The innovation of Apeel will help to provide new and more sustainable options for them for years to come.
Prime Time International, a fresh produce produce grower and shipper based in Coachella, CA has found the times of COVID-19 change, not only with growing their crops, but when it comes to transportation.
The company cites the cost of truck rates as an example and wonders just how how rates will soar this summer. It was pointed out, for example in mid-April truck rates from Nogales to Boston hit $9,300, which translates into nearly $10,000 for loads coming out of California. The company cited one truck who they knew had 8 trucks parked due to a lack of drivers.
It was not the pool of long-haul truckers is being depleted by demand in the home delivery arena. Those same drivers can work close to home and go home every night. The company has discover other drivers who do not feel the risk of driving cross country is not worth it. Due the lack of equipment, truck rates have been much higher during much of the past year. It remains to be seen how high rates must rise to create more supply.
Aside from transportation concerns, Prime Time is trying to figure out how consumers will react to the pandemic, and what will the be trucking requirements for restaurants and other foodservice outlets. It’s much easier consider what the demand from retailers will be.
When the pandemic hit the company’s spring crops in Coachella Valley last year crops were already in the ground and there was no opportunity to alter the production schedule. However, they were able to cut back some on production for the summer, which was just going in the ground. It is a year later but how the consumer will react over the next few months is equally uncertain.
Prime Time does also of foodservice business with its primary crop, Bell peppers. Last year, that business was mostly loss, though retail sales took up the slack. Foodservice accounts are finally starting to come back.
There is still uncertainly for shipments to retailers. Prime Time did increase its summer production a little bit over last summer, but its Coachella Valley acreage has remained the same.
The company’s red peppers had been coming from in Baja California but have recently shifted to Coachella. Prime Time has eggplant, sweet corn and chili peppers just starting with watermelons slated to begin on May 10. Typically, the Coachella row crops start in April and lasts until around June 10, as long as the temperature doesn’t get too hot.
Prime Time then farms acreage in the San Joaquin Valley and Ventura County.
California’s Coachella Valley grape shipments may decline in 2021, as bearing grape acreage has fallen and the industry has consolidated.
Tudor Ranch, of Mecca, CA reports grape Coachella Valley production this season could be about 2.1 million cartons, off from about 2.6 million cartons a year ago. The company believes the front-end crop is definitely light, the middle crop is average, and the late crop is average to heavy.
Harvest Should get underway around May 10 for Tudor Ranch, depending on the weather. Peak shipments should hit the first half of June, with Tudor Ranch continuing to load grapes through the Fourth of July holiday. A few shippers may have grapes through the end of July.
Anthony Vineyards, Coachella, CA, notes the company will have volume into July. The transition between Southern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere supplies could result in a gap due to extreme heat and possible monsoon rains in July which make grape shipments that month more challenging for Coachella Valley shippers.
In 2019, Sun World International LLC also announced the sale of its leased and owned California farming property to an investor group, which contracted with Sun Pacific to farm the vineyards under the name Famous Vineyards.
On March 31 of this year, Palm Desert, Calif.-based Sun World announced it will be acquired by Bridgepoint, an international private equity group. Bridgepoint will become controlling shareholder for Sun World, an international fruit genetics, R&D and licensing company, according to a news release.
In other news in the Coachella Valley, a private equity group bought all the farming assets of Richard Bagdasarian Inc. of Mecca, CA.
Illume Agriculture of Bakerfield has taken over the management of Bagdasarian Farms vineyards for the private equity group. With some acreage coming out in recent years, there could be less than 5,000 acres of grapes in the Coachella Valley now, compared with peak acreage of perhaps 18,000 acres 25 years ago.
Tudor Ranch notes peak volume from the Coachella Valley was close to 13 million to 14 million cartons two decades ago. Beside Illume Ag, there are four major players in the Coachella Valley, including Tudor Ranch, Anthony Vineyards, Castle Rock Farms and Delano Farms.
The vast majority of Mexican fresh fruit and vegetable exports are to the United States.
Last season Mexico exported $7.5 billion of vegetables and $7.4 billion of fruit, with 96 percent and 84 percent going to the U.S., respectively.
For vegetables, tomatoes were big leader at about $2.1 billion with most of the exports going to the U.S., with bell peppers at around $600 million, followed by other peppers and cucumbers.
Avocados were the most exported fruit at about $1.9 billion followed by walnuts at a little below $600 million, then limes.
This information was documented in a webinar hosted by Veggies From Mexico to show Mexican exports have grown in the past decade, with the focus on tomatoes.
“In 2002, Mexico was exporting $360 million in tomatoes and now it is way above $2.1 billion,” Georgius Gotsis, CEO of Veggies From Mexico said.
The growth can be accredited to the creation of what was NAFTA at the time and also improving technology specifically in greenhouses and shade houses.
The Mexican state Sinaloa has about 19,768 acres of protected agriculture and is one of the most important production regions, with about 10 percent of Mexico’s total produce production coming from the area.
“During the 2019-20 season, almost 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) of tomatoes were grown in Sinaloa’s protected agriculture,” Gotsis said.
Tomato seedling production starts in August, moving to field and greenhouse seeding in September and harvesting beginning in December and finishing by May.
Colombia is the world’s 5th largest producer of bananas and it hopes to boost its banana exports by 10 percent this year.
Colombia exported 109 million 20-kilogram boxes of bananas last year, up 9.3% from 2019, boosting earnings by 6.5% to $916.2 million, according to
the Colombian Banana Growers Association
This is in spite of the coronavirus pandemic and the presence of the Fusarium wilt Tropical race IV (TR4) banana fungus that was detected in July 2019.
The Columbian banana industry hopes to export 120 million 20-kg boxes this year.
Higher output followed greater productivity per hectare versus 2019, as well as better weather in the first half of the year in Uraba, Colombia’s principle banana-growing region.
Production per hectare rose to 2,134 boxes per hectare, 173 more boxes than in 2019.
Peruvian citrus exports grew 37 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, with shipments of 244,000 metric tons (MT) valued at US$262 million, according to The Foreign Trade Research and Development Institute of the Lima Chamber of Commerce (Idexcam).
Local website La Camara reports a record-breaking year, given that exports have been growing year after year since 2017.
Indexcam points out a growing demand for citrus, due to the pandemic, especially with mandarins, due to their antioxidant properties and high content of vitamin C which strengthens the immune system, creating a rebound of global commercialization.
In 2020, mandarin exports totaled $250.4 million, showing a growth of 36 percent compared to the previous year at $184 million.
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Mandarin shipments increased with the U.S. leading and reporting a 54 percent growth.
The Netherlands followed with a 19 percent increase to $15 million, Canada at 15 percent with $17.8 million, China with 40 percent to $15.7 million and Russia increased 90 percent to $13.2 million.
Ireland, Hong Kong, Spain, Mexico, Panama and Japan also experienced growth.
The export of oranges also increased to $12.1 million for a 46 percent growth.
Production in Peru
Mandarin production in Peru reached 525,000MT, in 2020 with Lima being the main producing region with 44 percent of the total; followed by Junín at 24 percent, Ica with 17 percent and Puno with 6 percent.
Orange production totaled 553,000MT with Junín as the main producing region at 45 percent of the total, followed by San Martín with 14 percent, Puno with 9 percent and Cusco at 5 percent.
BAKERSFIELD, CA —Starting April 26, Cal-Organic Farms, the nation’s largest producer of organic vegetables, will start shipping freshly harvested, new crop red and gold potatoes to customers from their facility in Lamont, CA. The company’s organic rainbow fingerling variety is set to ship mid-May and organic russets will follow in mid-June.
A division of Grimmway Farms, Cal-Organic is one of the first producers to offer new crop organic potatoes this season. The company is currently harvesting reds and golds in Coachella Valley and will transition to harvest its complete portfolio of organic potatoes in Kern County next month. Spreading their potato crops across multiple regions allows Cal-Organic to harvest its premium quality potatoes early and maintain consistent supply through December.
“Quality looks phenomenal and we’re seeing one of the best potato crops we’ve had in years,” said Bob Borda, Vice President of Organic Sales at Grimmway Farms. “Mild weather through winter and spring have provided optimal yields with great availability for reds and golds this month and prepared us for a seamless transition in May.”
Cal-Organic provides a variety of consolidated shipping options to suit all retail, foodservice and industrial needs. For more information, call 661-845-3758.
Headquartered in Bakersfield, California, Grimmway Farms traces its roots to a produce stand opened by the Grimm brothers in the early 1960s. Grimmway is a global produce leader and the world’s largest producer of carrots. Grimmway supplies more than 65 organic, USA-grown crops and brands include Cal-Organic Farms and Bunny-Luv.
California ranks 3rd behind Texas and Florida with fresh grapefruit shipments and product off the West Coast is now being loaded.
Last Season (2019-20) California shipped 3.8 million boxes, up significantly from 2.8 million boxes a year ago and 2.6 million boxes from 2017-18. No estimate has been issued yet for this season.
As temperatures begin to rise in California’s Central Valley, the Bee Sweet Citrus of Fowler, CA has turned its focus to Star Ruby Grapefruit as a key player in the company’s seasonal line.
“Star Ruby Grapefruit are in season now, and the fruit’s quality has been nothing short of excellent,” stated Bee Sweet Citrus Vice President of Farming Keith Watkins. “As the season changes, we’ve seen a rising demand for grapefruit….”
Bee Sweet’s Star Ruby Grapefruit are promoted to anybody looking to add healthy fruits into their diet. With its high-fiber and high-water content, this citrus variety is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium.
“Star Ruby Grapefruit are especially sweet and juicy in the late winter and early spring,” continued Watkins. “Consumers can distinguish them apart from other grapefruit varieties with their blushed rind and dark, red internal color.”
About Bee Sweet Citrus
A grower, packer and shipper of California citrus, Bee Sweet Citrus is a leader in today’s agriculture industry. Founded in 1987, Bee Sweet Citrus is a family owned and operated company and provides over 15 different varieties of citrus to its consumers! Located in the heart of California’s Central Valley.