Posts Tagged “feature”
Fresh categories are driving nearly 49 percent of all dollar growth across fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), according to Nielsen’s latest Total Consumer Report, with fresh and perishable foods accounting more than $177 billion in sales.
Although fresh categories are performing well in Retail stores, the sector still has some room for improvement, according to the June 2018 report.
Some findings include:
- Ecommerce is still maturing within food and beverage, but fresh perishables are an opportunity in stores today. Amazon and Whole Foods merged a year ago, and ecommerce within grocery continues to grow, but is still maturing. During the past year, online food and beverage sales represented 13 percent of the overall dollar volume seen online. Fresh and perishable foods generated sales nearly 14 times as high as all online food and beverage sales this year.
- On-the-go fresh produce fails to keep pace with clean snacking. Americans are not rushing to on-the-go fresh produce opportunities although they rank eating more fruits and vegetables as the top factor for healthy eating. They often prefer other snack options. On-the-go fresh produce — pre-cut produce that has been portioned intentionally for snacking purposes — declined by nearly 2 percent in dollars and 6 percent in unit volume over the past year. On the flip side, salty snacks are proof that consumers are seeking indulgence in their snacking purchases, too, as sales grew nearly $1 billion year over year. Still, clean-label products represented more than 35 percent of salty snack dollars in the past year.
In the battle of the burgers, frozen is still winning, but fresh is catching up; meanwhile, alternative protein growth remains strong. Frozen patties are still the staple in the burger category, as frozen meat-based burgers have seen 2 percent dollar growth from last year. However, fresh meat burger patties (up 8 percent) and prepared burgers from the deli section (up 15 percent) are both growing and asserting their importance to the future of the category. Within the past year, sales of alternative-protein burgers have experienced dollar sales growth of nearly 21 percent. However, alternative-protein burgers represent just 6 percent of the overall burger category. Despite this, frozen alternative-protein burgers grew 17 percent year over year, which highlights an area for potential expansion.
A California heat wave that started two weeks ago in the coastal region has brought on lemon ripening much more quickly than usual and product is dropping from trees. Long story short, California lemon shipments will be much lighter than normal for the next two months.
Wonderful Citrus of Delano, CA has less than 20 percent of its lemons remaining on trees. Lemoneira of Santa Paula, CA reports the heat wave hit July 7th and has continued.
Overall, imported lemon volume has been down this summer and the situation will not improve anytime soon.
Imported Mexican lemons are expected to be off 15 to 20 percent due to a December cold front affecting trees in the colder regions of Mexico’s lemon growing regions in the north. At the same time Chile is projecting a lemon crop very similar to last season, but their shipments to the U.S. are down by 30 percent compared to the same time last season. Chilean adverse weather condition has slowed harvests and move back shipping dates. Additionally, Argentina lemon imports have been less this season than anticipated.
Domestic lemon shipments from the California-Arizona desert region by the end of August, but only in very light volume. Full volume from that area will not be available until the end of September.
Orange Shipments
The recently completed California orange shipping season has the last tabulation at 44 million boxes, down 1 percent from the USDA’s June projection. The estimate for valencias has been lowered 5 percent to 9 million boxes, on par with last season. The forecast for navels is steady at 35 million boxes, which is down 11 percent from the 2016-17 season.
The smaller navel crop — with that season normally running from October into June — was expected by the industry because of a couple of weather events.
The USDA forecast for the new season of California orange shipments will come out in September.
Mid-Atlantic watermelon shipments are expected to take a hit this summer resulting in reduced volume and possible shipping gaps….Meanwhile, Michigan blueberry shipments look promising this season and one operation is looking to significantly increase volume.
The mid-Atlantic watermelon shipping region includes Delaware, Maryland and the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Some watermelon fields were hit with saw 16 inches of rain during a 50-day period, reports Evans Farms LLC of Bridgeville, DEL. While there has been an increase in watermelon acreage, that may not mean much due to the excessive rains. This resulted in delayed plantings and probably has reduced watermelon acreage by 20 percent. Yields Might be off by double-digit percentage as well. Some say conditions are the worst they have in the past quarter of a century.
There are an estimated 20 to 25 watermelon growers in region. The harvest is just getting underway, which is about a week later than normal.
Shipments should continue into the last half of September.
2017 Watermelon Shipments
In 2017, total seedless watermelon shipments from Maryland, Delaware and Virginia totaled 18.42 million cwt., with 24 percent shipped in July, 62 percent shipped in August, 14 percent shipped in September, and less than 1 percent in October.
Delaware accounted for 10.6 million cwt. in seedless shipments, with 26 percent shipped in July, 63 pecent shipped in August and 11 pecent in September.
Maryland accounted for 6.65 million cwt. in seedless watermelon shipments.
Virgina’s watermelon shipments in 2017 totaled 1.2 million cwt., with 63 percent shipped in August and 37 percent in September.
Michigan Blueberry Shipments
Wish Farms of Plant City, FL is expected to market about 30 percent more blueberries this season due to an expanded relationship with Michigan grower Leduc Blueberries. The Michigan season started earlier this month and blueberry shipments will continue through mid-September.
Volume is projected to hit 2 million pounds, and over the next five years could increase to 3 million pounds.
The Leduc family has been growing blueberries in Paw Paw, MI, since 1955. Roger and Jackie Leduc started with a 20-acre farm, and it has now grown to a 400-acre operation.
by Wawona Packing Company
Cutler, CA — Wawona Packing Company, the largest grower of organic tree fruit in the United States, has announced that its crop of organic yellow peaches is on track for the seasonal transition from clingstone to freestone peaches beginning July 1st. The stone (or pit) clings to the flesh of the peach in clingstone peaches; in freestone peaches, the stone separates effortlessly. This popular fruit will be featured in the company’s “Summer Sizzle” promotion.
“Peach enthusiasts get really excited at this time of the year,” said Wawona CEO Will Feliz. “Consumers just love freestone Sweet-2-Eat organic peaches. They’re perfect for baking, slicing, grilling and of course eating right out of your hand. And we have a terrific looking crop. Growing conditions have been ideal for the past few months, with warm days and cool evenings which has helped with color and sizing.”
Wawona estimates by the start of July its organic yellow peach crop will have large, promotable volume for its retail partners. The company will have a plentiful supply until the end of stone fruit season in late October.
Wawona Packing Company’s Sweet-2-Eat organic yellow peaches are grown with stringent farming protocols similar to those of its conventional fruit. As always, the focus is on flavor, eating quality, size, color and appearance, which ensures that the highest quality fruit ultimately makes its way to consumers.
“As good as this tree fruit season looks like it’s going to be, our organic freestone yellow peaches are going to be especially abundant,” Feliz said. “The fruit is on target to have an incredible flavor profile. And we’ll be packing freestone Sweet-2-Eat organic yellow peaches with full red blush.”
With thousands of acres of farmland in California’s central San Joaquin Valley dedicated to organics, Wawona has the largest organic tree fruit program in the United States. Offering organic yellow peaches and nectarines, white peaches and nectarines, black and red plums, and pluots, the program is the most diverse of its kind. All fruits in Wawona’s organic program are also offered conventionally, along with conventional apricots.
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About Wawona Packing Company:
Founded in 1945, Wawona Packing Company currently farms more than 10,000 acres in California’s central San Joaquin Valley. Wawona offers organic and conventional tree fruit and citrus and is the largest grower of organic tree fruit in the United States. The company’s brands include Sweet-2-Eat, Sweet-2-Eat organic, Harvest Sweet and Wawona. (400) (A2)
By The Northwest Cherry Growers
As the last of our mid-season shippers wind down their business for the year, the bulk of cherry shipments are shifting to the later producing regions. Packing lines are running around the clock as our industry gears up to finish the season in August with strong promotable volume for the next several weeks.
The 2018 shipped crop to date (in 20-pound box equivalents) stands at 19,473,061 million boxes.
Strong cherry shipments from the Northwest are expected, lead by Washington state, through July and into at least early August.
Since July 1st, the Northwest cherry industry has maintained an average of 529,491 boxes (20-pound) shipped per day, which has increased by a daily average of 9,000 boxes since this time last week. Two days ago on July 17th, was the 30th day in a row of shipments since we first shipped more than a half-million boxes of cherries in a day this season. The daily average for that 30-day period is 561,422 boxes daily.
In the past, we’ve reported on the number of days in row that our collective industry shipments exceeded 500,000 boxes on average. Sundays typically see lower shipment volumes than the other 6 days, so an average is a fair calculation of the overall pace of the industry. Our several days of exceptionally high volumes in June, however, make the count for this year a bit misleading. By the traditional math, June 17th was the 39th day in a row feeding into that cumulative daily (500K) average. But working backwards, that string of daily averages takes us all the way back to the 8th day of shipping this season, when shipments for the day totaled 216,000 boxes. No matter the math though, I think we can agree that it’s a lot of fruit. Likewise, many shippers continue to run double shifts just to keep up with the demand for the especially dark, extra sweet late-season cherries our industry is shipping right now.
Washington cherries – grossing about $4700 to Chicago.
By Idaho Potato Commission
EAGLE, ID – With much anticipation the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) unveiled Big Idaho® Potato 2.0. Weighing in at 4 tons, the fiberglass potato is just as impressive as the original, but with a few subtle differences. While the Truck is still 28 feet long and 11.5 feet high, it’s a little trimmer in the middle (10 feet wide), and two tons lighter so it can travel to more places.
When folks saw the original potato, the most commonly asked question was, “Is it real?” There’s no doubt the Tater Team (the Truck’s traveling trio), will continue to be asked that same question. If the potato was real, it would…
- Be the equivalent of 21,562 medium-size potatoes
- Make 20,217 servings of mashed potatoes
- Make close to 1 million French fries
- Take nearly 7,000 years to grow
- Take about 2 years to bake
The Big Idaho® Potato Truck originally launched in 2012 in celebration of the IPC’s 75th anniversary and was supposed to be on the road for just one year. Instead, it became an instant success from coast-to-coast and a part of pop culture. After traveling 155,000 miles, visiting more than 7,200 cities and being included in more selfies than we’ll ever be able to count, the original potato became too road worn to travel and is now retired in its home state of Idaho. During its seven years on the road, the Truck did some pretty cool things!
- Traveled on a barge around New York Harbor passing by the Statue of Liberty and going under the Brooklyn Bridge
- Took a lap on a NASCAR track in the Poconos
- Appeared in many iconic parades including the Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Parade, the SeaFair Festival Parade in Seattle and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Parade in Canton, OH
- Visited NASA in Houston where an astronaut did the “moon walk” on the big potato and declared America now has its own “Spud-nick”!
- Helped fulfill a Make-A-Wish dream for a Virginia boy born with a rare form of dwarfism
- And starred in the IPC’s popular nationally-televised commercials!
The original potato was donated to Kristie Wolfe, a former Tater Team member, who is in the process of turning it into a tiny house in Idaho. And, if it’s anything like her other tiny houses – a Hobbit Inn in Washington state, a treehouse in Hawaii and a reclaimed Forest Service Lookout in Idaho – it will be a sight to see! Follow the transformation on Instagram @bigidahopotatohotel. The Big Idaho® Potato Truck’s charity component, A Big Helping – Idaho Potatoes Supporting Local Causes Nationwide, will continue. In many of the markets the Truck visits, it works with local charities to help raise funds and awareness about the organization or the important cause it supports. In 2017 the Truck donated $500 each to 32 charities across the country.
To see when the Big Idaho® Potato Truck will be in your neck of the woods visit www.bigidahopotatotruck.com.
About The Idaho Potato Commission
Established in 1937, the IPC is a state agency responsible for promoting and protecting the famous “Grown in Idaho®” seal, a federally registered certification mark that assures consumers are purchasing genuine, top-quality Idaho® potatoes. Idaho’s growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation, and rich volcanic soil give Idaho® potatoes their unique texture, taste and dependable performance, which differentiates them from potatoes grown in other states.
From New Zealand apples, to Mexican raspberries and Dragon Fruit in Florida, here are some loading opportunities.
The Oppenheimer Group of Vancouver, B.C. is importing New Zealand fruit and for the first time it will have no gaps between domestic, US grown product and New Zealand fruit.
The first arrivals came in early June. Zealand-grown Jazz apples are experiencing bigger demand from some retailers on the East Coast. They have switched to the new crop Jazz apple already because of the higher truck rates to haul fruit from Washington, Oppenheimer reports.
New Zealand fruit should have bigger volumes this year, which is expected to be 15 percent above the 2016 imports.
Mexican Raspberry Imports
California Giant of Watsonville, CA will be shipping raspberries from Central Mexico starting in mid-September and continuing into June. The company has been handling California raspberries for years during the spring and summer.
“We are so excited to be planting this new crop in Mexico, providing our California Giant customers with promotable raspberry volume that consumers will enjoy
beginning this fall and continuing through the winter months, coming from our regions here in central Mexico,” Rodrigo Aceves, director of operations for California Giant Berry Farms de Mexico, said in a news release.
Over the years, California Giant has also been increasing its acreage of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries to create year-round shipments of fruit.
Dragon Fruit
By J&C Tropicals
Miami, Fl. – J&C Tropicals has announced the release of its new Dragon Fruit brand ‘Dragon Fuel.’
In the last five years, Dragon Fruit has become a top selling item and a staple of J&C’s Florida Grown Tropicals product line! Available in both White & Red Varieties, Dragon Fruit is sweet and crunchy with a flavor that is a cross between kiwi and pear. Most importantly research has shown that South Florida grown Dragon Fruit yields 30 percent more oil containing Omega-6 fatty acids and is higher in antioxidants.
“Last year we saw exponential growth in Dragon Fruit. Dragon Fuel will be key to taking sales to the next level” said Adrian Capote, Vice President of Sales.
J&C Tropicals is a third-generation, family-owned grower, packer and distributor of tropical fruits, roots and vegetables based in Miami, FL.
Among specialty produce items gaining in popularity with U.S. consumers are Asian vegetables and tropical items.
“What is interesting about the specialty category is the crossover between the products and which category they fall into,” said Alex Jackson Berkley, assistant sales manager for Frieda’s, based in Los Alamitos, CA, who recently appeared in a feature in the trade publication The Packer.
“Many fruit items that are popular in the Asian culture are also common in the Latin culture, like dragon fruit (photograph), lychee, rambutan, jackfruit and mangosteen.
“The Asian vegetable category has taken off as many people are becoming more familiar with the items through Asian restaurants,” Jackson Berkley said in The Packer.
“Retailers are looking to compete with the big Asian retailers by bringing in a variety of Asian items at a low retail price. This is going beyond bok choy and napa cabbage. Items like bittermelon, Chinese okra, gai lan and Chinese long beans are more common in the retail (setting).”
World Variety Produce of Los Angeles, which markets under the Melissa’s brand, has seen increasing interest in turmeric, petite baby bok choy and petite Shanghai bok choy, among other Asian items, while jackfruit continues on an upward trajectory despite its massive size.
“The trendiest fruit of them all in the category of tropicals is definitely the jackfruit,” Robert Schueller of Melissa’s added in The Packer article. “It has so much potential.”
“The only problem with the jackfruit and why not every retailer is carrying it is because it’s the largest of all fruit,” Schueller said. “These fruits are typically at least 12 pounds, but on average they are around 20 pounds.”
When the retail price is $2-3 per pound, jackfruit quickly becomes quite pricey.
“It’s a value when it’s per pound, but the thing is that retailers don’t want to deal with cutting it up because there’s a whole art to doing that … It would be considered kind of a tricky fruit to handle,” Schueller said.
Jackson Berkley also noted turmeric and jackfruit as growth items, particularly due to the plant-based eating trend.
Schueller attributed much of the buzz around jackfruit to its use among vegans as a meat substitute.
Both Jackson Berkley and Schueller mentioned dragon fruit has been a hot item as well.
HLB Specialities of Fort Lauderdale, FL report papayas and rambutan are best-sellers for the company, with rambutan experiencing the most growth since HLB began offering it three years ago.
Ecoripe Tropicals of Medley, FL points out rambutan, dragon fruit, durian, longan, lychee, mangosteen and soursop are among the items drawing the most interest for the company.
As New Jersey vegetable shipments get underway, here is a look at last season’s volume to add some perspective as to what to expect this summer.
Bell peppers and tomatoes saw significant shipping increases in 2017, while sweet corn acreage was stable.
New Jersey’s top vegetables in 2017 were tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet corn, and total acreage for vegetable crops topped 35,000 acres.
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reports shipments for 18 vegetables tracked in New Jersey totaled 507.8 million pounds, with area harvested estimated at 35,100 acres.
2017 harvested vegetable acreage of 35,100 was up 1.4 percent from 2016, when 34,600 acres of vegetables were harvested.
According to the USDA, tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet corn together accounted for 51 percent of total vegetable production in the state.
The total value of utilized production in the state was $193.8 million, and tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet corn together accounted for 48 percent of the total.
Sweet Corn Shipments
- Sweet corn topped all vegetable crops in terms of acreage, with 6,200 acres harvested in 2017, down slightly from 6,400 acres harvested in 2016.
- Sweet corn production of 601,400 cwt. in 2017 compares to 595,000 cwt. in 2016, according to USDA statistics.
- Value of sweet corn production in 2017 totaled $18.04 million, up from $17.29 million in 2016.
Tomato Shipments
- Tomato harvested acreage in 2017 totaled 4,000 acres, up 38 percent from 2,900 acres harvested in 2016.
- Production of tomatoes in 2017 totaled 1.12 million cwt., up 42 percent from 791,000 cwt. in 2016.
- Value of tomatoes in New Jersey was $39.2 million in 2017, down from $46.3 million in 2016.
Bell Pepper Shipments
- Bell pepper harvested acreage in 2017 totaled 3,100 acres, up 34 percent from 2,300 acres in 2016.
- Production of bell peppers in 2017 was 868,000 cwt., up from 633,000 cwt. in 2016.
- Value of bell pepper production in 2017 was $35.9 million, up a whopping 80 pecent from $19.9 million in 2016.
Heavy rains last spring set back vegetable crops and shipments from the mid-Atlantic states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, which in some cases will result in shipping gaps. Still, growers are expressing optimism for a strong year.
Some farmers reported actually pumping off more water in May from the field than they pumped in for irrigation. The result could be shipping gaps in July.
Fifer Orchards of Wyoming, DE is an exception claiming the rains did not prevent normal planting of crops and the season’s shipments should be on schedule for vegetables, although a little later than usual.
Fifer Orchards also is expecting a full crop of peaches, with no injury from cold weather. Peach shipments start in mid-July and continue through mid-September.
Papen Farms of Dover, DE report cool and wet weather during March, April and May set crop progress back, but weather in June was favorable. However, yields could be off because of growing conditions.
Papen Farms cabbage shipments started in mid-June, about two weeks later than normal. Sweet corn shipments were about a week late and got underway in early July and will continue into September. Green bean loadings will get started started the last week of July.
Papen Farms will be shipping vegetables to markets ranging from Maine to Florida. The company’s early shipments tending to go north because the Delaware harvest is running ahead of those northern regions. Later in the season, the pattern is reversed, with more shipments to Southern states.
Potato Shipments
As for the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the spring was cold and wet at Dublin Farms of Horntown, VA. The operation ships red potatoes, white potatoes, and yellow fleshed potatoes. Some shippers also have russet potatoes. Shipments will continue until mid-August from acreage similar to a year ago. Potato acreage in the area is normally between 3,000 and 4,000 acres.
Most Eastern Shore of Virginia vegetable shipments consist of potatoes, green beans and tomatoes.