Pasadena, California-based Sun Pacific has launched a new marketing campaign for its Cuties brand as the company looks to build on momentum in the mandarin category heading into the season. The campaign, titled “Irresistibly Cute,” highlights Cuties’ attributes – sweetness, convenience and family appeal – with a playful tone. Cuties was the first mandarin brand […]
Category: Produce News
The Shelby Report covers the produce industry for grocery retailers nationwide, from fresh fruit and vegetable trends and supplier announcements to merchandising strategies and regional market news. Updated regularly across our five regional editions.
Find all our fresh coverage in Focus on Fresh.
Pawlowski To Succeed Barnard As Mission Produce CEO
Mission Produce has shared a planned leadership transition that will see John Pawlowski succeed Steve Barnard as CEO in the spring. Under the succession plan, Barnard – co-founder of Mission Produce and its CEO since 1988 – will assume the role of executive chairman of the board, effective at the close of the company’s annual […]
GrubMarket Appoints DeNeve As Chief Legal Officer
GrubMarket has named Jorge deNeve as its new chief legal officer, adding a legal and governance executive to its leadership team as the company continues to scale its technology and food supply chain platforms. DeNeve brings more than 20 years of experience in corporate governance, regulatory compliance and securities law. His background includes service as […]
Equitable Food Initiative Commemorates 10th Anniversary, Celebrates 2025 Achievements
Equitable Food Initiative – a workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers and retailers – marked a year of progress in 2025 during which it advanced responsible labor practices, strengthened industry collaboration and drove worker engagement throughout the fresh produce supply chain. EFI also celebrated its 10th year as an independent nonprofit with program […]
Why Food Retailers Are Moving To Full Traceability – Turning Compliance Into Opportunity
by Ron Margulis / ReposiTrak Many of the country’s largest food retailers are actively embracing full traceability under FSMA 204 as both a regulatory mandate and a critical business strategy. Driven by major chains like Walmart, Kroger and Albertsons, the push for comprehensive recordkeeping is transforming the grocery industry, setting new performance standards for the […]
Arizona Farmer Named 2025 Organic Grower of the Year
Arnott Duncan, founder of Duncan Family Farms, received the Grower of the Year award during the recent 2025 Organic Grower Summit in Monterey, California. The John Deere-sponsored recognition honors Duncan’s three-decade transformation from small-scale agritourism operator to organic farming innovator managing 3,850 acres across three states. Duncan’s path to organic leadership began with an accidental […]
Weis Markets Completes Tech Upgrade With Toshiba ELERA Security Suite
Weis Markets has completed a full deployment of Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions’ ELERA Security Suite across its store network, advancing the company’s efforts to modernize its front-end operations and strengthen loss-prevention capabilities. The technology is active in the self-checkout lanes of all 199 Weis Markets stores, with plans to extend the system to dual-use and […]
Schnucks Expands ‘Hyper Local’ Sourcing With Farm Direct-to-Store Program
Schnuck Markets Inc., in partnership with Foodshed.io, is expanding a farm direct-to-store concept – increasing the number and types of farms customers experience, with the goal of increasing flavor and freshness. The pilot program began in fall 2024, with one farm supplying multiple Schnucks locations across the St. Louis metro region. It has since expanded […]
Village Farms Greenhouse Grown Supports Publix Produce For Kids Campaign
The Healthy Family Project Fall Publix Produce for Kids cause marketing campaign wrapped Nov. 5, with Village Farms Greenhouse Grown participating as one of 13 produce sponsors. This season’s program helped provide about 875,000 meals to 35 Feeding America partner food banks across the Publix market area. Since its launch in 2002, the biannual effort […]
Divert, General Produce Partner On Food Waste-to-Energy Plan
Divert Inc. and General Produce have formed a partnership that will convert unsold and non-donatable food into renewable energy and soil amendment for communities in Northern California. General Produce will send unused food from its Sacramento distribution center to Divert’s Integrated Diversion & Energy Facility in Turlock, California. There, the material will move through depackaging […]
Pilot Program Highlights Benefits Of Frozen Produce
Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) and Instacart have released the findings of a pilot program that expanded access to fruits and vegetables for families with lower incomes by including frozen produce as an option. Conducted as an extension of PHA’s flagship Good Food at Home program, the effort […]
GrubMarket Acquires Procurant For Fresh Produce Supply Chain
GrubMarket has acquired Los Gatos, California-based Procurant, a software-as-a-service platform that streamlines fresh procurement, order management and regulatory compliance for the fresh food supply chain. Founded in 2018 by CEO Eric Peters, Procurant was created as a cloud-native alternative to legacy procurement systems. The platform supports real-time collaboration, operational efficiency and end-to-end visibility across the […]
Taylor Farms Acquires Natures Way Foods
Taylor Farms has acquired Natures Way Foods, a U.K.-based fresh prepared food manufacturer that specializes in the supply of fresh food supporting retail and foodservice customers. Salinas, California-based Taylor Farms and Natures Way Foods will collaborate to share best practices rooted in their commitment to quality, innovation, food safety and sustainability. Together, they will accelerate […]
Natural Grocers Adds 10 Organic Frozen Vegetable Varieties
Natural Grocers has expanded its private label with 10 new varieties of organic frozen vegetables that also are processed and packaged without synthetic colors or artificial flavors and preservatives (as defined by the company’s standards). The new products include broccoli florets, California blend, cauliflower florets, chopped kale and spinach, cut green beans, green peas, mixed […]
Instacart, PHA Deliver 10M Produce Servings To Families Nationwide
Instacart and Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) have shared a major milestone – together, they have connected families across the country to 10 million servings of produce. In addition, Good Food at Home, PHA’s nutrition security program, has delivered fruits and vegetables to the doors of more than 17,000 people in 12 cities. Prior […]
IFPA Calls For Momentum After Government Reopening
The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) welcomes Congress’s overdue action to reopen the federal government, which helps restore stability to the essential programs that sustain America’s food system. “Congressional gridlock put 48 million Americans at risk of losing access to fresh fruits and vegetables. With government operations restored, critical nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC […]
Food City’s Brooks Named A 2025 IPFA Produce Manager Of The Year
Ragan Brooks, produce manager for the Food City in Abingdon, Virginia, has been named one of the 2025 IFPA Produce Manager of the Year grand-prize winners. Each year, the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) hosts the annual Retail Produce Manager Awards. The program recognizes the top 20 produce managers within the industry and selects five […]
IFPA’s Barbieri To Retire, Nash Named Successor
International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) VP of Membership Engagement and Sales Anthony Barbieri has announced his retirement, effective Dec. 31, after decades in the industry. IFPA’s Megan Nash, current director of education and talent, will become VP of membership engagement and business development on Jan. 1, reporting to Miriam Wolk, chief membership officer at IFPA. […]
Main Street Produce Expands Strawberry Program
In preparation for what is expected to be a strong strawberry season in the coming months, Main Street Produce is expanding its program with broadened shipping operations across multiple key growing regions in Baja and Central Mexico, Florida and Santa Maria and Oxnard, California. “Our commitment has always been to provide exceptional strawberries our customers […]
Gelson’s Markets, Flashfood Bring Produce Box To Los Angeles
Flashfood has debuted its signature Produce Box – a mix of affordable, fresh and high-quality produce – in Gelson’s Markets stores. Shoppers in West Hollywood, Silver Lake and surrounding neighborhoods can reserve $9 assortments of seasonal fruits and vegetables nearing peak freshness through the Flashfood app, then pick them up at participating Gelson’s stores. This […]
