Orlando, Florida-based vertical farming company Kalera has completed construction of its newest facility in Atlanta, Georgia, on-time and on-budget. Its largest farm to date – and the largest vertical farm in the Southeastern U.S. – the facility is 77,000 square feet and has the capacity to produce more than 10 million heads of lettuce per […]
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.
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, Southwest
AFM Named To Fast Company’s List Of World’s Most Innovative Cos.
Avocados From Mexico has not only been named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2021, but also has been recognized as the top innovator in the Branding category. The list honors businesses that have found a way to be resilient in the past year and turned challenges into impact-making processes. This […]
Posted inProduce News, Albertsons, Home Page Slider, West
Plenty Expands Into 17 New Safeway Stores Across Northern California
Plenty, a vertical farming company, has expanded to 17 new Safeway stores across Northern California, bringing the total number of stores carrying Plenty produce in the region to 53. The additional Albertsons-owned stores, which include Safeway and Vons, are part of the multi-year agreement between the two companies to expand Plenty produce into more than […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, West
Mission Produce Has Launched A Year-Round Mango Program
Oxnard, California-based Mission Produce, a source, producer and distributor of fresh Hass avocados, has launched its year-round mango program. The program will be the first to incorporate ripening and distribution on a global and national scale through Mission’s advanced network. “We’re entering the mango category today as we did the avocado category almost 40 years […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, Southeast
Shuman Named Vidalia Onion Grower Of The Year
John Shuman, president and CEO of Shuman Farms in Cobbtown, Georgia, has been named the 2020 Grower of the Year by the Vidalia Onion Committee. The honor was given in recognition of Shuman’s contributions to the industry for more than 25 years. Following in the footsteps of his father, Buck Shuman, who began growing Vidalia […]
Posted inThe Kroger Co., Home Page Slider, Midwest, Produce News
Kroger Expands Partnership With 80 Acres Farms To 316 Stores
The Kroger Co. and 80 Acres Farms are bringing farm-fresh produce to customers across Ohio. And beginning March 15, 80 Acres will serve 316 Kroger locations across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. “Everyone deserves easy access to fresh, affordable, delicious food,” said Dan De La Rosa, Kroger’s group VP of fresh merchandising. “This newly expanded partnership […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, Southeast
Mann’s New Facility To Include Fresh-Cut Fruit Products
Mann Packing Co., a subsidiary of Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. and one of the largest suppliers of packaged vegetables in North America, is adding a fresh-cut fruit area to its new facility in Gonzales, California. This new section of the facility will allow the Coral Gables, Florida-based company to grow its fresh-cut fruit and […]
Posted inProduce News, Albertsons, Amazon Fresh, Home Page Slider, West, Whole Foods
Gotham Greens Accelerates Growth With West Coast Expansion
Gotham Greens, a pioneer in indoor agriculture operating high-tech greenhouses across the U.S., has announced its latest greenhouse in California near the University of California-Davis, one of the world’s leading agriculture research and teaching centers. Located in Solano County, California, the first phase of Gotham Greens’ 10-acre greenhouse facility is expected to open in 2021 and will enable the company […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, West
Avocados From Mexico Brings Back Taco Tip-Off Program
Avocados From Mexico is teaming up with Mission Foods, a tortilla brand in the U.S., for the second consecutive year for the return of “Taco Tip Off.” The promotional program celebrates the college basketball season and championship and offers a full court advantage to boost avocado sales and increase basket size with Mission brand pitas, […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, Southeast
Fresh Del Monte Partners With Queensland University Of Technology
Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., based in Coral Gables, Florida, has partnered with Queensland University of Technology (QUT), located in Brisbane, Australia, to lead innovation toward the development of disease-resistant bananas. The partnership will help to identify new ways of growing bananas that are less susceptible to Tropical Race 4 (TR4), also known as Fusarium […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, West
Ocean Mist Farms Kicks Off 2021 Coachella Artichoke Season
Ocean Mist Farms, a grower and marketer of fresh artichokes in the U.S., has launched the Coachella artichoke production season with the third annual Peace, Love & Artichokes winter promotion. This multifaceted campaign, lasting through March 15, includes email marketing to artichoke shoppers and produce buyers, social media advertising and sweepstakes prizes – all to drive sales […]
Posted inIndependent Store News, Produce News, Shelby Originals, Southeast
Market Profile: Fresh Value Focused On Product Selection, ‘Great Customer Service’
Company has stores throughout state; the ninth opened on Feb. 1 by Mary Margaret Stewart, staff writer Gerry D’Alessandro officially started working for his family’s grocery business at age 14. At the time, his father and uncle – Jerry and Frank D’Alessandro – owned a single store called Fourth Avenue Supermarket in Bessemer, Alabama. When he […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, National
Pure Flavor Receives International Taste Award for New Cloud 9 Tomato
Greenhouse vegetable grower Pure Flavor is launching its Cloud 9 Bite-Sized Fruity Tomatoes. After extensive product trials and consumer taste testing, many are heralding the new tomato variety as an everyday snack game changer. “We taste hundreds of tomatoes every year searching for something special – unique colors, shapes, sizes, but most importantly flavor. From […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, Southeast
Homestyle Guacamole Is Latest Addition To Del Monte Fresh Lineup
Del Monte Fresh Produce has relaunched its Homestyle Guacamole in a variety of new flavors, combining its high-quality ingredients with the fresh taste and texture of a homemade guacamole without the hassle. Fresh Del Monte’s Homestyle Guacamole has been revamped to bring fresher taste and flavor to consumers. A non-GMO product, the guacamole is made […]
Posted inAssociation News, National, Produce News
Looking At Local Produce And Nutrition Incentive Programs
By Ted Mason and Jimmy Wright / NGAF TA Center As buying agents for the grocery shoppers they serve, grocers never lose track of their obligation to provide shoppers with the products they want and need. Just as home gardeners know fruits and vegetables grown in their backyard are the freshest one can get, grocers […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, Midwest
C.H. Robinson Launches Consumer Brand As Robinson Fresh
Robinson Fresh, a division of global logistics company C.H. Robinson, is now offering fresh produce under its own name for the first time in its 115-year history of providing and transporting fresh produce. Retailers can continue to offer the best produce on the market, which they have depended on Robinson Fresh to consistently provide since […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, West
Remembering Tim Corkill, FirstFruits Regional Marketing Manager
FirstFruits Marketing remembers Tim Corkill, a long-time FirstFruits Marketing’s regional marketing manager, who died on Saturday, Jan. 9. “Tim Corkill had such a killer work ethic and a mind for the details, those qualities coupled with his enthusiasm for our business made him someone we could always trust,” said Chuck Zeutenhorst, president at FirstFruits Marketing. […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, Southeast
Mann Packing Co. Adds Fifth Facility To Lineup Of West Coast Operations
Mann Packing Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. and one of the largest suppliers of packaged vegetables in North America, is opening its new facility in Gonzales, California. Joining a lineup of facilities in Salinas, California; Chualar, California; Delhi, California; and Yuma, Arizona, the new facility will allow Mann Packing to […]
Posted inProduce News, Home Page Slider, Midwest
Leonardo’s Produce Joins FreshEdge Family Of Companies
Leonardo’s Produce, a distributor of fresh produce and specialty products, has joined FreshEdge, a family of produce and specialty food companies backed by Rotunda Capital Partners. This action further diversifies the group’s combined customer base and increases its breadth and depth of service offerings in Michigan and Ohio. Leonardo’s joins a growing family that includes Piazza […]
Posted inProduce News, Amazon Fresh, Home Page Slider, Southwest, Whole Foods
Winter Sweetz To Host ‘Sweeter in Texas’ Sweepstakes Through Jan. 15
Mission, Texas-based Winter Sweetz, a grapefruit brand owned by Lone Star Citrus, is launching “Sweeter in Texas,” a sweepstakes to celebrate Texas’ red grapefruit season during the holidays and through the New Year. “This season’s harvest is one of our very best yet, and we are thrilled to share our excitement to ignite demand this year by way […]