A year-long healthy eating-focused Produce for Kids campaign with Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) Springfield Division will raise funds for Feeding America programs that benefit families and children within the AWG Springfield footprint. The program, which kicked off this week, offers shoppers healthy meal solutions, registered dietitian-approved recipes and tips. The AWG Springfield Produce for Kids […]
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.
Americans Trend Away From Processed Foods, Opting For Fresh Because Of Health
A new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers shows that, compared to three years ago, Americans are consuming more fresh products, including fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses. The nationwide trend away from processed foods is driven by healthier diets and lifestyles, according to data gathered in December 2016 by research firm OpinionWay for Bizerba […]
‘Veg-centric’ Trends To Look Out For This Year
“Vegetable-centric” cooking and dining are on top of most trends lists for 2017, and retailers must be ready to offer a variety of fruits and vegetables to shoppers seeking to add more produce to their plates. That’s according to Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “Vegetable-centric eating is finally mainstream, and it’s paving ways for the future of […]
Taylor Farms Completes Solar Installation At Dallas Facility
Taylor Farms, a leading producer of value-added produce and healthy fresh foods in North America, has completed its latest solar installation at its new prepared fresh foods facility in Dallas, Texas. The 1 MW roof mount array spans nearly four acres with 3,520 panels installed, making it one of the largest commercial solar installations in […]
SpartanNash Grows Produce Capabilities With Caito Buy
SpartanNash is acquiring Caito Foods Service and Blue Ribbon Transport (BRT) for approximately $217.5 million in cash. SpartanNash will acquire Caito’s produce distribution business, fresh cut fruits and vegetables business, its newly constructed Fresh Kitchen facility and the logistics business of BRT. SpartanNash said the acquisitions will enhance its product offerings by expanding into the fast-growing freshly prepared […]
Sprouts Named Pear Retailer Of The Year
On the show floor at PMA Fresh Summit over the weekend, USA Pears presented Sprouts Farmers Markets’ produce warehouse with the 2016 Pear Retailer of the Year Award for its pear category improvements in merchandising performance and sales increase. “On behalf of nearly 1,600 fresh pear growers of Washington and Oregon, we congratulate the Sprouts produce […]
MountainKing Introduces Holiday Gold Rush Promotion
With year-over-year sales of yellow traditional potatoes up sharply, Houston, Texas-based MountainKing Potatoes is looking to maintain the positive momentum by rolling out its Holiday Gold Rush promotion for 2016 featuring three of its freshly harvested gold varieties. MountainKing’s Holiday Gold Rush promotion features the company’s 3-lb. Buttery Bite Golds, 3-lb. Steakhouse Golds and its […]
Nominations Now Open For 2017 Retail Produce Manager Awards
The United Fresh Produce Association is now accepting nominations for the 2017 Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. This program recognizes 25 outstanding retail produce managers for their innovative merchandising, produce-related community outreach, increased store sales and recognition among company peers. The program, sponsored by Dole Food Co. and in it’s 13th year, pays special recognition […]
Raley’s Offers Free Fruit For Kids
Raley’s Family of Fine Stores is providing free fruit to kids in stores while parents shop. Baskets of fruit are placed in the entrance of each store, as a nutritious snack option for kids under the age of 12. “Raley’s wants to connect kids with fresh and healthy food, while enhancing our customers’ overall shopping […]
United Fresh Leader Paints Bright Picture For Produce, But Notes Challenges Facing Industry
Tom Stenzel, president and CEO of the United Fresh Produce Association, is presenting an overall upbeat picture of the produce industry. Supporting his assessment is an independent consumer panel, whose members say they look forward to buying quality produce and are willing to pay more for it to feed their families. Stenzel opened the New […]
Most Americans Value Produce’s Appearance, But Price Is More Important
About eight in 10 Americans (81 percent) confirm that appearance (i.e., not blemished or misshapen in any way) is at least somewhat important to them when shopping for fresh produce (i.e., fruits and vegetables), with 43 percent saying it is very or extremely important. That’s according to a recent Harris Poll. When listed alongside other […]
Northgate González To Test Produce Incentives With SNAP Customers, Thanks To USDA Grant
by Lorrie Griffith/editor–West Northgate González Market, the 41-store Southern California grocery retailer, soon will embark on a four-year pilot test to see whether offering Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants financial incentives to purchase fruits and vegetables actually increases their purchase and consumption. The Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) trial is being made possible through […]
NatureFresh Mobile Greenhouse Educates Consumers About Their Produce
Even in the heart of the summer when there is an abundance of fresh produce choices, NatureFresh Farms Mobile Greenhouse Education Center is gaining momentum with consumers who want to know how their tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers are being grown, and by whom. “Using the Greenhouse Education Center as a living example of how […]
SpartanNash Makes Fair Food Pledge To Support Fair Labor Practices For Farmworkers
SpartanNash has become the first food distributor in Michigan to sign Migrant Legal Aid’s Fair Food Pledge, affirming the company’s commitment to fair labor practices for the state’s more than 94,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families. The Fair Food Pledge exemplifies SpartanNash’s commitment to corporate responsibility, including the fair treatment of farmworkers, according […]
Opportunities Vast For Personalized Food Products
In the U.S., folks know know what they like, and usually they’re willing to pay for it. This drive to personalize to suit lifestyles—to save time, live better and healthier, or indulge—extends to the food consumers buy in the grocery store, according to Nielsen. Consumers can purchase products free of gluten or chock full of […]
Walmart Store Manager Shares Feedback From ‘Fresh Angle’ Remodel
A Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas, is among the first of the company’s remodeled locations to unveil the retail giant’s “Fresh Angle” approach, which places fresh, unpackaged vegetables front and center. Travis Moore, that store’s manager, has shared the feedback he has received about the change. “When you walk into our store today, you’re intentionally […]
Grocers Show Utah Pride With Local Farmers Markets
Macey’s, Lin’s, Dan’s, Dick’s Market and Fresh Market stores are featuring more Utah-grown items in the produce section with the Local Farmers Markets program, which launched July 1. The in-store program includes signage highlighting Utah-grown produce and the farmers who supply them, as well as parking lot tent sales on Saturdays. “Buying from Utah farmers and growers allows […]
Grocery Outlet, Revolution Foods Address Bay Area Food Insecurity
In an effort to combat food insecurity in the Bay Area–specifically summer food insecurity when children are out of school–Eric Lindberg, co-CEO of Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, and Kristin Richmond, CEO of Revolution Foods, are partnering with Alameda County Community Food Bank to distribute 10,000 bags filled with healthy food items. Donations for the bags […]
Apple Co-op Releases SweeTango Crop Projections
Members of the Next Big Thing Growers’ Cooperative released estimates for the 2016 crop of SweeTango, the sweet, tangy, crunchy apple that was developed by the University of Minnesota to feature the best characteristics of the Honeycrisp and Zestar apple varieties. The projected crop yield is 450,000 standard 40-lb. boxes, which is an 18 percent […]
Dole The First Produce Brand To Get Nielsen Innovation Award
Nielsen has honored Dole Fresh Vegetables for “transformational innovation and for continually bringing improvements to essential day-to-day experiences and rituals.” The company and specifically its line of Dole Chopped Salad Kits launched in 2013 received a 2016 U.S. Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Award, selected for distinctiveness, relevance and endurance from close to 3,500 consumer products introduced […]
