Lowe’s Markets, a Texas-based grocery chain, has expanded its partnership with EmpowerFresh, an AI-powered ordering and analytics platform built for independents’ produce departments. Building on the success of an initial six-store pilot, the rollout will extend EmpowerFresh’s solutions to 68 locations across Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Kansas. The produce department – often considered […]
Tag: produce news
Ark Foods To Showcase Full Produce Lineup At Southern Innovations
Ark Foods will be exhibiting at booth No. 504 during the SEPC Southern Innovations Conference Sept. 10-13 in Charlotte, North Carolina. “We set out to change how people think about fresh food,” said Ark Foods CEO Noah Robbins. “What started with a single vegetable – the Shishito pepper – has grown into a diverse portfolio […]
One Banana Opens Produce Distribution Center In Wilmington, NC
One Banana, a family-owned, vertically integrated produce company, has opened a new ripening and distribution center in Wilmington, North Carolina. Located 12 miles from the Port of Wilmington, the 19,800-square-foot refrigerated facility is designed to serve customers across the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic. The company said the center represents a significant investment in modern produce […]
Logile Helps Schnucks With Fresh Food Management Solutions
Schnucks Markets has implemented Logile Inc.’s Fresh Item Management Solutions across its 114-store network, enhancing the efficiency and precision of fresh food operations. Through the partnership, Schnucks is using automation to refine production forecasting and inventory management, reducing inefficiencies and delivering a seamless in-store experience. Schnucks has adopted a data-driven and automated approach that eliminates […]
Walmart Opens High-Tech Perishable Distribution Center In Wellford, SC
Walmart employees, elected officials and community leaders recently celebrated the grand opening of a new 725,000-square-foot perishable distribution center in Wellford, South Carolina. The facility is designed to receive and process fresh produce, eggs, dairy, meat and frozen goods for delivery to 180 Walmart stores. “The opening of our new high-tech perishable distribution center marks […]
Coming Soon To A DC Near You: Fully Automated, AI Assisted Banana Ripening
When Thermal Tech pioneered the TarpLess ripening room system back in the mid 1990s, it changed the way bananas are handled at retail distribution centers (DC’s), allowing truckloads of palletized fruit to be uniformly ripened to a predictable color with precision control for the very first time. The resulting increase in ripening efficiency and […]
Retail Trends Reshaping Produce Ahead Of IFPA Show
As the fresh produce industry prepares for the IFPA Global Produce & Floral Show Oct. 16-18 in Anaheim, California, evolving forces are shaping what success will look like for the store perimeter. In an environment defined by rapid change, inflationary pressures and increasingly discerning shoppers, suppliers and retailers alike are under pressure to pivot fast […]
B&G Foods Sells Le Sueur Brand To McCall Farms
Parsippany, New Jersey-based B&G Foods has sold the Le Sueur brand of premium sweet peas, green beans and carrots to McCall Farms. “Our sale of the Le Sueur brand represents continued progress in our ongoing efforts to reshape our portfolio, sharpen focus on our core brands and reduce long-term debt,” said Casey Keller, president and […]
Giant Food, BrightFarms Introduce New Ready-to-Eat Products
Giant Food has begun a new partnership with BrightFarms to bring fresher, ready-to-eat greens to customers under its private-label Nature’s Promise brand. The partnership introduces several new Greenhouse Grown greens to the produce aisle, including Sweet Baby Butter, Spring Mix, Green and Red Leaf and Crunchy Green Leaf. BrightFarms grows leafy greens indoors in high-tech, climate-controlled greenhouses […]
IFPA Announces 2026 Board Of Directors Slate
The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) has announced the slate of new officers and directors for its 2026 Board of Directors. These volunteer leaders will be confirmed by a ballot shared with membership and begin their service at the 2025 Global Fresh Produce & Floral Show, which is set for Oct. 16-18 in Anaheim, California. […]
The Foundation For Fresh Produce Celebrates National Fruits, Veggies Month
The Foundation for Fresh Produce will kick off its sixth annual National Fruits & Veggies Month in September. National Fruits & Veggies Month was designed to celebrate produce as the nation’s top health priority. As the conversation on health is in the national spotlight, it’s up to the produce industry to make sure fruits and vegetables […]
Crazy Fresh Works With Midwest Growers To Secure Freshest Produce
In an age of global supply chains and mass-produced food, local produce farming stands as a vital cornerstone of our economy and culture. From roadside farm stands to bustling farmers markets, locally grown food plays an essential role in communities, connecting people to the land and to those who cultivate it. At the heart of […]
Northeast Grocery Inc. Expands Double Up Food Bucks NY Program
Field & Fork Network has announced the largest single expansion to date of its statewide nutrition incentive program, Double Up Food Bucks NY (DUFBNY). In partnership with Northeast Grocery Inc., the parent company of grocery retailers Market 32, Price Chopper, and Tops Friendly Markets, DUFBNY is now accepted at 48 additional stores across the three […]
Brookshire Grocery Co. Utilizes Afresh To Transform Fresh Operations
Brookshire Grocery Co. has begun a partnership with Afresh to deploy its store ordering and inventory management solutions across the deli, produce and market (meat and seafood) departments at four of its banners – Brookshire’s, Super 1 Foods, FRESH by Brookshire’s and Spring Market. Brookshire selected Afresh for its built-for-fresh technology that uses artificial intelligence to address […]
IFPA’s Foodservice Conference Concludes Record-Breaking Show
Featuring a sold-out expo and a growing number of field tour programs for chefs and kindergarten-12th grade operators, the International Fresh Produce Association’s annual Foodservice Conference July 31-Aug. 1 set an attendance record while also drawing a diverse collections of buyers. “With over 1,000 buyers, new operators, colleges and universities and more than 2,200 attendees, […]
IFPA Shares New Strategic Alignment To Amplify Food Safety Portfolio
International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) has announced a reorganization to enhance and amplify its goals in the areas of produce and food safety regulations. Under the new structure, Paul Lewis, IFPA’s regulatory and compliance expert, will join the government relations team and report to Chief Global Policy Officer Alexis Taylor. Other members of the food […]
Grocery Industry Welcomes Produce Safety Roadmap
The grocery industry is welcoming the release of the Reagan-Udall Foundation’s report, “Roadmap to Produce Safety: A Conceptual Framework.” The Reagan-Udall Foundation for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), at the request of the FDA, recently led a stakeholder dialogue process to explore new strategies for produce safety and the development of a collaborative […]
HGG, Texas Health Resources Make Fresh Produce More Affordable
Heritage Grocers Group (HGG) is joining Texas Health Resources in its efforts to make fresh produce more affordable for families by offering Double Up Food Bucks Texas benefits to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients at eight of its El Rancho stores in North Texas. El Rancho’s entry into the program brings the total number […]
Termination Of Tomato Trade Deal Stirs Supply Concerns
The U.S. government’s decision to terminate the Tomato Suspension Agreement (TSA) threatens to upend the fresh tomato supply chain, severely reduce availability and put food safety at risk for American consumers, according to San Antonio-based NatureSweet. Nearly 70 percent of the fresh tomatoes consumed in the U.S. are imported from Mexico, particularly during the winter […]
Duda Farm Fresh Foods Expands Georgia Sweet Corn Facility
Duda Farm Fresh Foods has added a cutting-edge, on-site fresh cut corn processing facility within its Georgia sweet corn operations. This investment marks a step in the company’s commitment to delivering fresher, more sustainable produce. The new facility mirrors the same technology and processes used across all of Duda’s corn processing locations in Florida, Michigan […]
