FPFC Releases First Market Data Report Grocery Outlet Thrives

Transcription

october / november 2011
VOLUME 39 NUMBER 5
Fresh
IGEST
D
A PUBLICATION OF THE FRESH PRODUCE & FLORAL COUNCIL
2011 Oct-Nov Fresh Digest Final.indd 1
FPFC Releases First
Market Data Report
Grocery Outlet Thrives
With Unique Model
9/26/11 5:27:20 PM
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
FEATURES
ON THE COVER:
Photo provided by
User Friendly, Ink.
10
FPFC Releases Regional Market Data
12
Grocery Outlet Continues Same Mission That Launched It
16
QR Codes Gaining Use in Produce Industry
18
You Say “Tomato.” I Say “Dulcinea.”
20
The Keyword is “Growing” at Domex Superfresh Growers
22
24
Presentation Matters
27
AMS Exotic Shows Its “Metal” with New Easy Veggie Grillers
28
NoCal Bocce Ball
32
36
SoCal August Luncheon
Focus on Research
Focus on Retail
Focus on Technology
Focus on Product Development
Focus on Apples
Focus on Category Mangement
NoCal September Luncheon
Thank Yous and Event Photos
Focus on Innovation
SoCal Golf Tournament
DEPARTMENTS
4
6
8
Editor’s View
by Tim Linden
Executive Notes
by Carissa Mace
Council News
FPFC Highlights
Volume 39, Number 5
FRESH Digest (ISSN-1522-0982) is published bimonthly for
$15 of FPFC membership dues; $25 for annual subscription
for non-members by Fresh Produce & Floral Council; 16700
Valley View Ave. Suite 130; La Mirada, CA 90638. Periodicals
postage paid at Buena Park, CA, and at additional mailing offices.
Postmaster: Send address changes to FRESH Digest,
16700 Valley View Ave. Suite 130; La Mirada, CA 90638.
3
9/26/11 5:27:25 PM
VIEW
Is Bigger Better?
EDITOR'S
As a backyard
farmer, I am often
forced to contemplate whether bigger
is better or is the
reverse true. (And
by the way, I am a
backyard farmer, not
a gardener. I’m not
sure what the differTim Linden
ence is but farmer
sounds more masculine. Not that there is anything
wrong about sounding less masculine but I also cook
and shop and I just don’t want to add “gardener” to
my list of weekend activities.)
So back to my bigger is better conundrum. As
you see from the picture, I am growing very large
By Tim Linden zucchini on my backyard farm. While I harvested
plenty of normal sized zucchini this summer, this
one plant also produced a half dozen of these
monstrous specimens. On the other hand, my
prolific tomato plants tended to produce great,
sweet tasting fruit but it was undersized. And my
Japanese eggplant topped out at about seven inches
with many in the five inch range, much smaller than
the nine inches that the plant care tag promised.
My jalapeno peppers were also very small as were
my bell peppers.
Now each of these small fruit and vegetable
items were great tasting and received polite verbal
applause from my dinner guests when informed
that they came from my own backyard. But the
accolades I got for my zucchini was off the charts.
In fact I heard many of my female guests ask their
“gardener” husbands why their zucchinis were so
much smaller than mine. Maybe it is because they
are gardeners rather than farmers, but that would
be pure speculation on my part.
What is most important is whether large or
small tastes better. My taste buds might be suspect
because by the time I get around to tasting I have
always consumed a bit of wine (How can one
cook dinner without a glass of wine in hand?). But
I can never tell the difference. My small tomatoes
are very tasty and sweet but so are the large ones.
The small zucchini also are pretty good but not any
better than these giant ones.
While I cannot objectively judge which is
better by taste, I have come to the conclusion that,
all things being equal, large zucchini are better than
small ones if for no other reasons than for the
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raves they bring with them. That is no small thing
(pun intended). At my station in life, accolades are
a good thing for any reason. And for our industry,
anything that creates positive conversation about
our products should also be considered a plus.
Since I do nothing special to produce these
large zucchini, I am assuming that professional farmers could also produce giant zucchini if they wanted
to. For some reason, they obviously aren’t interested
or someone would be doing it. Someone is missing
a great marketing opportunity. I have only anecdotal
evidence but it is compelling. A recipient of one such
zucchini gift from me recently sent me an email titled
“Yummy Zucchini.” It read in part: “We loved the
zucchini that you brought over from your garden! Zucchini pancakes, zucchini soup - it was so fresh
and sweet. Thank you for sharing it with us.”
A lawyer who works in the office where my
daughter interned this summer heard of my prodigious Italian squash and begged for one. He said
he loves to stuff zucchini and the ones in the store
are just so small he can’t do anything with them. He
was totally floored by the size of my zucchini.
So there you have it squash industry (and any
other farmer of crops), another free idea to help
you sell fruits and vegetables. Bigger is better. Of
course, with that said, we all know of the success
baby vegetables have had over the years, including
baby sweet peppers, a relatively new product that
is currently doing very well. Maybe the key marketing concept is “Different Is Better.” No thanks
necessary.
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:27:28 PM
EXECUTIVE NOTES
Lunch with Carissa
by Tom Fielding
There is one
affliction that all writers fear more than
anything on earth, the
dreaded writer’s block.
So when FPFC President Carissa Mace
suddenly came down
with a case and asked
Carissa Mace
me to assist her in
writing this column, I
could empathize with her predicament.
Because of my imminent concern for her
well being, I immediately dropped everything on
my schedule to make myself available to help her
in her time of need. Plus, she had offered me a
free lunch.
As usual, there was lots of traffic as I headed
down to Orange County, so on my drive I had
time to jot down some questions. After narrowly
averting a collision with a semi (driving and writing
is never a good idea), I arrived at the FPFC office.
Forgetting momentarily that she could fire
me at any time, I pondered the question, “What
do I not know about Carissa that would be fun
to tell the world (or at least FPFC members who
read this publication)?” Little did I know that my line
of questioning would eventually lead her to reveal
a tale about a back stage rendezvous with a Hollywood star who was wearing his bathrobe. More
on that story later.
I decided to start the interview with some
easy questions to make her comfortable. “There
are so many FPFC events,” I said. “Do you have a
favorite?”
“I think it is the events where we get our
members out of the usual business environment,”
she said. “I really like the family events like the FPFC
Day At The Races and the Bowling Tournament, where
it is not so much a work-like atmosphere. We hope
we have the same type of event with the inaugural
Bocce Ball Tournament in Northern California.”
Carissa added that the FPFC Day At The Races
has exploded in attendance the past few years. “I
remember when we only had about 70 people
attend, and now we sell the event out with a cap
of 400 people.”
Now, my personal favorite FPFC event is the
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Annual Dinner Dance,
which always incorporates a fun theme to
add to the festivities.
“Who comes up with
that theme, by the
way?” I asked her.
“We have an
eight to ten member
Tom Fielding
committee who each
year evaluates the
previous dinner dance and then suggests ideas for
the next one,” she answered.
I asked her for some of the ideas that have
not made the cut.
“Well, each year there is one idea always
proposed and always rejected called ‘Under The
Sea.’ I don’t want to say who originally proposed it
and brings it up year after year, so I will only say we
call it ‘The Chris Puentes Memorial Theme’.” I could
see she was starting to open up to me.
Carissa added that FPFC independent contractor Angela Taylor had proposed a Titanic theme,
but it was rejected because the FPFC did not have
the budget “to flood the ball room at the end of the
night.” I surmised there would be no appearance
by Celine Dion either.
With all the different committees that meet
at the FPFC, I wondered if Carissa knew just how
many there were over the course of a year. I wonder no more.
“Last year, I was involved in 83 different meetings,” Carissa said. And when she says involved,
she means involved. Not only does she attend
the meetings, but she also writes the agenda, the
meeting notice, the minutes and back-up materials.
So it looks like she is working and not avoiding my
phone calls.
Luncheons are a big part of the FPFC experience, and the addition of the two Northern California luncheons have proved quite successful.
“There was a definite need to create luncheons in Northern California,” Carissa said. “They
always have great crowds, and there is a waiting list
of sponsors. It just keeps on growing.”
Of course, the bi-monthly Southern California luncheons have been a great place to network
for decades. The FPFC changed the location of
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:27:29 PM
the luncheon to the Cerritos Sheraton a couple
of years ago. “Has the transition to a new venue
been a smooth one, and how do you secure your
featured speakers?” I asked.
Carissa said, “We really like the change to the
new facility.” She admitted there have been some
complaints about the parking, “but I try to tell them
that we are ‘helping people’s health’ by having them
walk more.”
“Since 2007, when you started” I said,“has one
luncheon speaker proven to be the favorite among
the respondents to your luncheon questionnaire?”
“Lyle Waggoner,” she answered quickly. “How
about that? People absolutely loved him.”
Along those lines, I wondered what types of
speakers attract the biggest luncheon crowds?
Without missing a beat, she laughed and said,
“The most popular luncheons are the ones where
a major retailer is the emcee.”
As far as where she gets the speakers, Carissa joked, “We go through a speaker’s bureau or
call Bill Laliberte to see who he’s playing golf with
that day.”
Proving to Carissa that I pay attention to
details (hey, you only get so many moments to
shine), I said, “The Northern California EXPO and
the Southern California EXPO each has its own
distinct personality. Is that by design?”
“Yes,” she said. “The committee for Northern
California determined they just wanted a trade
show. ‘Keep it simple,’ they said. We have tweaked
the Southern California show, and switched the
lunch to a breakfast to allow more floor time,
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A young Carissa with ‘Gomer’
which our exhibitors requested. We are always
evolving.”
By the way, her favorite Expo speaker was
Jerry West. “He is such a generous man and so
sincere. The Lakers were in the playoffs when he
was our featured speaker, yet he called me to talk
about the Expo.”
I realized by now I had softened her up long
enough with those easy questions. It was now time
to find out the story behind the president. Not being completely stupid, I made sure she had paid the
bill before I asked her the next question.
“What do we not know about Carissa Mace?”
I asked innocently.
First of all, did you know that I went to the
same high school as Linda Stine, the prior FPFC staff
president? “We both went to Chaffey High School
in Ontario, albeit at different times,” said Carissa.
Hardly earth shattering, but it was a start.
I then found out that instead of being on stage
at the FPFC EXPO, Carissa had once contemplated
a career on a completely different sort of stage. “I
was a theater major at NYU. For a while, I had a
friend who worked for a major Broadway producer
and I was enlisted to be a “seat filler” for big opening nights, when they always want a full house. I
would get in free and take the bad seats that no
one wanted. I can’t tell you how many Broadway
Continued on next page
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9/26/11 5:27:31 PM
Continued from page 7
COUNCIL
NEWS
shows I went to for free.”
Not exactly payola, but I kept digging.
It was actually in New York City where Carissa
changed career paths that would eventually lead her
to the post she holds today.
“I worked at the New York City Opera in a
fundraising role, which in turn led me to being hired
by non-profits which eventually led to the City of
Hope, and then, the FPFC.”
Just when it seemed I hadn’t gotten any deep,
hidden secrets from Carissa, the truth spilled out.
“Oh yeah,” Carissa admitted,“when I was five-years-
old I was a huge Gomer Pyle fan. My parents took
me to a Las Vegas show where Jim Nabors was
performing.”
I immediately thought. “Aha, underage gambling!”
She continued. “After the show, we were invited to go back stage to see him. When he came
out to meet us, he was wearing a big yellow bathrobe, and I sat on his lap for a photo.” Golly!
I knew at this point I had gotten the “hidden”
story I had been searching for throughout the interview. My work was done. And after she reads
this, my guess is Carissa will never have writer’s
block again.
FPFC Floral Achievement
Award Winner
Deborah Jackson, who is the senior floral field buyer for
Supervalu/Albertsons, received the FPFC Floral Achievement
Award at the Southern California Expo in July.
Pictured here with her daughter Charisse, Ms. Jackson
was noted for her service on behalf of the industry. She has
been in the floral business for more than 20 years as both a
supplier and a buyer, including the last decade with Albertsons/Supervalu.
In a recent interview with the Fresh Digest, she expressed her affinity for the industry. “I still
have a passion and a love for the industry and I have great respect for my vendors. I wouldn’t know
what to do if I didn’t wake up every day stressed out over my job,” she laughed.
1/3 h 4c ad
Henry Avocado
Call: 714-447-4306 or 760-497-6373
www.henryavocado.com
8
FRESH DIGEST
Carissa Mace
Publisher
Tim Linden
Editor
Tom Fielding
Advertising/Editorial
Heather Gray
Design/Layout
FRESH PRODUCE & FLORAL COUNCIL
2011 Board of Directors
OFFICERS
Gary DeAtley, Loucy DeAtley,
Jeanne Riley
California Sun Dry Foods
Roger Niebolt, Budd Pohle,
Jan Williams
Cargo Data
Barb Metheny
Fresh Connect, LLC
Jeff Miller
Westlake Produce Company
Chairman of the Board
Rick Cruz
Vons/A Safeway Company
Chair Elect
Mike Casazza
Apio/Eat Smart
Treasurer/Secretary
Patty Knoll
Temkin International
Immediate Past Chair
Harland Heath
Heath & Lejeune, Inc.
Honorary Past Chairman Representative
Ken Ewalt
Ready Pac Produce
Past Chairman Representative
Carissa Mace
Fresh Produce & Floral Council
President
The Laura Scudder’s Company, LLC
DIRECTORS
Package Containers, Inc.
Mark Carroll
Gelson’s/Mayfair Markets
Greg Corrigan
Raley’s Supermarkets
Dan De La Rosa
Ralphs Grocery Company
Dave Howald
California Avocado Commission
Debbie Jackson
Supervalu/Albertsons
Kent Kuwata
Smart & Final Corp.
Wes Liefer
Pura Vida Farms
Brad Martin
Perimeter Sales & Merchandising
Jeff Oberman
United Fresh Produce Association
Mike O’Leary
Boskovich Farms, Inc.
Marvin Quebec
Quebec Distributing Co.
Roger Schroeder
Stater Bros. Markets
Rich Van Valkenburg
Deminski, Van Valkenburg & Associates
Norma Cardenas, Edna Dollarhide,
Lindsay Orozco, Abundio Ruiz
Gourmet Specialties, Inc.
Therese Ferrara, Kirsten Gallegos,
Michael Gallegos
COUNCIL NEWS
FRESH DIGEST
The Fresh Produce & Floral Council
Welcomes the Following New Members:
Manuel Morales
Monterey Bay Nursery Inc
Paul Weinroth
The Nut Boy Inc.
Robert Degnan, Kellee Harris,
David Hinkle
Brian Klesmith, Randy Shell,
Melissa Sylte
RPE, Inc.
Alan Ecker, Craig Graupe
Sun-Rype Products LTD.
9
9/26/11 5:27:35 PM
Focus on Research
FPFC Releases
Regional Market Data
In September, the Fresh Produce & Floral
Council released the first FPFC market report,
which provides sales figures and analysis for all items
recorded under the vegetable and fruit categories
for the entire state of California and for four key
markets: Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and
San Francisco.
The FPFC has been working with industry
volunteers and Fusion Marketing of Chatsworth,
Calif., to create the report, and it will now be produced on a quarterly basis and provided free of
charge exclusively to FPFC members. In addition to
specific produce items,The FPFC Market Report™
provides comparative data on fixed-weight product,
organic items and non-produce items like dressings,
juices and nuts.
The FPFC Market Report™ is one of the
most significant new member benefits to emerge
from the planning that followed the Council’s
Member Needs Assessment in 2009, according to
FPFC President Carissa Mace. “We saw that what
members wanted, especially retailers, was information about the region we serve,” she said. “The FPFC
is in a unique position to provide this market data
and we are the only ones providing it.”
Because The FPFC Market Report™ is available only to members of the Fresh Produce & Floral
Council, Mace and the FPFC Board of Directors
expect it to provide a new incentive for companies
to join. “Prior to the introduction of this product,
the primary benefit of FPFC membership has been
our networking events,” Mace revealed. “Now we
have something to offer companies who can’t take
advantage of the networking. We believe that The
FPFC Market Report™ is now one of the major
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benefits of membership in the FPFC.”
The report released in September covers a
52-week period ending April 24, 2011. “This is the
data we have been working with while we tweaked
the format,” Mace says. Another report with fresher
data will be available in October. A third report will
cover the 2011 calendar year; and in 2012, reports
will be available based on quarterly data.
Steven Muro, founder and president of Fusion Marketing, said this first report serves as the
baseline and each subsequent report will add to this
data base and soon a very valuable picture will be
painted. “This first report is a benchmark and gives
us a point in time and as we move forward we will
be able to identify trends and have a much clearer
picture” of what is going on in California as a whole
and in each of these four major markets.
While the full report is only available to
FPFC members, Muro did share a few nuggets that
were unearthed. For example, the report showed
that consumers spent more on fruit and vegetable
consumption over the past year but they actually
bought slightly less product. Muro said there has
been a worldwide increase in costs in the fruit and
vegetable sector and the report reflects that. He
said other data is interesting to ponder but it will
take several reports to determine if specific data
is an anomaly or a bankable trend. For example,
of the four markets studied, Sacramento was by
far the leading market for organic vegetables. Is
Sacramento a hot bed of organic consumption or
was there some factor that skewed the numbers for
this particular time frame? Only time will tell…and
only FPFC members will know the answer.
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:27:35 PM
Grocery Outlet Continues Same
Mission That Launched It
Focus on Retail
By Tim Linden
In 1946 with World War II over, Jim Read
purchased military surplus and began selling it to
the public in vacant stores in San Francisco under
a “Cannery Sales” banner at hugely discounted
prices.
Today, the company he started is still owned
and run by members of his family and both the
operation and the mission have remained true
to his vision of 65 years go. Over the years, the
company has expanded and changed its name to
the point that there are now 155 Grocery Outlets
in six western states. They are headquartered in
Berkeley and the firm’s largest concentration of
stores is in Northern California.
About 75 percent of the products sold in
these typically 15,000 square foot stores could
still be classified as surplus items that are heavily
discounted. The firm’s vice president of marketing,
Melissa Porter, calls them “opportunistic buys.” The
company’s website spells out exactly what that
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means using a real life example. Several years ago
when the movie Shrek was in the movie theaters,
a major cereal manufacturer partnered with the
producers of the film and created promotional
packaging for the movie’s release that featured the
Shrek character. When the promotion ended, the
cereal manufacturer still had a lot of Shrek cereal
boxes. So they filled them up with brand new product and sold them to Grocery Outlet at a fraction
of the original cost.The Grocery Outlet stores sold
that perfectly good cereal for about half the price
of the regular branded product, which was exactly
the same.
Porter said most of the company’s daily inventory is sourced in this manner from manufacturers
all over the world. Produce, she said, is typically not
an opportunistic buy, but the firm’s produce buyers
still look for good buys.
Scot Olson, director of produce and floral for
Grocery Outlet, said the company began offering
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:27:39 PM
produce in 1999 as a convenience to its customers.
He joined the retailer a couple of years later and
has helped build the produce department to a very
respectable division within the company, though he
said it clearly is not an extreme value department.
“The typical store carries 125 to 135 SKUs of fresh
produce and flowers,” he said, “which includes all
the basics.”
Those SKUs include the top brands in the
country often at a discounted price. Olson said he
is not tied to any particular sized product so he can
pick and choose when deals become available. One
day he may get a good buy on small pears and a
week later it may be a size at the other end of the
spectrum where the deal makes sense.
Olson is helped by the fact that of the 155
Grocery Outlets, only three of them are companyrun stores. The other 152 are independently operated in a unique partnership with the individual store
owners, so there is no need for every store to carry
every product every day. Grocery Outlet builds
the store and owns the lease as well as the major
equipment, fixtures and the product itself. The independent operators provide the labor, the day to day
supplies and expenses such as shopping carts and
bags, and extras that they might want to purchase
to set their store apart, such as a Grocery Outlet
shade banner for parking lot merchandising.
Grocery Outlet also recruits the operators,
trains them and sets them up in the store locations.
The independent operators and Grocery Outlet
split the resulting gross margin on a 50/50 basis.
Porter said it is difficult to label the relationship because it is different than any other grocery
store chain. “We act as supplier but we are more
than that because we actually provide and own the
inventory,” she said.
The operators own their business, including the rights to the Grocery Outlet name, their
employees and the customer relationship. If an
operator wants to get out of the business, Grocery Outlet works with them to find a suitable
replacement. Olson said the operators are typically
husband/wife teams. “We have found that works
very well,” he said.
One such team is Tod and Debbie Jackson
who operate a 10,400 square foot Grocery Outlet
store in San Leandro, Calif., which is in the East Bay,
south of Oakland. Tod was working at a discount
chain in the state of Washington when Grocery
Outlet recruited him from a career builders website that he was listed on. The couple reached an
agreement with the supermarket chain, trained for
eight months and then moved to California to start
their business in a brand new store. Today,Tod calls
it the “best move he ever made.”
He said he and his wife come into the store
seven days a week but they have a good crew and
are able to work only a half day on Sundays and
take off other days every once in a while. “Yesterday
was Debbie’s birthday,” he said. “So we came in and
checked everything and she did some of the books
and then we left.”
The couple have divided the workload in half
with Debbie doing the books, handling the one aisle
of hard goods and running the checkout stands. Tod
handles the rest of the stock and the rest of the
employees, including produce.
“My philosophy with produce is the more
SKUs the better,” he said.
A tour through his relatively small produce department revealed many bargains which he pointed
out in delight, including three pounds of pears for
$1.99. “You are not going to find pears priced like
that anywhere else,” he said. “Scot (Olson) gets us
some great deals.”
One thing is evident. There are no scales in
the produce department nor at the checkout stand.
“Everything is sold by the piece or the bag,” said
Olson. “We look for bargains in produce but it is a
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9/26/11 5:27:43 PM
challenge. We are not looking for quality problems.
We are looking for overruns. Probably our best advantage is that we are not stuck on any specific spec.
We don’t need a 72 count Red Delicious apple. I
typically ask my suppliers, ‘What size do you have
the most of?’ or ‘What are you stuck with?’”
While he tries to carry the basics every day,
Olson said he knows the firm’s customers and if a
price point gets too high, he won’t buy it. A case
in point was when cartons of onions skyrocketed
a couple of years ago, Grocery Outlet just didn’t
buy them.
But with that said, Porter allowed that Grocery Outlet customers come from all stations in
life. “There is a very rich class that might not shop
at a Grocery Outlet, but every other demographic
does,” she said. “We actually co-exist very well with
conventional supermarkets. Some people come
into our stores two or three times a week just
to look for the opportunities. Others do all their
shopping with us.”
In fact, the company touts some high ends
deals such as its wine buys as again it is able to sell
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wine at deep discounts when purchasing labels that
have been overproduced. (On this particular day,
I found a bottle of sauvignon blanc that typically
retails in the high $20s for $5.99.)
Grocery Outlet is a third-generation family run business, recognized as the nation’s largest
grocery extreme-value retailer. The co-CEOs —
MacGregor Read, grandson of the founder, and
his brother-in-law, Eric Linderg, both began their
careers with Grocery Outlet in 1996. Read, who
once worked for Del Monte Foods as a product
manager, advanced through several positions within
the company until he ultimately became the vice
president of real estate and construction in 2004,
responsible for the most aggressive new store
growth in the history of the company. That growth
continues today as Porter said the firm is expanding
by about 10 percent each year.
Lindberg’s career has taken him through the
entire purchasing department, including perishables.
He was promoted to vice president of purchasing
in 2001, where he managed a team of 26 professionals.
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:27:47 PM
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Booth 4475
QR Codes Gaining Use
In Produce Industry
Focus on Technology
By Tim Linden
It is an idea seemingly built for a techie. A
small two-dimensional code can be read by pointing
a camera-equipped smart phone at it and clicking.
The Quick Response code (QR) immediately sends
the user to a website where more information
about that product can be downloaded.
The concept is popping up everywhere including on signs at events and on consumer packaging. And more and more produce companies are
also getting into the game.
“It is just one more way to connect with the
consumer,” said Cindy Jewell, director of marketing
for California Giant Berry Farms, Watsonville, Calif.
Cal Giant has placed the code on each of its
consumer packs. Though there is a different code
for each item, currently the codes send all users to
the same URL that Cal Giant has developed specifically for smart phone users. It is a mobile website,
which, practically speaking, means it has less graphics
and is designed to interface with the smaller smart
phone type screens.
For this specific purpose, Cal Giant has developed what Jewell calls a “promotional event page”
that encourages interaction by the consumer. The
page takes the user to specific promotions including a $100 per week gift card giveaway. This has
definitely driven use as Jewell said the firm’s QRs
were scanned 9,000 times in August. About 200
of those scans came from iPads while the other
8,800 were split pretty evenly between iPhones
and Android smart phones.
Cal Giant started adding QR codes to its
packaging in January of this year.
Hollandia Produce LLC, Carpinteria, Calif.,
started printing the QR codes on its living lettuces
and other items in April. The company has a different code for each product that directs consumers
to a webpage specific to that product. At this point,
just a little more than four months into the project,
Director of Marketing Vince Choate said the number
16
of scans is nominal, “but it’s growing.”
He said the typical consumer of living butter
lettuce is not usually from the techie generation so
he did not expect tremendous volume this early in
the game. “But as more and more people become
familiar with this technology and as more and more
companies use it on their products, you are going to
see use become more commonplace. We wanted
to be ahead of the curve,” he said.
While scanners of the Hollandia QR code
are directed to a mobile website with less graphics
and easier for the smart phone to navigate, Choate
said that distinction will soon be unnecessary. He
said smart phone technology continues to improve
quickly and soon those devices will be able to
navigate a regular website as well as a laptop or a
stationary computer.
Choate said the cost of adding the QR code
to the packaging is insignificant and so the only real
cost was the development of the mobile website,
which he said, was also insignificant as it is just part
of the company’s monthly website charge.
The QR code was actually designed for inventory control by the automobile industry in Japan.
A subsidiary of Toyota, Denso Wave, owns the patent on the code but it has not chosen to enforce
that patent. Technologically speaking, the code was
created as a two dimensional barcode that allows
its contents to be decoded at a very high speed.
While it is similar to the barcode used on virtually
all retail products, the difference between the two
is the amount of data they can hold. Barcodes are
linear one-dimensional graphics that can only hold
up to 20 numerical digits. The QR code is a twodimensional matrix barcodes that can hold thousands of alphanumeric characters of information.
Apps have been written for the cameras in each of
the popular smart phones to allow the code to be
read almost instantaneously.
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:27:49 PM
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You Say “Tomato.”
I Say “Dulcinea.”
Focus on Product Development
By Tom Fielding
For the better par t of the past decade,
Dulcinea Farms has brought a little bit of Italy to
consumers thanks to its tasty Tuscan-Style cantaloupe, and now the authentic flavor of Italy can be
savored in another Dulcinea product.
In the past year Dulcinea has rolled out two
new varieties of tomatoes. According to Caley Isbell,
“We now offer consumers two distinctive types
of Italian tomatoes, the Primodoro and Amadoro.”
Isbell said that the Primodoro variety is the number
one selling tomato in Italy.
“Thanks to its unique flavor, it’s a great snacking tomato.” Corey Hill added, “The Primodoro is
a really flavorful and sweet tomato that brings out
a savory Italian taste that consumers can enjoy any
time of the day.”
Amadoro is a vine-ripened tomato that bursts
with sweetness and is the perfect complement to
put into your favorite salad. It has authentic onthe-vine Italian flavor that is sweet and juicy. Amadoros are shipped from January to May, while the
Primodoros are available through October.
While the tomato category is relatively new
for Dulcinea, the company has been in full marketing
mode to help move its core products: PureHeart
Mini’s and Tuscan-Style cantaloupes. Dulcinea
has been focusing primarily on account-specific
programs. In addition, for the second consecutive
year, the marketing team has executed a PureHeart
outdoor campaign with posters and billboards in
selective cities throughout the country. This year,
Denver, Grand Rapids, Houston, San Antonio and
Phoenix were the selected cities for that consumer
promotion.
With autumn upon us, that means children
have headed back to the classroom. Dulcinea is
in full gear with a new back-to-school program
that targets parents and their kids to eat healthier.
Isbell said,“We have some awesome back-to-school
displays that we believe can let parents make some
healthy choices for their children. The front and
center in-store displays highlight PureHeart Mini’s
and Tuscan-Style cantaloupes which make it fun and
easy for consumers to grab and go.
18
Hill said, “Dulcinea has also long supported
the Produce For Kids program that educates families
on the importance of eating healthy which is a goal
we believe in strongly.”
In addition to account-specific programs, the
firm has also dropped FSI (Free Standing Inserts)
coupons in select markets. According to Isbell, FSI’s
are “a great way to interact with customers. We
have reached more than eight million consumers
by these promotions.”
Dulcinea has updated information on their
website, too. You can check out some great new
recipes that include Grilled Watermelon with Greek
Yogurt,Watermelon Minted Popsicles, Simply Zesty
Dulcinea Melon Salad, Amadoro Italian Caprese
Salad and Primodoro Italian Skewers.
If consumers have a question about one of
the Dulcinea products or recipes, Isbell said they
will receive a reply. “Our goal is to always respond
to consumer inquires within 72 hours.”
Over the course of the past few months, there
have also been a few changes in senior management
at Dulcinea Farms. John McGuigan, who had joined
the Dulcinea team in 2008 as vice president of sales
and marketing, has been appointed to the new
general manager position. McGuigan looks forward
to overseeing all company operations as well as
developing strategic direction for the group.
Marketing Director Monique McLaws has expanded her responsibilities to include new product
development. McLaws said she is excited to work
closely with Dulcinea’s product development experts to “help expand the portfolio as well as deliver
new and exciting products that meet the Dulcinea
brand promise.” With Dulcinea’s two new tomato
varieties, they are off to a big start.
In addition to heading the finance department,
Tessa Sarrazin is the new director of operations.
Managing the financial and administration portions
of the company will continue along with developing
crop plans and negotiating grower contracts. Sarrazin will lead the interaction with growers and area
managers to plan for Dulcinea’s current production
as well as future expansions.
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:27:50 PM
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The Keyword is “Growing”
At Domex Superfresh Growers
Focus on Apples
By Tom Fielding
Autumn Glory
According to Loren Queen of Yakima’s
Domex Superfresh Growers, the company is more
than living up to the last name in its title.
“We have been and continue to be in an
aggressive growth stage,” he said. “We have always
been aggressive when it comes to Superfresh
Growers’ infrastructure, and during the past year
we have been adding more growers and acreage
as demand increases.”
Queen said Superfresh Growers remodeled several of its facilities in order to handle the
increased volume of fruit. “Six projects have already
been completed that will more than double the
20
through-put capability at several of those packing
lines.”
Now is a good time to be an apple grower,
Queen related. “There are more people in more
markets that are becoming apple consumers, and by
expanding we have the access to continue to supply
more product. We look for grower partners that
can fill the variety, size and quality needs for those
up and coming markets.”
Superfresh Growers currently has 1,100
growers aggressively pursuing the same goals of
the company by being proactive in how they grow
fruit and helping to meet consumer demands by, as
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:27:53 PM
Queen says, “being ahead of the curve.”
Every apple has a market, Queen stated, and
it is up to Superfresh Growers to know where
all these apple varieties will be in demand. “We
are always looking ahead to future potentials,” he
said. “For instance, there has been a swing toward
sweeter apples in the United States in recent years,
like Galas and Fujis.”
There has also been a big market increase in
the consumption of uniquely flavored varieties such
as Pink Lady and Honeycrisp, an apple that in recent
years has been Washington’s rising apple star.
“Sales of Honeycrisp,” Queen said, “are still
going crazy. This year, our Honeycrisp volume is up
more than 120 percent and the numbers continue
to increase.”
He said in Asia sweet apples are the fruit of
choice. In the United States and Canada, consumers
are also much more interested in taste than they
are the shape of an apple.
When you break down U.S. consumption
even further, it is interesting how there are regional
differences. Queen said that in the southern states,
sweet apples seem to strike consumers’ fancy, while
in the Midwest, apples like Honeycrisp and
Braeburns shine.
Moving to the East Coast, McIntosh and
Granny Smiths get their due, while out in the
West the Fuji and Gala have gained a lot of
admirers.
Of course, with all the relatively new varieties, the old standby, the Red Delicious, still has
its devotees, though it has been overtaken by
Gala, which is now the number one Washington
apple when it comes to dollars and volume in
the United States.
Superfresh Growers also has added a new
player to the variety lineup, an apple dubbed
Autumn Glory. “It is a cross between a Fuji and
a Golden Delicious that has received great reviews from focus groups and in-store sampling,”
Queen said. “Our production on this variety
has increased dramatically (up double digits),
and we are very excited about its prospects in
the future.”
Superfresh Growers has added QR codes
(Quick Response barcodes) to the Autumn
Glory display boxes. Consumers can scan the
QR code and it will take them to the Superfresh website to tell them more about this new
variety.
“We have had amazing success by putting
QR codes on our cherry packaging,” Queen said.
“Consumers can get quick information on our
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011
fruit. Earlier this year, in just a three week period,
there were more than 2,000 scans of our cherry
QR codes that brought consumers directly to our
website. By year end we will have QR codes on all
our apple and pear bags.”
Organic apples are also achieving steady
growth at Superfresh Growers. “We represent
15 percent of all the organics (apples) grown in
the state, and we now have a 52-week supply of
organic Red Delicious, Fuji and Granny Smith varieties,” Queen said.
He added that organic apples make up about
10 percent of Superfresh Growers’ supply.
Although this year’s Washington crop is a little
behind schedule due to Mother Nature’s propensity
to make things unpredictable, Queen is bullish on
the season. “We had a cool, wet spring followed by
a cooler than normal summer that slowed down the
growth and timing. The side benefit of that weather
is that it has created a terrific eating apple that will
be sweeter and crunchier.”
He added that a warm September has added
“a size or two to the fruit.”
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Barsotti Juice
21
Presentation Matters
Focus on Category Management
By Tim Linden
Increasingly, complex data is driving decisions
in the retail produce department. But a new study
finds that the willingness of retailers to use that
data is largely dependent on how it is presented
to them.
For the past 15 years, Fusion Marketing has
established a solid industry presence, providing its
broad client base with expertise in produce marketing and consumer packaged goods. With its strategic
alliances with NPD and U.S. Marketing, the firm has
created an extensive data base that continually helps
to drive decisions at retail level. However, along the
way, the company has discovered that sometimes
the data is very well received by its clients’ retail
partners, and sometimes it is ignored.
Company founder and president, Steven
Muro, told the Fresh Digest that while some retailers
are still skeptical of data driven decisions and would
rather “go by their gut” that alone did not explain
the varying success rates of the category management presentations. “We would see the same data
or very similar data presented with very different
results. So we started researching the research to
come up with some answers.”
Fusion, which often accompanies its clients on
their category management presentations at retail,
began studying the effectiveness of those reports.
It looked back five years and evaluated every aspect
of each report to determine which were successful
and which were not. What started to become very
clear is that the look of the presentation itself was
very important.
Muro said type face, font size, the colors used
and the look of the graphics all seem to play a role
in the success of the presentation. “Unlike one-sizefits-all or canned reports, our reports are uniquely
created and designed as an extension of our client’s
brand,” explained Muro. “We found that the order
in which we presented information and the amount
of information offered during a presentation were
key in creating a more successful outcome.”
The research has led Muro and his team to realize that when presenting a category management
22
program to a retailer, the retailer is the consumer.
Just as the programs themselves rely on visuals to
help drive sales, the presentation must do the same
thing. Category management, Muro said, depends
on understanding the consumer. Retailers and suppliers rely on scanned data and other data sets to
analyze trends and information to determine what
motivates a shopper into purchasing. Price, promotional strategy, point of sale displays, and merchandising are other marketing elements factored into a
category management review to obtain a clear and
concise picture of each business segment.
He said the presentation has to do the
same thing. “Category management is essential
to building a sound marketing plan based on facts
and trends. It becomes a vantage point to success.
But, our unparalleled retail analysis is really central
to drive the retailer into action. If a retailer doesn’t
fully understand the meaning behind the data, the
report is essentially useless. So, now we know, based
on our research, what elements help motivate a
retailer into action and what information is most
important to them.”
As far as the concept of category management is concerned, Muro said most retailers are
very open to suggestions and to making changes
“but it has to be a change that they can convey
in a phone call or an email. You are not going to
convince a retailer to do a reset in all of his produce
departments. That’s just too expensive.”
The key to category management, Muro
said, is making incremental changes that can be accomplished one step at a time. He said in making
the case for change, the argument must be laid out
one step at a time in a clear, concise and visually
pleasing manner.
While Muro did give away a few of the secrets
of his research, he said he was saving most of the
jewels for his clients. He did say that retailers prefer
softer font faces and graphics, and coloration that
is muted or pleasing to the eye. “But we are not
going to publish a paper on this research project,”
he quipped.
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:27:53 PM
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NoCal Luncheon
September 22, 2011
Thank You Sponsors!
Key Sponsors
Avocados from Mexico
Earthbound Farm
Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices
IFCO Systems
Mann Packing Co., Inc.
Marzetti
Keynote Speaker Dr. Bob Whitaker of Produce Marketing Association
Master of Ceremonies Randy Ducommon of Whole Foods
Photo Sponsor
North Shore Sales & Marketing, Inc.
Décor Sponsor
Bay City Flower
Margo Robinson of Augustine Ideas and Steve Tsujimoto of Safeway
24
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:28:14 PM
Associate Sponsors
A.M.S. Exotic LLC
Cabo Fresh
Gills Onions
Grimmway Farms
ICD/Davis Lewis Orchards
Juiceology
Marie’s/Ventura Foods LLC
The Oppenheimer Group
Produce Marketing Association
JJ Garcia of Quebec Distributing,
Tran Nguyen and Audrey
Desnoyers of Oppenheimer
Jon Nicosia of Earthbound Farms, Michelle Narain of Safeway and Dave Moore of Earthbound Farm
25
9/26/11 5:28:26 PM
Ed Odron (far left), Tony Nunes (near right) and Michael Maddan of Maddan & Company flank Randy
Ducommon of Whole Foods.
Fernando Azevedo of Mann
Packing and Crystal Ball of
Safeway
Mark Soots and Walter
Mathews of Barsotti Juice
26
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:28:37 PM
AMS Exotic Shows Its “Metal”
with New Easy Veggie Grillers
By Tom Fielding
products to make a more substantial meal. “I’ve put
in some salami in the French Bean Supreme, mixed
it in with the veggies and all of a sudden I have a
center of the plate meal,” he said.
A.M.S. Exotic will roll out these four SKUs of
the Earth Exotic’s Easy Veggie Grillers, but, according to Lehmann, there are a number of other SKUs
waiting in the queue. “I can envision a number of
fantastic varieties a bit into the future,” he said.
Lehmann is looking toward the future with
this new line of products. “I envision the Earth
Exotic’s Easy Veggie Griller as the evolution in the
fresh-cut vegetable category.”
I told him about my mother’s stern warnings
about putting metal trays in the microwave, and
he said that these new trays are constructed with
the latest technology that makes them microwave
safe. That is unless you have a microwave from the
late ‘70s. In that case it might be time to upgrade.
The way these trays are made and the material
used makes them safe to place in the microwave.
“I prefer to prepare them in the oven or on the
grill,” he said.
Easy Veggie Grillers will be packed eight to a
carton, and are expected to retail between $3.50
and $4. Although the items are available nationwide, Lehmann believes they will start out on the
West Coast, where “the product definitely fits the
lifestyle.”
Focus on Innovation
Remember those dire warnings from your
mother about placing metal objects in the microwave oven? Well, in October, A.M.S. Exotic is
introducing its new Easy Veggie Grillers packed in
metal trays that can be placed on the barbecue
grill, in the oven and, don’t tell your mother, in the
microwave.
Scott Lehmann, director of sales and marketing for A.M.S. Exotic, said,“We have been testing this
concept for the better part of the last year, and we
will be rolling out our new Easy Veggie Grillers in
early October. In addition, they will be displayed at
the New Product Showcase at the PMA Convention in Atlanta, and we’ll be showing them off in
our booth.”
According to Lehmann, the new Easy Veggie
Grillers will have four SKUs and all “are fresh, with
no preservatives or other additives such as, flavored
butter. We prefer to let the consumer decide what
they might want to add to the product, it’s really fantastic with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.”
One of the trays will be what Lehmann called
the French Bean Supreme. “This tray contains
French beans, yellow squash, green squash and red
onions and is packed with flavor,” he said.
The other three veggie trays include the Golden
Butternut Supreme, which has butternut squash and
fresh red onions. “This one has just a little bit of a bite.
The onions add a little something to the freshness
of the butternut squash.” Lehmann said.
California Sunshine Supreme, he said, “can be
used in a primavera. This one consists of julienned
green zucchini, carrots and yellow squash.”
The final Easy Veggie Griller A.M.S. Exotic
is rolling out is the Tuscan Medley Supreme. This
is a very colorful and flavorful tray full of veggies,”
Lehmann said. The Tuscan Medley Supreme tray
includes red onions, green zucchini, yellow squash,
and has green, red and yellow bell peppers.
All of the Easy Veggie Griller trays are 16
ounces and should be able to feed a family of three
or four people. Lehmann said these items can be
served as a side dish, or you can add additional
27
9/26/11 5:28:45 PM
No Cal BOCCE BALL
September 9, 2011
Thank You Sponsors!
After a lesson and a little
practice, everyone was
bocceing like pros.
Carissa Mace and Amy Wun
of the Fresh Produce & Floral
Council flank Greg Corrigan of
Raley’s Supermarkets
Let’s Bocce
Players formed teams and met new people. JJ
Garcia from Quebec Distributing Co., Gene Miller
from Raley’s Supermarkets and Dave Howald
of the California Avocado Commission played a
round.
28
On Friday night, Sept 9, FPFC’s Northern California members gathered at the Campo di Bocce restaurant and court in Livermore, Calif., to socialize while
playing the Italian game of bocce ball.
The event was the first of its kind by the FPFC,
which holds more than a dozen networking activities
each year. Currently, golf, bowling and horseracing (or
at least betting on horseracing) are the sports of favor
of the FPFC. And in the past, racquetball and tennis
tournaments have been in the mix. FPFC President
Carissa Mace said the Northern California event committee for the association wanted to do something a
bit offbeat and settled on an evening of bocce. There
was no tournament just many friendly games among
the participants as they boccied the night away and
supped on Italian cuisine.
Besides some fun games for expert and novice
alike, the evening was punctuated by a rare West coast
thunderstorm that lit up the sky as it quickly moved
through the area.
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:28:57 PM
JJ Garcia of Quebec Distributing Co.
shows good form.
Shawn Dagen of Edge Sales & Marketing
demonstrates that bocce requires
determination and focus.
Bocce Ball Sponsors
Cabo Fresh
Litehouse Foods
Mann Packing Company
Marzetti
Paramount Farms/POM Wonderful
Marla Mignacco, Nor-Cal Produce, Inc.,
celebrates a victorious roll.
29
9/26/11 5:29:08 PM
L to R – Marylou Ureta from
Paramount Farms/POM Wonderful,
husband Jim Ureta – Frank
Azevedo of Mann Packing Co, Inc.
and Shawn Dagen of Edge Sales &
Marketing.
L to R – Teresa Estrada & Lisa
Davis of Edge Sales & Marketing
with Frank Azevedo of Mann
Packing Co., Inc.
Dave Moen (left) and
his wife, Kim, of CDS
Distributing talk bocce
ball with Dave Howald of
the California Avocado
Commission, who,
according to rumor, has a
Pentanque court in his back
yard, which is the French
equivalent of bocce ball.
Kristyn Lawson, Cabo
Fresh, laughs with
Mark Klein, Impact
Sales; Angie Moen,
Litehouse Foods; and
Darryl Bollack, Impact
Sales.
30
Gene Miller of Raley’s with
Nannette Anderson of Edge
Sales & Marketing
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:29:28 PM
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So Cal Luncheon
August 10, 2011
Thank You Sponsors!
A check for more than $196,000 was presented to the City Of Hope
Candice Miller, guest speaker
Athena Miller and FPFC Chairman
of The Board Jeff Miller, Westlake
Produce Company.
Bill Coombs of DLJ Produce is presented
the Spirit Of Hope Award by Roger
Schroeder, Stater Bros. Markets.
Key Sponsors
Consolidated West
D.L.J. Produce
Grimmway Farms
IBC/Marie Callender’s Croutons
Marzetti
Pura Vida Farms
32
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:30:27 PM
Associate Sponsors
Albert’s Organics
A.M.S Exotic LLC
Apio/Eat Smart
Boskovich Farms
Christopher Ranch
Gills Onions
Produce Marketing Association
Simply Fresh Fruit
Taylor Farms Retail, Inc.
West Pak Avocado
Kent Kuwata, Smart & Final, asks for bids as
luncheon emcee, Dave Hirz, Smart & Final,
shows off a photo to be auctioned off for the
City Of Hope
Photo Sponsor
North Shore Sales & Marketing, Inc.
Décor Sponsor
Smart & Final
Stu Victor and Alyssa Barberio,
Advantage Sales & Marketing
Dave Martus, Stater Bros Markets
and Bob Waldusky, Fresh Gourmet
33
9/26/11 5:30:37 PM
Debi Orrin, Litehouse; Jan DeLyser,
California Avocado Commission; Patty
Knoll, Temkin International; Rich Van
Valkenburg, DVA
Hazel Kelly and Karen Caplan,
Frieda’s, with Steve Layton, Socopac
Kelly Craner and Marty Craner, B&C Fresh
Mark Carroll and Nathan
Nueske, Gelson’s Markets
34
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:30:48 PM
Consistently Superior Quality
GFS/HACCP Audit Certification
by Primus Labs
■ Superior product uniformity paired with an unsurpassed quality assurance program
gives your customer a product they can count on.
■ Year-round availability and stable year-round pricing helps build your category sales
with higher gross margins and increased category velocity.
■ Our unique mini-greenhouse packaging protects every leaf, extends shelf life, limits
merchandiser inputs and merchandises attractively on your shelf while reducing shrink.
■ Sustainably grown in state-of-the-art greenhouses where we minimize,
conserve and recycle all agricultural inputs. To find out more,
please visit www.livegourmet.com/sust.html
Offer Your Customers the Best! Live Gourmet®
Proud to help support Team Produce at
the 2011 Walk for Hope at the City of
Hope Duarte, CA Sunday November 6th
Hollandia Produce, LLC PO Box 1327
Carpinteria, California 93014
(805) 684-4146
www.livegourmet.com
SoCal Golf Tournament
August 22, 2011
Thank You Sponsors!
Tommy Bahama Giveaway
Apio/Eat Smart
Marie’s/Ventura Foods
Golf Towel
Beachside Produce
Boskovich Farms
Consolidated West Dist., LLC
Closest to Pin Contest
Legacy Farms
Tavilla Sales of LA
Individual Longest Drive Contest
Progressive Produce
Team Photo
Green Thumb Produce
Kern Ridge Growers
Marzetti
Ready Pac Produce
Connie Thatcher, Greg Welch and Nancy Hamilton (pictured), along with Nat Sonnier,
Advantage Sales & Marketing, were the winners
On Course Drink Stations
Bolthouse Farms
Del Monte Fresh, N.A. Inc.
Fresh Gourmet
Naked Juice
Odwalla
Sambazon
Dinner Program
WJL Distributors
Event Signage
Umina Bros., Inc.
Sun World International, LLC
Centerpieces Provided by
Priscilla’s Kitty Grass
Door & Raffle Prize Donors
The Chuck Olsen Company
Combs Produce
Fruitsmart Marketing
Kingsburg Orchards
Litehouse Foods
Polymer Logistics
Sophie Partida
Tommy Bahama
Bill Laliberte, WJL Distributors, with David Radtke, Green Thumb Produce.
36
Product Donations
Ready Pac
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:31:02 PM
First Place Team
Nancy Hamilton, Advantage Sales & Marketing
Nat Sonnier, Advantage Sales & Marketing
Connie Thatcher, Advantage Sales & Marketing
Greg Welch, Advantage Sales & Marketing
Second Place Team
Ben Bengali, Oh My Gali Fruit
Don Dickerson, Oh My Gali Fruit
Jesse Sepulveda, Tavilla Sales
Chris Vangelos, Tavilla Sales
Third Place Team
Bobby Harada, Stater Bros. Markets
Andrew Holzinger, Consolidated West Dist., LLC
Tod Kanegae, Consolidated West Dist., LLC
Danny Velasco, Consolidated West Dist., LLC
The second place team, from Oh My Gali Fruit and Tavilla Sales.
Closest to Pin
Hole # 13
Richard Flammino, Umina Bros.
Longest Drive Winners
Men’s
Chris Vangelos, Tavilla Sales
Women’s
Kori Gutzwiller, The Oppenheimer Group
The third place winning team, from Consolidated West Dist., LLC and Stater Bros. Markets.
Robert Thompson, RFT Farms and Danny Trevino, Food 4 Less
Closest to Pin winner Richard Flammino of Umina Bros. (second from left) with his teammates.
37
9/26/11 5:31:12 PM
Championship Tees
Mike Casazza, Apio/Eat Smart,
Brad Martin, Perimeter Sales &
Merchandising, Rick Cruz, Vons/A
Safeway Company and Chris
Boyd, Sambazon
Acosta Sales & Marketing
Advantage Sales & Marketing
All Fresh Produce
Apio/Eat Smart
B & C Fresh Sales
Boskovich Farms, Inc.
Chiquita Brands
Consolidated West Dist.
Del Monte Fresh
Deminski, Van Valkenburg & Associates
Dole Fresh Vegetables
Duarte Nursery
Fresh Gourmet
Green Thumb Produce
Interfresh, Inc.
Kern Ridge Growers
Legacy Farms
Litehouse Foods
Marzetti
MCL Fresh, Inc.
Mission Produce
Naked Juice
Odwalla
Perimeter Sales & Marketing
The Pinery, LLC
Progressive Produce Corp.
Ready Pac
Sun-Rype
Tavilla Sales Company of LA
Taylor Farms Retail, Inc.
West Pak Avocado, Inc.
WJL Distributors
Tracy and Jesse Ramirez, Ralphs
Dale Roberts, Chris Campion, Chad Miller, Andrew McGregor, Doug Varanai, Sprout’s, along with Amanda Grillo, DVA.
38
FRESH DIGEST
9/26/11 5:31:18 PM
Premium Quality Peppers
365 Days A Year.
Based in Southern California’s Coachella Valley, Prime Time is the largest year-round grower,
packer and shipper of colored peppers in the United States.
With a sales mix that consists of open-field and hothouse grown peppers, we are dedicated
to embracing technological advances in production techniques, employing top agronomists
to cultivate the perfect plants, producing in the best growing areas, and operating
state-of-the-art packing facilities to ensure delivery of the safest and best-tasting produce
in the marketplace.
That’s why we’ve been known as The Pepper People for over twenty years.
THE PEPPER PEOPLE
www.primetimeproduce.com
Coachella, California USA
Sales Phone 760.399.4166
Nogales, Arizona USA
Sales Phone 520.281.4993

FPFC Releases First Market Data Report Grocery Outlet Thrives

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