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‘If it hasn’t happened in the stores, it hasn’t happened at all... and a cheap apple, you buy once if it doesn’t taste good. You won’t buy it again.’
— Maria Wieloch, ICA Gruppen
INNOVATION, COMMITMENT DRIVE AWARD-WINNERS
BY CHRIS BURT
(Above from left) The Idaho Potato Commission’s Don Odiorne, who won the Applause Award; Village Farms’ Helen Aquino, accepting the Joe Nucci Innovation Award; and Produce Business Editor-in Chief Jim Prevor presenting the Chandler Copps Award to Tom Murray of Roche Bros.
“There’s great energy here.” — Angela Santiago, chief executive and owner at The Little Potato Company.
That energy — along with commitment and innovation — was recognized and displayed throughout December’s New York Produce Show and Conference, as industry leaders and their companies took center stage to be honored at the ninth-an- nual event.
In addition to lauding two legends of produce (Don Odiorne and Tom Murray), Produce Business editor-in-chief Jim Prevor commended those who earned the maga- zine’s 10 Innovation Awards — companies that truly inspired and empowered creative thinking and ingenuity — at this year’s Perishable Pundit Thought-Leader Breakfast at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.
The top prize for innovation — the Joe Nucci Award — went to Village Farms for its Stackable, Snackable Top-Seal snacking tomatoes, a line that features brilliant and colorful packaging married with clever words such as ‘Lip Smackin,’ ‘Heavenly’ and ‘Cabernet Estate Reserve.’
“We are very honored to have our peers nominate us for this award,” said Helen Aquino, director of brand marking and communications for Village Farms in Orlando, FL. “Innovation is very important throughout our industry. There’s a lot of
(From left) Little Potato Co. chief executive Angela Santiago and Tijs Santiago hold their innovation award, while Mark Leone and Bill Litvin of Giorgio Fresh proudly display theirs at their booth on the trade show oor.
pressure on the suppliers and growers to constantly innovate with different varieties, new varieties, new packaging. ... This line of products delivers direct retail bene ts. Top-seal containers, you can stack them ve high, more units per square inch, and in theory, greater sales velocity, greater commodity volume.”
For years, two of the industry’s most prominent gures have been leading the same kind of innovation at their respected companies and also were honored at the breakfast.
Odiorne, known for his cutting-edge Dr. Potato blog, had been vice presi- dent of foodservice for the Idaho Potato Commission and worked for the IPC since
1989, before retiring late last year. He was honored with Produce Business’ inaugural Applause Award. And Murray, director of produce and oral for standout New England supermarket chain Roche Bros., based in Wellesley, MA, took home the Chandler Copps Award for industry lead- ership and service. He has been at Roche Bros. since 1974 and is also rst vice presi- dent of the New England Produce Council.
The Cheesecake Factory also was honored with the First in Fresh award from Produce Business for its outstanding innovation, collaboration, promotion and marketing of fresh produce.
Creative thinking and development helped several other companies bring home
PRODUCE BUSINESS / JANUARY 2019 NYPS11