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produce watch
TRANSITION
TANIMURA & ANTLE
Nick Sgheiza, the senior
director of harvest operations for Tanimura & Antle, Salinas, CA, has been promoted to vice president of harvest. Sgheiza began his career with the company in 1999
as an intern in the cooler, harvest shop and planting department. After college, he returned to begin his farming
career working alongside the spinach and spring mix crews, and later worked with the Romaine, mixed lettuces and celery departments. Sgheiza, a graduate of the Future Leaders program of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California also managed onion operations.
TRANSITION
PROPRIETARY VARIETY MANAGEMENT Jill Burbery, who has worked
in the produce industry for 25 years while focusing on sales and marketing of tree fruits in Washington state, was hired as marketing project manager at Proprietary Variety Management (PVM) in Yakima, WA. Burbery will work with director of mar- keting Kathryn Grandy in the
upcoming commercial launch of Washington State University’s newest apple variety, the Cosmic Crisp. PVM specializes in global intellectual property management, brand development and protection of new fruit varieties.
TRANSITION
OCEAN MIST FARMS
Dan Solomon has joined Ocean
Mist Farms, Castroville, CA,
as its new organic production manager, a key move as the company significantly increases organic vegetable acreage to meet growing shopper demand. Solomon, who was formerly with Earthbound Farm and has more than 22 years’ experience,
joins Ocean Mist as the company announced it will provide 16 additional vegetables sold under the Ocean Mist Organic label. The fourth-generation family-owned-and-operated organization started farming organic artichokes in 2000.
TRANSITION
GREENFRUIT AVOCADOS
Kraig Loomis, a former sales
manager at Progressive Produce, was hired as sales and marketing manager at GreenFruit Avocados, a Mexican avocado grower-shipper based in Newport Beach, CA. Loomis will be responsible for building on existing sales and marketing programs as well as mentoring
personnel. Loomis brings 18 years of experience, including 16 in retail as a produce clerk, produce manager, produce inspector, produce specialist and produce buyer with companies such as Kroger and Fresh & Easy.
ANNOUNCEMENT
ANNOUNCEMENT
WISH FARMS CONTINUES MICHIGAN
BLUEBERRY PROGRAM WITH LEDUC
Wish Farms, Plant
City, FL, has expanded
its relationship with
Grower Leduc Blue-
berries, Paw Paw, MI,
that Wish Farms says
will mark a projected
increase of about 30 percent more than last year’s volume from the region. The Michigan season kicked off in July and will last through mid-Sep- tember. Volume is projected to reach two million pounds, and Teddy Koukoulis, Wish Farms’ director of blueberry operations, is optimistic the number could increase to three million over the next five years. Leduc Blueberries, which began in 1955 has expanded from a 20-acre family farm to 400 acres and includes a popular retail store.
ANNOUNCEMENT
CHIQUITA TEAMS UP WITH SHAZAM
AND DFFRNT MEDIA TO VIRTUALLY
TRANSFORM PRODUCE AISLE
Chiquita Brands International, Charlotte, NC,
has partnered with Shazam, the audio and visual recognition app, to enable consumers to discover Chiquita’s sustainability efforts. Using augmented reality and virtual reality from creative agency Dffrnt Media, consumers will be able to scan a Shazam Code on Chiquita’s blue sticker via the app and virtually “peel back” to learn more about Chiquita’s commitment to transparency and sustainability. Consumers will be able to access an AR experi- ence via the Shazam app and take the journey of a banana from Chiquita farms in Latin America, to the port facility across the Atlantic and to their kitchen table via the grocery store. The Shazam Code is appearing on 200 million Chiquita Blue Stickers in the United States and several European countries.
TRANSITION
FOREVER FRESH
Vince Gambero, a former sales
manager at Fowler Packing Co. in Fresno, CA, was hired by Forever Fresh, LLC, Wilmington, DE, to head up its national grape category and expand West Coast operations. “Forever Fresh represents new challenges, but also an opportunity to represent an outstanding group and family
of growers focused on quality and building true partnerships with their customers – San Francisco and Verfrut represent the best of the best,” says Gambero, a 30-year produce veteran who will be tasked with getting additional imports through the Port of Los Angeles, as well as adding domestic products to their commodity mix.
TAYLOR FARMS AWARDS 20 NEW
SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS
Taylor Farms, Salinas, CA, recently rewarded 20 children of its full-time employees with scholarships that total $100,000. The recipients received a check for $5,000 and will get a guaranteed renewal of $5,000 for each year they remain in undergraduate or graduate programs. To date, Taylor Farms has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships. This year’s winners include: Christian Ortiz (UC-Davis); Daniel Munoz (Cal-Poly Pomona); Denisse Garcia Zavala (U. of Arizona); Diego Ramirez (Cal. State-Chico); Dylan Urias (Arizona State); Giselle Camarena Rodriguez (San Jose State); Grace Niccum (Northern Arizona); Grayson Michael McGrew (UCLA); Griselda Tizcareno (Arizona State); Hector Juarez-Vargas (UC-Berkeley); Javier Acosta (Arizona State; Joshua Alfaro (San Francisco State); Juan Carlos Rios Rodriguez (Cal. State-Long Beach); Justin Farias (Cal. State-Monterey Bay); Maria Elisa Santiago Cruz (UC-Santa Barbara); Maria Guada- lupe Jaramillo (San Jose State); Melissa Rios Arias (UC-Merced); Nini Isabel Preciado (Arizona State); Paola Estrada Tena (UC-Davis); Sarahi Ramirez Cortes (Cal. State-Monterey Bay).
ANNOUNCEMENT
EQUITABLE FOOD INITIATIVE
LAUNCHES WEBSITE TO RAISE
STANDARDS ACROSS SUPPLY CHAIN
The nonprofit Equitable Food Initiative (EFI), Washington, DC, has launched a new website, www. equitablefood.org, it hopes will bring together stakeholders across the produce supply chain
to raise standards for food safety, farmworker communication and collaboration. Available in English and Spanish, the website highlights the organization’s achievements and ways for growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to engage with EFI. Included on the website is the list of all certified farms and their locations. To date, EFI has certified 27 farming operations of 10 grower-shipper companies, covering 39 produce commodities and impacting more than 29,000 farmworkers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Produce & Floral Watch are regular features of Produce Business. Please send information on new products, personnel changes, industry, corporate and personal milestones and available literature, along with a high resolution image to: Managing Editor, Produce Business, P.O. Box 810425, Boca Raton, FL 33481-0425 or email us at info@producebusiness.com
8 / AUGUST 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS