Stemilt is bringing a lineup of world famous fruit items to share at the 2025 Southeast Produce Council’s conference. As a sponsor of this year’s conference, Stemilt looks forward to sharing its favorite branded apple varieties and world famous cherry programs with attendees.

“We’re in the heart of apple season right now but we’re also not far from the beginnings of cherry season,” said Stemilt Marketing Director Brianna Shales. “For apples, we’re excited to showcase one of our favorite brands Lil Snappers kid’s-size fruit, and two varieties that have been well poised for volume and growth at

One-on-one meetings are getting shelved, and it’s not doing teams any favors. Leadership coach Wendy McManus said many managers are skipping these crucial check-ins — and employees are feeling it. Her upcoming workshop on March 20, More Than a Meeting, will teach produce leaders how to hold effective one-on-ones that drive impact instead of just taking up time.

“I’m hearing from clients, especially newer managers, that they aren’t holding regular one-on-ones,” said McManus.

In a high-speed industry like produce, leaders are laser-focused on productivity and often don’t see the value in one

Artificial Intelligence has infiltrated nearly every aspect of our lives. It has become unavoidable. It won’t be long before we bow down to our AI overlords. Until that time eventually arrives, it would behoove retailers to best take advantage of the AI currently available — and logically, many, if not most, are. 

A recent report by Everseen, a leader in vision AI for global retailers, Everseen Insights: The Future of AI in Retail, revealed key insights into the evolving role of AI in retail operations and shopper interactions. These insights included:

• Retailers are investing in AI to

Recent studies conducted in 2024 in Universidad Autónoma Chapingoin Mexico show that Vidre+ extends the shelf life of green and red peppers, helping them stay firmer for over 21 days compared to untreated ones.

This technology, the breakthrough next-generation application of 1-MCP technology, may help to protect peppers from ethylene-induced deterioration after harvest and plays a key role in reducing food waste.

In the United States in 2023, Bell pepper production totaled 10.6 million cwt, with the crop value at $613 million. This important market for peppers has several challenges such as

Wonderful Citrus is celebrating 75 years as a world-leading, full-service citrus company, delivering exceptional quality from growing and shipping to packing and marketing. In celebration of this anniversary milestone, the is bringing back its original namesake brand, Paramount Citrus, as a primary label within its portfolio.

With a diverse portfolio, Wonderful Citrus offers more than 10 varieties including mandarins, seedless lemons, lemons, navels, Valencias, Cara Caras, grapefruit, limes, key limes and minneolas. Additionally, Wonderful Citrus is a trailblazer in branded produce with its

Ocean Mist Farms unveiled its exciting new innovative line of Roastables Ready-to-Roast kits at the IFPA's Global Produce & Floral Show in Atlanta last October. By December it accepted the esteemed Joe Nucci Innovation Award at the New York Produce Show and Conference.

The Roastables line was selected from 10 innovation finalists to receive this prestigious award, which celebrates the best product innovation in service of expanding fresh fruit and vegetable consumption. An award that was, and remains, very special to the company as it validates not only the success of the initial product