As the New York Apple Association ramps up its retail and foodservice promotional plans for this coming fall harvest, it's adding to its retail and foodservice team.

Corey Woodward, a fresh fruit and vegetable veteran, joined the association as account manager. Woodward has served in several capacities while employed with C. H. Robinson in his 21-year career, ranging from sales to account management. Woodward earned a degree in business in marketing from Clarkson University, focusing on branding, consumer behavior, targeted marketing, and brand equity.

"Corey has a strong background in sales

With the recent decision of the board of directors and endorsement of the membership to combine with the Produce Marketing Association to form a new association in 2022, the current United Fresh board of directors, market segment boards and expert advisory councils will remain in place and continue to guide the association through 2021.

In addition, the current Chairman-Elect Danny Dumas, president of Courchesne Larose USA, will become chairman of the board effective June 1. He will take the reins from Michael Muzyk, president of Baldor Specialty Foods, who led the association through the

As the 2021 Northwest cherry season ramps up, Stemilt Growers is already harvesting cherries from its California orchards, and expects to continue the season through mid-June. “We will have an overlap between Washington and California harvest, and expect to manage that well because of pent up demand for cherries happening worldwide,” said Brianna Shales, marketing director for Stemilt Growers.

By all accounts, the Northwest crop should be up in volume over last year, and will have an ideal spread between growing districts to make for more retail selling days. “There were some cooler days

Most people are looking for 2021 to be an improvement on 2020, and Northwest cherry growers are no different. “Last year’s high quality was savored by consumers, but demand massively exceeded supply for most of the summer,” said James Michael vice president of marketing, North America for Northwest Cherry Growers. “Fortunately, the first round of the Northwest crop estimates is complete, and it appears that there are a few more boxes on the trees.” With a round one crop estimate of 23,792,000 cartons, it won’t be an overly large crop, but the spread that most field staff are seeing in the

Tops Friendly Markets completed a major $2.9 million renovation at its store located in Derby, NY.  This marks the 14th renovation for the supermarket chain since early 2020 and a part of the company’s $40 million capital improvement plan.

Two innovative and interactive in-store programs are new at the store: Flashfood, which allows customers to purchase food nearing its sell-by date at up to 50 percent off, and Tops Shop + Scan, a new convenient way to shop and use your phone to scan and bag your items as you go.

“At Tops, social responsibility and sustainability have always been at the

Although conversations are occurring within the North American (and global) industry relative to the current acute pallet shortages, many do not yet realize the factors impacting the situation and the potential scope of the issue, including the availability of produce to consumers.

A multitude of issues are impacting pallet availability including:

• Efforts of wholesalers, distributors and retailers to ensure sufficient inventory of non-perishables given previous pandemic-related impacts.
• The availability of lumber to repair and build new pallets.
• The escalating price of lumber when it is