JSL Foods Inc. announced the appointment of Brad Wyllie to the position of director of grocery retail sales East.  Wyllie will be based in Bonita Springs, FL, and will be responsible for managing customer relations and business development in the eastern half of the United States. He comes to JSL Foods with 25  years of proven sales experience in the retail food category with the last 16 years as director of retail sales eastern division at Litehouse Foods.

As director of grocery retail sales East, Wyllie will be responsible for supporting current customers with business building programs in

Ippolito Fruit & Produce Ltd. hired Steve Roberts as its director of sales, retail. In this role, Roberts will be responsible for maintaining and growing Ippolito's sales within the Canadian and eastern U.S. markets. Roberts' focus will be growing the company's presence as well as developing and implementing a retail market strategy. He will report directly to Steve Dimen, chief operating officer.

"We are very excited to have Steve join the Ippolito team. Steve is highly respected in our industry and brings years of experience in both the commodity and value-added produce markets," said Dimen

Mission Produce Inc., a world leader in sourcing, producing, and distributing fresh Hass avocados, announced the launch on Thursday, Feb. 25., of For the Love of Avocados, the first-ever podcast to focus on avocado tips and tricks, avocado farming, marketplace trends and everything in between. Hosted by Patrick Cortes, senior director of business development at Mission Produce, the podcast will also feature special guests, such as industry experts, foodies, and health and wellness experts, and be published on a monthly basis. 

“We are a company of firsts — and launching a podcast is a natural

The lull between the Super Bowl and Easter often leaves grocery stores and shoppers looking for a bit of retail excitement — making it the perfect time to leverage that treasure hunt mentality and introduce new tropical favorites like dragon fruit.

Dragon fruit is no longer just for summer, in fact 42 percent of shoppers said they would like to buy dragon fruit year-round. With this in mind, Frieda’s has created attention-getting, limited-edition ElastiTags that showcase the different varieties of dragon fruit, including Honey Dragons and Snow Dragons. These tags make it easier for shoppers

While the COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges to the retailing of fresh produce and floral products, the important role flexibility plays in the sector might have been the biggest learning from this consequential year.

That was one of the takeaways when three Southern California supermarket executives participated on a retail panel webinar sponsored by the Fresh Produce & Floral Council on Feb. 18. The panel consisted of Bristol Farms Director of Produce Paul Dziedzic, Vallarta Supermarkets Floral Director Paige Venable and Produce Sales Manager Ryan Sanchez of the more than 300

29 Design Studio, an agency specializing in branding and marketing for food, beverage and agriculture, has won three first-place awards and a merit award in regional competitions sponsored by the National Agri-Marketing Association. Their entries will now move on to the National Best of NAMA Awards where they will compete against winners from six other regions.

The awards include first place in Best Virtual Event for the Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce; first place in Best Social Media Campaign for the New York Corn and Soybean Growers Association; and first place for Best Company-Funded