Matt Diederich, who grew up on his family’s produce farm, joined Sbrocco International Inc. in early November as a sales representative.

Formerly with Naturipe Berry Growers Inc., headquartered in Salinas, CA, for nine years, Diederich will be based in Michigan, “and help cover the Midwest for sales,” said Maclaren Oglesby, sales manager at Sbrocco International, the produce importer and distributor headquartered in Mt. Laurel, NJ.

“Matt’s demeanor and candor were a nice fit from the start,” said Oglesby. “We look forward to continuing our reach, with our commitment to putting the customer

Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc., one of North America’s leading marketers and distributors of high-quality fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, announced the expansion of its exclusive and luxurious Pinkglow™ Pineapple to select retailers in limited markets throughout the United States. Available for purchase starting today, the Pinkglow™ Pineapple is a novel pineapple with a pink interior, uniquely grown by Fresh Del Monte and now available in new packaging for retail.

The new retail box is a sweet holiday gift for the person who has everything and is a great host or hostess gift to

For millions of Americans, shopping for produce is personal.

Even though there are ways to discern a close-to-perfect or perfect piece of produce, a lot of it comes down to what looks good to the shopper. A peach that appeals to me might not be the one you want. The same goes for a stem of Brussels sprouts or a bag of grapes. 

Beyond eye-appeal, personalization is proving pivotal in other ways. As we’ve found out in 2020, personal health and well-being are influencing decisions across the board, including the choice of fresh, nutritious produce. According to The Power of Produce 2020

This month’s Fruit Tracker’s Fast Facts: The Cast video analysis featuring Stemilt’s Roger Pepperl and Brianna Shales reveals that apple volumes and dollars were down year-over-year for a second time. The Nielsen retail scan data ending on Nov. 21 shows volume is down 1.7 percent, indicating this may be an ongoing trend in the data this year.

“Now that all the apples have been harvested, we know that this is a shorter national crop compared to last year’s record,” said Shales, Stemilt’s senior marketing manager. “If your volumes are reflective of the crop, you will want adjust retails and

Generation Farms, a grower-shipper of premium-quality conventional and organic fruits and vegetables, has created an industry-leading in-house logistics department to better serve their customers.

"Logistics is an after-thought to many growing operations, but we see it as a way to improve service to our customers and give them a competitive advantage in their markets through more reliable, faster and lower cost delivery of our fresh produce," said Gastón Marquevich, CEO.

Based in Doral, FL, the new division is being led by transportation and logistics veterans Gabriel Znidarcic, logistics

Presenting a virtual version of this year’s New York Produce Show is, of course, a necessity because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though this step is one that brings with it a lot of uncertainty, Bruce Klein, marketing manager for Maurice A. Auerbach Inc. said there have been some positive examples at other virtual trade shows, such as the PMA event.

“They were able to look at new items and see them, and I guess they could order samples, but they could look at these new items without somebody breathing down their neck and trying to sell to them, that’s something that could be very useful,”