The pistachio business has generally thrived in recent years. As the COVID-19 crisis has  heightened consumer interest in health, Setton Farms, the country’s second-largest pistachio grower-processor, has seen an increase in consumer interest and product sales.

Joseph Setton, vice president of domestic sales for the family business, said online sales have particularly escalated in 2020.

The firm supplies global markets via a variety of sales and distribution techniques. This includes a social media presence that has accelerated direct sales to consumers.

Giving Setton a special sales boost

Ocean Mist Farms, the leading grower and marketer of fresh artichokes in the United States, is pleased to announce the hiring of Jesse Lopez as commodity account manager. In this role, Lopez will work closely with Joe Angelo and the rest of the sales team, as well as current commodity, field, and harvest managers.

“We are glad to have someone of Jesse’s caliber join our team,” said Joe Angelo, director of sales at Ocean Mist Farms. “With his veteran experience, he will add immediate strength and value to our team.”

Lopez will handle key retail and wholesale accounts and work with promotion

Total organic fresh produce sales and volume continued to register double-digit growth in the third  quarter of 2020, with July-September sales increasing 16 percent and volume up 15 percent from the same period in 2019, according to the Q3 2020 Organic Produce Performance Report released exclusively by the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners.

Organic fresh produce in Q3 2020 saw a continuation of trends established in March of this year, with elevated sales across the entire supermarket as consumers continued at-home eating in the face of restaurant closures. As a result, sales of

The National Watermelon Promotion Board named winners in its annual Retail Merchandising Contest, which garnered 220 entries from various retail chains, independent retailers and commissaries throughout the U.S. and Canada. This year’s iteration of the contest — the 12th since its inception —  was reimagined to incorporate social media and marketing efforts in addition to in-store displays. The contest started in July to honor National Watermelon Month and ran throughout the month of August to encourage and identify retailers who are showcasing watermelon’s benefits including health, value and

Albertsons Cos. Inc. introduced Albertsons Pay, a new zero-touch checkout experience available through its updated just for U loyalty app.  Albertsons Pay provides shoppers with a safe, secure, and contact-free way to pay, use discounts, and earn rewards all at the same time. The company is also piloting PickUp lockers in select Safeway stores as the newest easy fulfillment option for e-Commerce orders.

The new zero-touch checkout technology is available in all Albertsons Cos. stores, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Star-Market, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United

​Ark Foods — the modern-day farming company bringing unique vegetables and vegetable-based creations to the produce aisle — debuted its Clean Label Salad line at the Produce Marketing Association’s FreshSummit virtual trade show last week.

Clean Label Salads, made entirely from ingredients great-grandmas would recognize, join Ark Foods’ lineup of best-selling heat-and-eat Veggie Bowls, and serve as an easier, healthier, affordable lunch option amidst a 40 percent rise in home cooking seen from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Food Industry Association.

“Launching our Clean Label