PRODUCE WATCH

Calavo Growers Inc., Santa Paula, CA, has named Danny Dumas senior vice president and general manager Calavo Grown, filling the role held by Robert Wedin who is retiring after 49 years with Danny Dumas Calavo. Dumas is a veteran of the produce industry with more than 30 years of experience, primarily with Del Monte Fresh Produce and, most recently, serving as president of Courchesne Larose USA. In April, Calavo said it would reorganize its business into two segments, Grown and Prepared, with a senior vice president and general manager responsible for each. Dumas will lead the Grown segment, which consists of fresh avocados, tomatoes and papayas.

California Walnut Board and California Walnut Commission

The California Walnut Board (CWB) and the California Walnut Commission (CWC), Folsom, CA, have named Robert Verloop executive director and CEO. The CWB and CWC represent over 4,500 California walnut growers and nearly 90 handlers, producing over 1.4 billion pounds of walnuts in 2021 that ship to more than 50 countries around the world. Verloop recently held the position of COO for Coastline Family Farms, a family-owned vegetable grower/shipper. Previously, he held executive/leadership roles with Naturipe Farms/Naturipe Brands, Sunkist Growers Inc. and the California Avocado Commission.

Robert Verloop

Duda Farm Fresh Foods

Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Oviedo, FL, has announced the company’s president, Samuel “Sammy” Duda, has been named CEO-elect. This decision marks the Samuel “Sammy” culmination of a nearly Duda year-long process led by the company’s board of directors. Duda will continue to fulfill the responsibilities of his existing role until transitioning to CEO on Jan. 1, 2023. At that time, his role will shift to one of oversight for Duda Farm Fresh Foods as he begins guiding the family owned and operated diversified land company’s consolidated business vision, goals and values.

Ippolito International

Ippolito International, Salinas, CA, has promoted Keith Mallett to chief operating officer. His background in the produce industry is diverse, balanced between field operations and valueadded processing. Prior to Keith Mallett Ippolito, Mallett worked at Taylor Farms for five years. In his new role as COO, he will continue leading the operations team as well as oversee the continued growth and expansion of the Ippolito International group of companies. PRO*ACT, Monterey, CA, has hired William Foster as vice president of technology. Most recently, Foster was IT director at ASP Global. During his tenure, he moved the company headquarters, migrated the IT infrastructure William Foster to the Azure cloud, updated the ERP and automated many common functions for a variety of users, including a WMS implementation. Prior to ASP, Foster was the IT-ERP manager and director of supply chain and logistics at TireHub, a joint venture between Goodyear and Bridgestone.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Stemilt and Cosmic Crisp Apples Take the Spotlight

The Cosmic Crisp, Wenatchee, WA, has reported that its apple gained retail momentum this spring and made waves after appearing on the first season finale of NCIS: Hawaii. Stemilt’s review of April 2022 Nielsen retail scan data revealed that Cosmic Crisp was the No. 7 apple nationally, at 2.2% of apple volumes and 2.3% of apple dollars, and it took the No. 1 club apple position nationally by making up 20% of club apple volumes. It ranked second in average retail price per pound among the top 10 apples, trailing Honeycrisp and excluding the other category made up of multiple varieties.

Zespri Launches Consumer Contest

Zespri, Orange County, CA, is capturing that first bite of SunGold Kiwifruit with its “Go Sweet. Be Bold” national contest. Shoppers have a chance to win a grand prize, cash and more by posting a photo/video on Instagram, Twitter or TikTok of their first bite into the SunGold Kiwifruit. When posting, they tag @zesprikiwifruit and use the #GoSweetBeBold and #Contest. They can also participate by uploading their submission at GoSweetBeBold.com. To help promote the contest at retail, Zespri has free POS header cards that can attach to the shipper displays. A QR code is printed on the header card, allowing consumers to quickly scan for contest details.

West Pak Avocado Opens Distribution Center

West Pak Avocado, Murrietta, CA, recently celebrated the grand opening of its new distribution center in Logan Township, NJ, with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house. In attendance for the event was Assemblywoman Beth Sawyer of the Third Legislative District in New Jersey, who presented West Pak with a Joint Legislative Commendation on behalf of the state. Sawyer and Commissioner Chris Konawel from the Gloucester Board of County Commissioners participated in the ribbon-cutting with West Pak CEO Mario Pacheco and vice president of operations Trevor Newhouse. The full-service avocado distribution center provides convenience to customers by offering ripening, bagging, repacking and cold storage.

Partnership Shares Genetics for Earlier Ripening Sweet Cherries

Sun World International, Bakersfield, CA, and Washington State University have joined forces to develop a new generation of high flavor sweet cherries that ripen earlier and are more practical to grow. Horticulture Associate Professor and Stone Fruit Breeder Per McCord and Sun World scientists are sharing germplasm from promising cherry varieties under a new research collaboration launched this spring. The agreement allows researchers to exchange and study genetic material from their collections aimed at speeding up breeding and release of improved varieties for orchards in the Pacific Northwest, California, the greater Northwest, and worldwide

NEW PRODUCTS A New Strawberry Flavor Innovation

Driscoll’s, Watsonville, CA, has launched its newest flavor innovation, Tropical Bliss, which expands its premium, high-flavor strawberry collection that also includes Sweetest Batch and Rosé Berries. Driscoll's Tropical Bliss Strawberries, with naturally white and yellow hues, combine the classic flavor of sweet berries and light flavor notes of tropical punch, pineapple and passionfruit.

SWEETUMS Refresh Debuts

William H. Kopke Jr., Inc., Great Neck, NY, has unveiled its redesign for the SWEETUMS family of branded citrus items. The family of branded produce includes citrus, grapes, cherries, pears, kiwi and berries. The refreshed brands, which continue to present each produce item as an illustrated personification of smiling faces, fitted with sunglasses, has stood out for over a decade across the produce department.

Oppy Bolsters California Grape Plans

Oppy, Visalia, CA, is dialing up a high-volume season featuring preferred varieties and an increased focus on innovation. The fresh produce grower, marketer and distributor anticipates a 20% boost in California grapes over last year, with a wide array of new varieties — alongside tried and true favorites. Among the new varieties Oppy will market this season are Krissy, Magenta, Timco, Allison, Ivory and Great Greens. Oppy is also building for the future in the San Joaquin Valley through agriculture technology, focused most recently on labor savings and yield estimation. New trials are underway with Bloomfield Robotics’ proprietary FLASH camera, which collects data to be processed through deep learning AI to forecast yield down to the cluster level, informing decisions and enhancing the performance and health of every plant.