December 2011
9 posts
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Spanish fresh-cut sales climb
Fresh-cut fruit and vegetables ales enjoyed a boom through the opening eight months of 2011, according to new data released by Symphoni Iri and reported by Efeagro.
Sales of fresh-cut produce climbed 3 per cent year-on-year in volume terms to 54,600 tonnes through the January-August period. In 2010, sales for the full-year came in at 70,600 tonnes, an increase of 6 per cent on the previous...
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Polish retailer targets kids with Disney
Polish supermarket chain Piotr I Pawel has today (1 December) become the first in the country to launch a new Disney-themed healthy snack concept for children.
The concept has been developed by Dutch fresh produce company Van Rijn Group, in cooperation with the Walt Disney Company, while distribution is handled by Langfruit BV, located in Venlo.
The range features Cars 2 and Disney Princess...
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UK leafy salads gain EU backing
In the UK, the British Leafy Salads Association (BLSA) has revealed that it has secured just under €140,000 in co-funding from the EU as part of the European Commission’s support for the promotion of fresh fruit and vegetables following the E coli crisis.
According to the BLSA, the funding will contribute to a three-year promotional and marketing campaign driving home the benefits of...
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Morrisons unveils ready-peeled avo
In the UK, retailer Morrisons is reportedly taking the hassle out of Hass avocados by introducing a ready peeled and pre-packaged product.
According to the Daily Mail, the group has developed specialist technology that peels, de-stones and packs the fruit in its own transparent vacuum-packed pouch, allowing consumers accurately judge ripeness.
The Peruvian avocados will be on sale for £5...
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UK convenience market to grow
New figures released by industry analyst IGD predict that the UK’s grocery convenience sector is set to grow to £42.2bn (€49.3bn) over the next five years.
According to figures released at the group’s Convenience Retail Conference, the sector will increase in value by more than a quarter in the run up to 2016, up from its current value of £33.6bn (€39.2bn).
Similarly,...
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Stemilt bolsters Lil Snappers line
Just a few months after launching Lil Snappers, a premium line of 3lb bags made specifically for kid-sized apples and pears, Stemilt Growers is expanding the product line with new varieties, organic availability, and a durable display-shipper.
US-based Stemilt recently added two varieties – Braeburn and Fuji apples – to its line of conventionally grown Lil Snappers and also introduced Lil...
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Fruit Pop Pouches hit the market
Shelf-life extension specialist Maxwell Chase Technologies has announced the launch of its new ‘Fruit Pop’ pouches, absorbent pouches which are ideal for packing slices of fresh-cut pineapple, cantaloupe, watermelon and Honeydew melon and extending shelf-life by over 10 days.
Produced with food-safe absorbent technology, the pouches allow processors to pack ripe and sweet-tasting...
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Marketing in focus at Freshconex forum
Freshconex 2012, Europe’s only international meeting place for the fresh produce convenience sector, takes place in Berlin from 8-10 February 2012 and offers a comprehensive overview of the products and services in this dynamic growth market.
Fully integrated into the trade fair programme, the Freshconex Business Forum is a first-class information and discussion platform focusing on ...
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Dole partners with Healthy Foods
Dole Food Company has announced that it has made an equity investment in Healthy Foods, the producer of the yonanas frozen treat maker.
Dole and Healthy Foods have joined forces to increase consumption of fruit by expanding the yonanas product line and its distribution in retail, commercial and food service outlets around the world.
The yonanas frozen treat maker employs proprietary...
October 2011
5 posts
3 tags
Dole introduces Fruit Smoothie Shakers
Dole Food Company has announced the introduction of two new products, Fruit Smoothie Shakers and Frozen Fruit Single-serve Cups, which it has said will provide consumers with new, convenient ways to enjoy the taste of fresh fruit ‘right from the freezer’.
According to the group, the products – which contain frozen fruit and no artificial ingredients – can help US consumers balance...
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Global interest in Freshconex
Freshconex, Europe’s leading business and information platform for fresh produce convenience, will present a broad overview of products and services from 8-10 February 2012 in Berlin.
For the first time, Freshconex 2012 will feature dedicated exhibition halls for fresh produce convenience (Hall 7.2c) and technology (Hall 7.2b) sectors respectively, ensuring a focused market overview of...
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Dole acquires Fafi Fresh Cuts Oy
Dole Europe has announced the acquisition of Helsinki, Finland-based Fafi Fresh Cuts Oy, a group founded by private investors in 2010 that only started operating in June this year.
The purchase will, according to Dole Europe president Johan Linden, add to a decade of growth in fresh-cut out of the group’s Swedish plant, which has been based on product quality and innovation.
...
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Florette plans major UK push
Bagged salad specialist Florette has revealed that it is planning its biggest-ever UK marketing investment to back a major 2012 promotional campaign, that it hopes will help engage consumers like never before.
The group will invest some £5m (€5.8m) next year as it looks to tap into what it sees as several major opportunities for its bagged salads in the country, including the launch of a new...
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Fresh Express loses E.coli claim
US fresh-cut giant Fresh Express has had a US$12m claim for losses incurred during the 2006 US bagged spinach E.coli outbreak overturned by a state appeals court, reports the Monterey Herald.
In a decision released on September 8, the California 6th District Court of Appeal overturned the US$12m award granted to Fresh Express in 2009 under its recall-and-brand-protection insurance policy.
...
September 2011
1 post
4 tags
Chiquita Minis hit the UK
Chiquita has launched its new banana product at wholesale level. Chiquita Minis have arrived at wholesale markets across the country to strong demand. It is believed to be the first time the Cincinnati-based fresh produce giant has entered the markets with a smaller offering. They are around half the size of a normal banana. TG Fruits on Brighton wholesale market described the fruit as of...
August 2011
1 post
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July 2011
8 posts
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Morrisons launches M local format
Morrisons is set to undercut its rivals by up to 11 per cent on fresh produce as it enters the high street with its M local format. The UK’s number-four supermarket this week opened its first convenience store in Bradford as part of three trial outlets. Morrisons expects to be between four and 11 per cent cheaper on fresh products than its rivals in convenience by charging its usual prices, or...
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Londis to invest £4m in fresh expansion
Convenience retailer Londis is investing £4 million in its fresh food expansion this year. The investment means the entire Londis supplier fleet will have fully chilled capacity for the first time. The retailer aims to deliver a larger fresh range that includes bagged salads. barbecue products, fresh meat, poultry and fish. Having already invested in new supply chain systems, Londis hopes the...
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Food price inflation rockets
Food inflation has accelerated as commodity prices surge and fuel bills continue to rise. Overall shop price inflation increased to 2.9 per cent in June from 2.3 per cent in May, while food inflation accelerated to 5.7 per cent in June from 4.9 per cent in May, according to the British Retail Consortium-Nielson Shop Price Index for June. Non-food inflation rose to 1.3 per cent in June from 0.8...
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Asda predicts prepared upsurge
Asda’s category director Rick Bourne singled out prepared fresh produce formats – and prepared potatoes in particular – for an upsurge in demand at the East Midlands Potato Day on Tuesday. Bourne told delegates at the event held at QV Foods’ Manor Farm that although Asda’s customers were having to make a choice between certain products, mixing their purchases across premium to budget tiers and...
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Rijk Zwaan holds first Leafy Event
Dutch vegetable seed group Rijk Zwaan held its first Leafy Event this month, the successor to its Salanova Days events that saw business partners travel from across the globe to discuss the future of leafy crops.
According to the group, some 250 players from 34 different countries came together to discuss the cultivation, processing and sales of a variety of salad products, including...
A new take on fresh for two-week sandwich →
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Culinor buys Univeg's Hot Cuisine
Univeg’s board of directors has told staff it intends to accept an offer from Culinor to buy one of its convenience arms, Hot Cuisine.
The offer casts into doubt the future of Hot Cuisine’s loss-making Tournai factory, which employs 81 people.
Theo de Kool, CEO of Univeg, said: “I regret the potential impact on the Tournai establishment, but, on the other hand, I am satisfied...
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Ready Pac appoints marketing director
Ready Pac has named Bryan Jaynes as its new marketing director, bringing close to 20 years of marketing experience in both retail and foodservice channels to the company.
Jaynes, who has held leadership positions on both branded and private label products, will report to Barbara Dan, Ready Pac’s vice-president of marketing and research and development.
Jaynes was the director of marketing...
June 2011
4 posts
5 tags
Blue Skies founder recognised
The founder of Blue Skies has received an honorary doctorate from Cranfield University in recognition of his achievement in establishing the award-winning prepared fruit company. Anthony Pile set-up Blue Skies in 1997 to deliver premium quality prepared fruit products from factories in Ghana, Egypt, South Africa and Brazil. Pile founded Blue Skies on the principles of ‘equitrade’ whereby the...
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May 2011
3 posts
6 tags
Fresh Convenience Congress is coming soon →
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Chiquita Italy updates smoothie range →
As company’s spring marketing campaign gets into full swing across Europe, its Italian arm repackages successful smoothie range.
April 2011
6 posts
3 tags
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Higher attendance for Freshconex 2011
The organisers of this year’s Freshconex, Europe’s only trade fair for the fresh produce convenience segment, have revealed that the event’s recent fourth edition attracted more visitors than in 2010. More than 11,000 industry players (up from 7,000 in 2010) from across the globe visited the show, which involved 100 exhibitors from 18 different countries.
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Register for the Fresh Convenience Congress →
Registrations are now open for this year’s Fresh Convenience Congress, which takes place on 14-16 June 2011 at the Guoman Cumberland Hotel in London, UK.
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“Consumers need to know that, when they buy a lettuce for €1.10, only around...”
– Yves Aris, president of the FDSEA (Departmental Federation of Farmers’ Unions), warns that French lettuce producers could go out of business if nothing is done to address an impending crisis.