Farm Pak Products Inc. will launch its newest brand, Francie’s Finest, this month in celebration of the first birthday of Francine (Francie) Barnes, daughter of company President Josh Barnes. Named in her honor, Francie’s Finest reflects both the rich heritage and bright future of the Barnes family farm. As the fourth generation, Francie represents the family’s ongoing commitment to growing quality sweetpotatoes with sustainable, safe practices. Already, Francie enjoys the farm’s signature crop: sweetpotatoes. While she’s still too young to decide if she’ll one day join the business, the

FirstFruits Farms, the exclusive grower of Opal apples, is excited to announce the kickoff of the highly anticipated Opal season. Known for its signature bright yellow skin, naturally non-browning flesh, and tangy-yet-sweet flavor, Opal continues to deliver an eating experience unlike any other apple. This season, shoppers will see new packaging that highlights Opal’s bright color and crisp, sweet flavor, while making it pop out on the shelf. The refreshed design reflects FirstFruits’ focus on giving consumers a fresh look and a high-quality experience. Adding to the excitement, Opal is

The Kroger Co. and Instacart announced an expanded relationship to continue to innovate the customer digital shopping experience. The companies are looking to find new ways to provide customers fresh food and pantry staples through improved efficiency, increased access to Express Delivery and new, agentic shopping experiences. Kroger will be one of the first retailers to offer customers access to Instacart's AI Assistant - Cart Assistant, which it will offer to customers shopping on the Kroger iOS mobile app. Cart Assistant helps customers find meal inspiration, build carts faster with

Westfalia Fruit has established a new customer development team, led by newly appointed Dani Busseni as global head of customer marketing and development. The new appointments combine market insights, commercial strategy and category management expertise to identify growth opportunities for both customers and growers. “I am very excited to be joining Westfalia at this point of its history," said Busseni. "The new team represents Westfalia's investment in long-term market development by bringing together specialist knowledge to transform data into actionable growth strategies. The team will be

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas announced that Pedro Francisco Batiz Guillen will receive the Pillar of the Industry Award at FPAA’s 2025 Annual Meeting. Batiz is a distinguished veteran of the produce industry whose career has been defined by leadership, partnership and mentorship. Born Oct. 19, 1957, in Mexico, Batiz married Maria Clarissa Mexia Salido, and together they moved to Arizona, where they raised their three children — Pedro, Clarissa and Isabella. In 1998, the family relocated from Nogales, AZ, to San Diego, where Batiz continued to thrive and contribute to the

Sunrise Logistics Inc., a member of The Four Seasons Family of Cos., will introduce a high pressure processing (HPP) tolling service integration at its state-of-the-art cold chain operation in Ephrata, PA. Sunrise’s partnership with Hiperbaric, a leader in HPP technology, includes the installation of a Hiperbaric 525 system, and is set to begin operations in early 2026. As a result, East Coast food and beverage manufacturers will have advanced HPP capabilities combined with Sunrise’s full-service logistics and distribution infrastructure. HPP is a non-thermal food preservation method that uses