Pete Aiello is looking forward to late April. Mr. Aiello, general manager of Uesugi Farms Inc., said that this is when the Gilroy, CA-based grower-packer-shipper will kick off its Bell pepper deal, and he expected this to be when the "high green and red Bell pepper market will come back down to earth." "Markets should normalize when California really gets going with some volume," Mr. Aiello told The Produce News April 7. "We'll have red Bell peppers by the end of May in Coachella [CA]." Uesugi Farms has expanded its Euro display pack line to fulfill the increased demand for place-packed

Coastline Produce in Salinas, CA, is now the exclusive shipper of the "American Classic" label. The label joins the company's "Coastline" and "Greenettes" labels, and current offerings include celery, lettuce and Romaine with additional products to come. The "American Classic" brand was first introduced in the early 1980s and has a patriotic connotation that appeals to receivers and consumers alike. Historically, "American Classic" had a very loyal following in the major markets of Boston, Chicago, New York, Detroit, Canada and other international areas. Over the past year, Coastline has added

Earthcycle Packaging Ltd., a leader in the sustainable packaging industry, is set to deliver and lead one of the more highly anticipated speeches and discussions at United Fresh's 2010 inaugural Global Conference on Produce Sustainability. The conference, set to take place Friday, April 23, at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, is designed to educate attendees not only about the importance of working toward long-term sustainability to protect the environment but also about how making the right choices can actually help increase market sales. Shannon Boase, Earthcycle's founder and chief

As the Specialty Potato Alliance approaches its first anniversary of operation, the organization continues to see sales increases for its retail and foodservice fingerling and specialty potato lines, and has recently introduced a new packaging option for its family of products, which are available nationwide. Mark Pittenger, vice president of sales and marketing for the alliance, told The Produce News April 7 that "we are integrating our two new proprietary varieties, the Red Rebel and the Rockey Rose, more and more into our lineup." He noted that the Rockey Rose, its newest offering, was

Ruiz Sales, an Edinburg, TX, distributor of tropical fruits, has long tried to be ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting new technology. This year, it has continued that tradition with the addition of traceable GTIN on most of its limes, at both the case level and the item level. "We have been putting stickers on our limes for 10 years, longer than anybody else. Now we have added traceability at the item level, and some companies haven't even started putting stickers on yet," said Richard Ruiz, president and chief executive officer of the firm that he founded two decades ago. Mr. Ruiz

LONGWOOD, FL -- Angela Paymard is not a farmer. She has never grown, shipped, sold or transported produce. But she knows how to help those who do go about it more efficiently -- and more profitably. "My life is not growing tomatoes. My life is showing people how to use technology to make their lives better," said Ms. Paymard, chairman of N2N Global, a company, based here, that provides business solutions to the produce industry. N2N's open-source and custom software programs, such as Food Safety Manager and Knowledge Integrated Software Suite, are used by dozens of industry stalwarts, small to