Crunch Time Apple Growers announced that SnapDragon is now the official apple of the NFL's Buffalo Bills, a match made in the Empire State. Born at Cornell University and grown across the state by over 150 family farmers, SnapDragon is as New York as the Buffalo Bills, so it’s only natural for the two to join forces. “The Buffalo Bills organization is top-notch, from the players and coaches to the people working behind the scenes, and Crunch Time is thrilled to join the team as the first-ever official apple of the Bills,” said Jessica Wells, executive director of Crunch Time Apple Growers.

Meijer announced that it's seeking submissions from local and diverse-owned businesses for its latest Supplier Diversity event focusing on general merchandise and apparel. Interested vendors must provide video submissions, describing their brand and products, by Sunday, Sept. 18 to be considered for the opportunity to pitch to Meijer merchants at a live virtual event this fall. "While we've made great strides to ensure our vendors represent our customers in terms of both diversity and geography across our stores, we're excited to hold this event that specifically focuses on general merchandise

A recent study by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science found the shelf-life of grape tomatoes can be dramatically improved using an innovative postharvest solution by Verdant Technologies. The research team, led by Dr. Steven A. Sargent, conducted a variety of tests on grape tomatoes, examining the firmness, color, weight retention and decay of tomatoes treated with Verdant’s HarvestHold Fresh. Upon completion of the study, HarvestHold Fresh demonstrated measurably significant benefits compared to the untreated control. “The grape tomatoes treated with

This summer, Bako Sweet hosted a retail merchandising contest that ran from May 20 to July 4. Produce managers from Sprouts Colton Distribution Center were challenged to create the most creative displays using the brand’s organic sweet potato bags and Traeger grill-themed bin to promote sweet potato consumption during historically low sales months. As a result, stores that participated saw significant sales lift. On average, stores that participated saw a 35 percent case per store per week lift and a total tonnage lift of 127 percent. Retailers that used the Traeger bin saw double the tonnage

Green Giant introduced three new category innovations — Green Giant Restaurant Style sides, Green Giant Zucchini Tots and Green Giant Veggie Spiral Skillets — to its growing portfolio of sides and meals. All three lines of new releases will begin to appear in stores this month. “The continued success of our Veggie Swap-Ins line proves that consumers are always looking for creative new ways to cook and eat their vegetables,” said Kristen Thompson, president of frozen and vegetables and senior vice president of B&G Foods. “We developed our latest innovations in partnership with highly trained

As a West Coast leader in both the sweet and the hot pepper production, Baloian Farms said its chili pepper program will not disappoint — with varieties that range in heat from mild to hot and are always flavorful and always fresh. The company has a strategic set of plantings of chili peppers this year that are scheduled to harvest and come to market at the same time as its Bell pepper varieties. Consumer demand for hot chili varieties has been increasing the past several years and the company expects this trend to continue. “Our Chili pepper program was created to satisfy retail and buyer