Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1038155
Produce Show Daily Saturday, October 20, 2018 1 8 South Mill and Champ's Leadership Launch Innovative New Line Category leaders South Mill Mushrooms of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and Champs Mushrooms of British Columbia, Canada are show- casing their full line of conventional, specialty and organic mushrooms during the 2018 PMA Fresh Summit Expo. In addition, South Mill and Champs proud- ly launch a new line of snack products and prepared foods. Shrooms, innova- tive, delicious, shelf stable snacks; and Porta Béla, offering a wide range of delectable prepared items. Shrooms and Porta Béla are already disrupting the mushroom industry. The Shrooms brand includes Mushroom Crisps, Mushroom Jerky, Mushroom Clusters and allergy-friend- ly Mushroom Snack bars. Porta Béla, the prepared foods line will include a variety of frozen prepared entrees and appetizers. "This new product mix is energizing consumers seeking great tasting, better- for-you snacks and meals," said Jeff Schrett, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "We are excited to introduce these innovative products to the market. Each is created using our own farm-fresh mushrooms and provide a healthy alter- native for those consumers who lead an active lifestyle, yet demand great taste and adventurous flavors." Leveraging the brand's tagline, "Savor the mind-blow- ing flavor," Shrooms products include unique, one-of-a-kind flavor profiles such as roasted teriyaki, honey chipotle, filet and Portabella, and crispy mushroom wild berry and sea salt, to name a few. This product launch coincides with South Mill and Champs ascendance as one of the largest mushroom growers in North America, as well as its bold com- mitment to transforming the North American mushroom customer and con- sumer experience. Alongside their new innovative brands, South Mill and Champs presents their fresh unified logo, illustrating their 80 years of history as well as this exciting new venture. As a vertically integrated mushroom grower, South Mill and Champs are committed to continue providing more inno- vative products with value- added fresh and prepared items scheduled for release in early 2019. They stand by 80 years of farm-to-table pro- duce history to provide the same remark- able quality, value and service across all their lines. For more information, visit booth #3860, go to www.southmill.com and www .champsmushrooms.com or call 610.444.4800 ext. 5. Fruit-Centric Engineering Drives Growth for Ripening Room Industry Leader An interview with David Byrne, Vice President, Sales, Thermal Technologies. PSD: Over the last 25 years, Thermal Tech has installed over 3,000 ripening rooms across North America and around the world. That must give you insight into the retail banana trade. DB: When you consider that over 70 percent of all bananas ripened in North America are processed in Thermal Tech rooms, I guess you can say we're in a pretty unique position. We work with all the major growers as well as 18 of the Top 20 grocery retailers across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, so we're deeply involved on both sides of the equation. Over the last two years alone, we've also installed rooms in China, Chile and the Netherlands, so we're seeing increased interest from all around the globe. PSD: You said quality control has become increasingly important for the big multi-national traders as well as large retailers. What's changed? DB: There's been a shift away from plan- tation ownership and production by the multi-national banana traders. This shift has led to an increase in bananas being sourced through multiple growers, even among some of the larger retailers and wholesalers. This has put renewed emphasis on quality and especially on consistency at the point-of-sale. PSD: How is this impacting the indus- try? DB: The emphasis on quality and consis- tency has created an entirely new mental- ity in the industry, with growers, mar- keters, wholesalers and retailers all work- ing together toward a shared interest in providing the highest quality fruit. It's been good for us, as ripening tends to be the exact point where these shared inter- ests intersect. We doubled our manufac- turing floor space from 40,000 to 80,000 square feet a couple of years ago to keep pace with orders, and our fruit-centric approach to engineering and con- trol has kept us at the forefront of the industry throughout this transi- tion. PSD: What makes Thermal Tech's fruit-centric approach different from other ripening room sys- tems? DB: First off, it makes fruit quality the driving force behind any and all of our technological innovations. We've found that it not only helps us build a better ripening room, it also helps us avoid the common pitfalls of over- engineering which we often see in other systems when technology is given precedence over the fruit. This goes for our control system as well. While other systems primarily rely on air-temperature to control room condi- tions, our fruit-centric approach has always used pulp temperatures as the primary basis for room control, ensur- ing the best possible results. The fruit-centric approach also keeps us laser-focused on the needs of our clients and their suppliers. It's one of the main reasons why we developed the first three-tier, two truckload ripening rooms with multiple temperature control zones, allowing you to ripen to two different color stages in the same room at the same time, as well as our exclusive humidification sys- tem, which maximizes fruit weight, extends shelf life for as long as 12 hours and reduces retail shrink, providing a faster ROI and maximizing long term profit. PSD: How do you see these changes impacting the marketplace in the years ahead? DB: As the industry continues to diversi- fy, both the multi-nationals and the large retailers will likely continue to use an increasingly diverse range of growers, providing an increasing variety of organ- ics and other banana types as well. Given that environment, there's no doubt that ripening will continue to play a pivotal role in making sure all these products reach the consumer with the predictable high quality and consistency the market demands. We will be there to ensure our clients are able to meet these demands. Visit Thermal Technologies at booth #1101. For more information, contact David Byrne at 803.461.7980 or go to www.gotarpless.com. A Passion for Innovation and Solid Leaders for Growth at Twist-Ease Twist-Ease, a Minnesota-based solutions company, has been solving your grocery customers' need for closure with innova- tive, time and space saving twist tie packs for almost 30 years. Originally invented by a produce manager and used in produce, Twist-Ease's dispensing sys- tem has expanded to other departments including bakery, meat, bulk and floral. Twist-Ease's patented and unique banner tie saves each shopper almost five sec- onds in the checkout lane with each bulk purchase. Cashiers report that the bulk flag/banner ties help their customers write the PLU/Bin # in the right spot so the cashier can just ring the purchase instead of unwrapping, finding the num- ber, ringing and then rewrapping the cus- tomers purchase. In preparation for Twist-Ease's 30th birthday, Twist-Ease is ramping up mar- keting efforts, doing in-store marketing research around twist tie use and focus- ing on customer growth and new cus- tomer acquisition. When grocery cus- tomers use a bag and twist tie for their bulk purchases, they tend to purchase more produce and build bigger baskets. Using bags and twist ties also enables shoppers to protect their purchase from germs and bacteria that might be on shopping carts, baskets and the checkout conveyor belt. Closing the bag with the twist tie also enables the customer to access their purchase anytime and reclose and reuse the bag. Solid people and solid leadership. The innovative produce leader and cre- ator of the first product, Jim Helseth, is now the President of Twist-Ease and holds more than 10 patents for his twist tie packs, bracketing and dispensing systems. His son, Jeff Helseth, is extremely impressive with his knowl- edge of the company prod- ucts. He coordinates all trade shows and serves as the Retail Director, leading all retail installations. Jim's younger son, Matt Helseth, leads the graphic design and is involved in many aspects of the busi- ness. Twist-Ease is ramp- ing up digital and social media engage- ment and implementing newer digital methods like geofencing to reach new customers. Twist-Ease partnered with Minneapolis-based Insignia systems to create the freshADS program, which enables CPGs working with Insignia to sell more product by highlighting their food products on Twist-Ease dis- pensers. Insignia and Twist-Ease partnered a year ago to launch freshADS, a cross- merchandising program that promotes a center-store item in the fresh produce department, right on the Twist-Ease twist tie dispenser. An example would be an advertisement for taco shells, sour cream and cheese right next to the tomato and onion display. Produce continues to be the high- est-profile and most vis- ited department within the store, and this vehi- cle works hard for both the brands and the retail- ers to inspire shoppers with meal solutions and increase overall basket size. Twist-Ease twist tie packs are better than single loose ties because they are organized and clean and help keep stores neat (no spilled ties). Packs are quick and easy to refill. Stop by the Twist-Ease booth see if you can beat its challenge to fill a cup of ties in 30 seconds! Twist-Ease's main target is grocery store chains across the United States, Canada and Australia. Its customers are decision makers in produce, bulk foods, store chains and supply buyers. For more information, visit booth #1701 or go to www.twistease.com.