Seen and heard at IFPA's Global Produce and Floral Show 2024 — Part 1

ATLANTA — The first day of education sessions at the International Fresh Produce Association's 2024 Global Produce and Floral Show kicked off with a bang, literally, as the Jonesboro High School Majestic Marching Cardinals took the center stage for two performances in the Georgia World Congress Center on Oct. 17.

And the hits kept on coming over the next two days as the event moved into the show floor.

Tomato mart was the theme of Wholesum's show booth, where the company showcased its flavor lineup including high-flavor snacking, heirloom and greenhouse-grown tomatoes.

The company showed off its high-flavor grape tomato line and its different heirloom tomatoes. Booth visitors could sample heirloom and snacking tomatoes on a custom charcuterie board.

"There are expansion plans within the snacking lines," said Joanna Jaramillo, marketing manager for Wholesum.

It was all about washed and trimmed, ready-to-eat veggies at Misionero's Global Produce and Floral Show booth.

Misionero highlighted new lettuces including a lettuce boat, which is a hybrid of iceberg and romaine, and its deli leaf lettuce, which is ideal for sandwiches and burgers, said Nicole Minnich-Zapata, marketing director for Misionero.

The company also showed off new four-count bags of romaine.

"With consumers being conscious about clean produce, this gives them a chance to try something new," she said.

The Guimarra Cos. showcased its produce in a fun pop-up stand that was designed to look like a convenience mart. The stand was outside the trade show floor, and the display caught a lot of attention given its location, said Guimarra's Joseph Casey.

Guimarra Mart served fruit slushies in color-changing cups and hot dogs with fresh produce toppings.

"It's easy to find us," he said. "They love the concept. It's colorful, and they love how we tied the display to our commitment to the produce industry."

The transition to premium varieties and reserve varieties of berries was a hot topic at the North Bay Produce booth. This includes the Sequoia blueberry grown in Peru and worldwide.

Other topics include storm recovery in Florida and how North Bay will navigate the upcoming strawberry harvest.

"Our growers are not here because they're replanting," said Paul Driscoll, director of business development in Canada for North Bay Produce.

Other topics included North Bay's sustainability efforts in reducing plastics in its packaging.

Jim Morris, marketing communications manager for Pear Bureau Northwest and USA Pears, said the Global Produce and Floral Show was a good time to talk about Gem and Happi, two new pear varieties.

Morris said Gem will be available in both Publix and Trader Joe's stores this year.

Visitors to the booth asked about how the crop was shaping up as northern Washington experienced some weather issues but Mid-Columbia Valley growers fared better than expected.

Morris said another key objective is to help consumers understand that pears "look a lot like they just got out of a bar fight," he said, noting how this year's crop may have some frost ring on pears, which is purely a cosmetic blemish.

"The fruit is good. The nutrition is good. It's really a skin issue," Morris said, noting the challenge pear growers and marketers have with educating consumers that imperfect fruit is still good.