The SweeTango apple harvest is in full swing, and growers with Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative are encouraging food retailers to stock up now so they are ready to ride the club variety’s perennial fall category-busting sales wave.

“SweeTango was the top-selling club apple from late September through the end of October last fall, in both dollars and volume sold — by far,” said Brianna Shales with SweeTango western region sales desk Stemilt Growers. “So this year, retailers won’t want to wait to get in on the action.”

Hy-Vee Inc. has teamed up with flexEngage to power its receipt marketing technology across all of its 275 stores as the retailer looks to personalize, monetize and manage all of the marketing content on in-store receipts and ecommerce order notifications.

In conjunction with Hy-Vee’s current content providers Catalina, Citrus Ad, and Quotient, flexEngage will place targeted marketing content and manufacturer offers to shoppers on Hy-Vee receipts, opening up the opportunity to personalize a critically relevant marketing channel.

Homegrown Organic Farms has added Jonah Reardon to its sales team. Reardon will be operating as a category manager within the citrus and grape team.

The Eastern Produce Council hosted its fourth tailgate event — sponsored once again by the Idaho Potato Commission and Litehouse Inc. — at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 21 in East Rutherford, NJ. This year's featured speaker was New York Giants great and NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson. Those arriving early enjoyed a tour of the stadium, which included the press box and museum, the commissioner’s lounge and the field. Afterward attendees enjoyed a cocktail hour featuring Idaho potato and Litehouse fare.

Schnuck Markets Inc., in partnership with Foodshed.io, celebrated its most expansive local produce season since it was founded in 1939.

For the 2021 season, more than 50 varieties of fresh, local produce are featured in all 111 Schnucks stores, ranging from tomatoes to watermelons to fresh herbs. Foodshed.io draws from 15 farms in the four states where Schnucks operates (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin).   

Ocean Mist Farms, one of the leading growers and marketers of fresh artichokes in the U.S., has the perfect fresh solution for busy families this fall with five new additions to the award-winning microwavable cut vegetable product line, Season & Steam. The line includes 10 varieties that are sure to spice up dinner time, each with the same convenience, customizable seasoning and exclusive resealable bag technology shoppers already love.

The varieties include: