Albert Perez, managing partner of Continental Fresh LLC, based in Coconut Grove, FL, said he has built the firm’s business by putting together several niche deals from various South American and Central American suppliers.

One such deal is with the “Suemi” brand of mangos from Brazil, while another involves cucumbers, watermelons and hard squashes from Honduras.

Splendid Products LLC of Burlingame, CA, is one of the leaders in the late-season Mexican mango crop, and then it plays a relatively minor role as production shifts to Brazilian product. It isn’t until Ecuador starts to ship that the company gets back in the deal in a major way.

With a new structure in place, the last year saw a change of the Quebec Produce Marketing Association’s mission, stepping away from a focus on building the business network — as its strength has become apparent — and moving toward issues management and particularly government and public relations. The association implemented changes to ensure that top-priority issues are tabled appropriately.

Every year there are distinct and subtle changes in what the consumer will gravitate toward when decorating their homes for the holidays. This year, the change is less subtle and, in fact, it is more pronounced.

As we have seen throughout 2014, natural and organic looks continue to dominate demand in the decorative hard goods sector. Christmas will be no different. Not only will this be evident in the types of product sold this season, but in the colors as well. It appears that more muted tones will be popular, putting flashy and glittery looks on the back burner.

The food industry calls it “pedestrian” when popular dishes become commonplace. Talented chefs then deconstruct, reinvent and re-name them, and suddenly the dish is popular again. They create a new trend, and sales increase. The floral industry is much like the food industry; trends come and go, but the classics remain, even if they must be reinvented every few years. The floral industry, particularly mass-market, has reached a point with poinsettias where it is time for a makeover.

The Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit Convention & Expo at California’s Anaheim Convention Center Oct. 17-19 has doubled the size of its floral pavilion this year, the organization announced on its website. About 78 flower growers, importers-exporters, bouquet makers, suppliers and shippers had reserved booth spaces as of late August.

Floral education sessions slated for Oct. 17 were identified by PMA in a news release as “Floral Trends: Color is Key” presented by Pantone LLC, and “The Seismic Shift of the Floral Industry” presented by Euromonitor International.