In 2002, the New York Apple Association took a major bite out of a ripe, juicy apple opportunity when it hired registered dietitian Linda Quinn to be the association’s spokeswoman in order to promote the health benefits of New York apples. She is passionate, proactive and professes to be a major apple believer for all the right reasons.

Passion. Respect. Integrity. Determination. Excellence. Each can be a factor for a business to be successful. But when a business is built on a foundation of all five, great things are bound to happen.

Joe Procacci knows this all too well, which is why the stated core values of Procacci Bros. Sales Corp. use the acronym PRIDE to represent each tenet.

Sam Martin, who in July 2010 joined the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. as its president and chief executive officer, has left the company. "We all thank Sam for his time at A&P and wish him well in his future endeavors," the company said in a statement. 

At this point Martin's successor as CEO has not been named, but Greg Mays, who has more than 35 years of experience in the supermarket industry, will head the company in the interim.  

Leading produce supplier HBF International announced that owners Doug Perkins and Mark Hurst will be expanding their responsibilities with an eye toward future expansion and opportunities within the industry.

Perkins is now chief executive officer of HBF International, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company. He formerly served as managing director and director of export sales.

Kingston Fresh announced that its mango crop from Peru is off to good start and volume is expected to climb with arrivals starting in mid-January.

“Healthy Living” is the new positioning of the key promotion of the Michigan Apple Committee. The 2014 marketing effort is running from January to March.

In previous years, the program was run as “Health and Fitness” but the committee decided to emphasize lifestyle over a promotion that sounded more like a diet, indicated Diane Smith, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, which is based in Lansing, MI.