California Giant, a Watsonville, CA-based shipper of a full line of berries, has unveiled a new blog to continue its emphasis on consumer engagement to build brand loyalty.

Joe DeLorenzo, who spent his entire professional career in the field of produce retailing, died Wednesday, Nov. 12, of cancer. He was most recently director of produce merchandising and operations at Alpha 1 Marketing, which is the merchandising arm of Krasdale Foods, in White Plains, NY. He was 64 years old and a resident of Clifton, NJ.

When Sunkist's director of retail merchandising, Julie DeWolf, came from a consumer product group company to the nation's largest citrus marketer, she was surprised that retail display bins weren't in the firm's marketing arsenal.

On the consumer products side, it was a well-developed and well-used strategy. "They offer an excellent opportunity to get a display in a secondary location," she said.

The National Mango Board recently named Rachel Muñoz as its new director of marketing.

Muñoz contribution to the NMB will serve to strengthen the board’s mission to increase fresh mango consumption in the United States.

As director of marketing, Muñoz will oversee marketing and public relations for consumer, nutrition, retail and foodservice programs, as well as manage trade shows and website communications. In addition, she will collaborate with the management team in developing marketing concepts, tactics and campaigns — all designed to push forward the NMB’s mission.

HLB Specialties, a Pompano Beach, FL-based distributor of a full-line of tropical produce items with a focus on papayas, is promoting a good supply of high-quality papayas during the holiday season.

Homero Levy de Barros, president of HLB Specialties, said the company sources the large Formosa variety papayas for the U.S. market primarily from Guatemala and Mexico, and both regions are in a period of maximum production, with no issues of weather that could cause an interruption in supply.

The Chilean Cherry Committee, an entity associated with the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association, expects total exports of fresh cherries from Chile to reach 100,000 tons this year. As the second-largest export market for Chile, North America anticipates a 45 percent increase in volume over the 2013/14 season.