Cincinnati-based importer B&B Imports recently hired Tony Taviano to manage its new brokerage office in Visalia, CA.

B&B Imports, a sister company of Dave’s Specialty Imports, has served a number of retail and wholesale customers since 1996, and has played a supportive role in the success of Dave’s Specialty Imports.

Driven by Mexico’s expanding economy, 10 major fruit exporters from Mexico toured the Philadelphia Port complex and one of the nation’s largest produce-storage and packing facilities in Vineland, NJ. The exporters also met in small groups with 15 importers from the Philadelphia region — speed-dating style — in an effort to find the right business match for their perishable products.

Trader Joe’s continues to deliver a grocery experience that leaves shoppers wanting more. A study of more than 6,200 consumers by Market Force Information, a worldwide leader in customer intelligence solutions, found that Trader Joe’s is North America’s favorite grocery retailer based on satisfaction. Publix and ALDI were ranked second and third.

It won’t be long before cherry producers in the Pacific Northwest are picking and grinning. This year’s harvest is expected to ramp up early, and favorable conditions during the growing season are expected to translate to fruit of exceptional quality and flavor. Producers couldn’t be happier.

Kingston Fresh has promoted Christie Sommers to the position of sales manager for the company's Idaho Falls, ID, sales office. Sommers has been with Kingston for over 16 years and most recently held the title of senior key account manager.

David Cook, a fixture in sales of California strawberries, tomatoes and celery, is set to retire in June after 44 years in the produce industry.  

 "Everybody knows David," Tom Deardorff II, president of Deardorff Family Farms, where Cook spent the last 32 years of his career, said in a press release. "Whenever I am at events for United Fresh, PMA, WGA or other trade groups, people always ask about David. And when the trade press wants information about California produce, they call David."