Social media continues to evolve at a rapid pace, and the California Avocado Commission is taking full advantage of these new opportunities to reach consumers with targeted messages. CAC has expanded its social media efforts to fully support retailers with a variety of customer-specific programs and communications.

While per capita consumption of fresh citrus has declined since 1980, total U.S. consumption of citrus fruits has increased 20 percent since that time, according to a report titled “U.S. Citrus Import Demand: Seasonality and Substitution,” compiled by Katherine L. Baldwin, formerly of the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, was presented at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting in Birmingham, AL, in February 2012.

“We have completed our new expansion at our Warwick, Maryland, facility in the past two months,” Kevin Donovan, national sales manager for Phillips Mushroom Farms in Kennett Square, PA, told The Produce News June 3. “It now produces half a million pounds of white mushrooms per week.”

Donovan noted that while brown mushrooms, such as Portabellas and Baby Bellas, are definitely growing in popularity and consequent demand, the white category still leads the overall sales in mushrooms.

Fruit Royale Inc. in Delano, CA, has been packing some of its grapes in gusseted stand-up bags, also commonly referred to as pouch bags, for about the last four years for some of its grapes in California.

The company has seen steady growth in demand for the new packaging, with some customers now asking for it exclusively, according to Louie Galvan, a partner in the company.

Mike Smith, executive vice president of the Tom Lange Co., based in Springfield, IL, died June 23 following a battle with lung cancer.

Smith began his career with Tom Lange in 1980, joining the company as a financial officer in the Springfield, IL headquarters, following a 13-year career in the banking industry. His strong financial expertise helped give the company credibility within the industry.

ALDI, a discount retail chain based in Batavia, IL, is in the initial stages of discussions to potentially locate a warehouse in Moreno Valley, CA, and is further developing its plans to expand to Southern California.

With more than 1,200 stores across two-thirds of the country, ALDI has grown without merger or acquisition. Over the last several years, ALDI has added an average of 80 new stores each year, which serve more than 25 million customers each month.