NEW YORK -- Trend diets have become as common to the American public as mashed potatoes, but none, unfortunately, are nearly as tasty. The onslaught of diets that dictate carbohydrate restriction has caused several fresh produce categories to suffer, both economically and in how consumers perceive them. In this light, none comes to mind faster than potatoes.

Los Angeles-based AgriCap LLC has carved out a niche of financial services that has found the business doubling every year since its inception in 2001, said president and co-founder Rick Jones.

"We've exceeded all expectations in terms of growth," Mr. Jones said.

The company's core services include accounts receivable factoring and commercial real estate financing. It also offers seasonal production financing, trade financing and vendor financing.

In the coming months, Vancouver, BC-based Oppenheimer Group will gain additional greenhouse pepper distribution, thanks to increased volume from Divemex.

A new company has emerged in the temperature-monitoring business with an eye toward making a mark in an already- competitive U.S. marketplace.

Escort Data Loggers LLC, which was incorporated in January and is based in Redmond, WA, will handle U.S. sales, marketing and distribution of technology and products developed by Escort Data Systems LLC, an Auckland, New Zealand-based company founded in 1989 by Andrew Maskill.

Mushrooms are considered to be a perfect complement to many dishes, and with the recent signing of a supply agreement with Birds Eye Fresh, one major mushroom supplier will have a chance to prove that its product is the perfect complement to a national fresh produce brand.

Under an agreement signed Oct. 18, Cardile Bros. Mushroom Packaging Inc. in Avondale, PA, will supply fresh white and exotic mushrooms to be distributed nationwide under the "Birds Eye Fresh" label.

Highline Mushrooms, a leading independent family-owned grower-shipper of fresh mushrooms in Canada, with farms in Leamington and Wellington, ON, and distribution facilities in Montreal, was named Vendor of the Year by Meijer Supermarkets at its recent Perishable Vendor Summit in Grand Rapids, MI.