Category: Produce Blueprints

Rising food and labor costs continue to squeeze profits, despite the restaurant industry’s robust sales, according to the National Restaurant Association’s State of the Industry report.

For the most part, Chicago, IL-based research firm Datassential’s 2024 Industry Forecast, published in conjunction with the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, forecasts inconsistent growth.

The foodservice realm continues its slow recovery from the harm caused by pandemic shutdowns, but the pace and magnitude of the recovery often varies depending on the industry sector and the operators themselves.

In this article we’ll discuss a relatively new (as of late 2023) free service called Courtesy Contacts and new pricing introduced in 2024 for Blue Book’s traditional collection assistance services. 

As a passionate plant-based holistic health and fitness coach, and a vegan for 29 of my 43 years on earth, produce is what I live on and for. I am always experimenting with the ways different nutrient-packed foods can best support an active lifestyle. 

In this article, we’re going to try to demystify PACA and explain when it is—and when it is not—relevant to the transportation of fresh fruits and vegetables.

How important is promotion to organic sales? Our contributors confirm marketing activity can be key to solid retail sales.

Origin Organic Farms, a Delta, BC-based greenhouse operation, began all-organic production in 2006 and launched its OriginO brand the next year.

Sales of organic fruits and vegetables once varied widely from region to region across the United States, but those differences are no longer so dramatic, according to the USDA.

More than two decades after the U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented standards for organic production and processing, the category has zoomed from niche to mainstream status.