7/21/2021 By Jeannie SwedbergA recent analysis of the pet industry suggested it was recession proof. The reasoning given was that overall sales remained robust despite the economic recession caused by the pandemic last year. Take for instance dog food sales in the U.S last year. Retail sales of dog food had their strongest growth (6.8%) in more than two decades, according to Sundale Research. Last year total retail sales rose to $19.3 billion, following a solid 4.2% increase in 2019. Sundale attributed the category growth to the COVID-19 pandemic, which boosted dog adoptions and had more people spending time at home forging bonds with their four-footed friends...READ MORE
7/6/2021 By Jeannie SwedbergIf you haven’t heard it elsewhere, let me be the first to tell you. Tree Top added pumpkin to its fruit ingredient offerings. It’s true. We now have our very own Drum Dried Pumpkin Flake Powder. It’s super nutritious, delicious, and naturally enhances flavor and color in any number of applications both savory and sweet. You may also want to know - this year’s pumpkin crop is in the ground, shown here, located in the fertile soil of Washington state, and will be harvested in early fall...READ MORE
6/16/2021 By Jeannie SwedbergIt’s not often that I get to write about breaking news in this blog, so I’m delighted to be able to share with you that Tree Top is adding dried pumpkin flake powder to its fruit ingredient lineup. You heard it here first. As I write this, our growers are planting this year’s pumpkin crop in the fertile soil of Washington just a few hours from Tree Top headquarters in Selah. When the crop is harvested this fall, it will be pureed and drum dried in our nearby processing facility in Woodburn, Oregon. So, it will be grown, harvested, and processed in a fairly compact geographic footprint... READ MORE
6/8/2021 By Jeannie SwedbergCommenting on the results of the latest International Food Information Council’s annual Food and Health Survey1, the organization’s CEO said, “Americans are craving stability and a return to normalcy when it comes to their food decisions.” Honestly, that seems like a given. Stability and normalcy – aren’t these the things we want regarding life in general on the heels of this pandemic? Getting vaccinated and getting back to normal…did we really need research to figure that out?
Sure, the overview statement seems obvious, but that’s the beauty of research – it confirms our assumptions. And this IFIC survey offers us much more. This is their 15th annual, so there’s historical data.
5/17/2021 By Dan WinieckeThe amount of freezer and juice grade fruit processed this season is far behind previous years. The volume picked up last week, but not at the amount expected given where current field pricing is. This week may be the turning point for that.