Papaya - part of a winning entry

Excerpt from a Daily Pilot article by Alexandra Baird

Newport Beach artist Heidi Dobrott's watercolor butterfly made of a split-open papaya, romaine lettuce, carrot and cherry has been chosen as a finalist from 800 entries in grocer Fresh and Easy's Design-a-Bag contest.

The designer with the most votes on freshandeasy.com will get his or her work splashed on reusable grocery bags in all of the chain's stores, as well as $5,000 in groceries.

The voting ends July 10, and the winner will be announced July 26.

Did you notice an additional 100 people on the property?

There was no need to call security. Because on June 23rd, Brooks Tropicals hosted 100 educators from the 2011 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference held in Fort Lauderdale.

The conference gave teachers from across North America a chance to see Florida agriculture firsthand and participate in interactive workshops that show them how to incorporate real-life agricultural applications into their language arts, math, nutrition, science and social studies classroom lessons.

Almost 400 participants took part in the conference which was hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Florida Department of Agriculture, Florida Agriculture in the Classroom and the Southern Region Agriculture in the Classroom states.

Upon arriving at Brooks, they were given a walk-through of our avocado groves on the Southwest section of the facility by Bill Brindle and Mary Ostlund. Then Brittany Morrow and Mary gave them tours of the packing house and refrigerated loading dock.

The tour ended with a Caribbean Red papaya snack and - we couldn't resist - a pop quiz about the information they heard while on tour. Instead of grades, the winners of the pop quiz were given Brooks Tropicals' straw hats.

Red is the new green: red hued fruit contains natural antioxidants

Excerpt from articles in the Bradenton Herald, the Sacramento Bee, the GFBC News Network, and the PR Newswire

Red-hued fruits are rich in antioxidants that can tamper inflammation and can be effective as cancer fighting agents, according to an article in the June issue of Food Nutrition & Science. According to her article, Registered Dietician Donna Fields suggests eating foods such as tomatoes and tomato products, watermelon, pink grapefruit, guava, apricots, red peppers, papaya, and especially Caribbean Red papaya.

Caribbean Red papayas featured in nutritionist newsletter

Food, Nutrition and Science newsletter featured Donna Shields talking about Caribbean Red papayas. The newsletter goes out to supermarket nutritionists across North America. It's also sent out via PR outlets to newspapers, magazines and other media.


To view the entire article, click here.

Screen capture of newsletter

New Brooks Tropicals CEO is settling in

Excerpts from a 6/20/11 article in The Packer

Greg Smith has had about two months to acclimate himself as chief executive officer at Brooks Tropicals LLC in Homestead, Fla., and the transition has been smooth, said Mary Ostlund, marketing director.

"Walking in the door he was, 'you're doing a great job; how can we do it better?'" Ostlund said. " He pushes us to think about how we do our jobs and how they can be done better."

Smith, who has an executive background with Coca-Cola and is new to the produce industry, has emphasized public relations efforts in his first couple of months, Ostlund said. "We're pitching story ideas 'starring' our brands to consumer magazines and other media," she said.

Specialty sector showing gains

Excerpts from a 6/20/11 article in The Packer by Jim Offner

As demographics change, exotic items are becoming more popular with customers and moving into the mainstream.

Specialty produce is in growth mode, marketers say.

Growth in the specialty category has transcended demographics, said Mary Ostlund marketing director with Homestead, Fla. - based. Brooks Tropicals LLC.

"Recent surveys of the American consumer show they actively look for new and exciting tastes to include in their menus - different spices, different meats and definitely different produce," she said.

Attention-grabbing displays work, said Ms. Ostlund. "People are pulled to the display when it's creative and sharp-looking."

Avocados Special Section - Produce Retailer 6/11

SlimCado avocados were first and foremost in the Produce Retailer's Avocado Special Section. A merchandising guide (image here) was on one page with our ad on the facing page.