Meat District butcher-crafted, premium meats debuts its new chef ambassadors in “The Ultimate O.G. Chef Battle” - a competition pitting Meat District’s chef ambassadors in a heated battle for the best “O.G.” recipe made with Meat District’s flagship product, The O.G. burger patties.

Nearly one year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, a new report finds frozen foods were among the fastest growing categories in the grocery store, with clear signs that Americans’ fondness for frozen will continue to grow.

Dole Foods has opened a new state-of-the-art frozen fruit facility in McDonough, Georgia, Dole's third frozen fruit facility in the United States, complimenting the existing operations in Atwater, California, and Decatur, Michigan. The new facility is approximately 60,000 square feet, fully automated and will have four manufacturing lines which when at capacity can produce 60 million pounds of frozen fruit annually. The operations will package frozen fruit for Dole's retail, food service and private label customers on the east coast.

Foodservice shutdowns due to the pandemic led to an 11.8% decrease in net sales and an 18.9% decrease in gross profit for 2020.

Powerful Nutrition and MMG Consumer Brands have come together and rebranded as Powerful Brands, dedicated to bringing unique, bold, and innovative consumer products to market. Powerful Brands boasts a growing portfolio of health and wellness brands including Powerful Nutrition (formerly Powerful Foods), offering high-protein foods, drinks, and dietary supplements to fuel active lifestyles; and MMG's hemp-derived CBD brands – KARIBO Beauty and mintedLeaf - found in food, drug, and mass stores.

Tyson Foods and Malayan Flour Mills Berhad (MFM) announced a partnership in which Tyson Foods will invest in the Malaysia-based company’s vertically integrated poultry business, which will add more supply flexibility for both companies. The transaction is subject to approval by the shareholders of Malayan Flour Mills Berhad, amongst others.

US Foods announced that effective March 1, Smart Foodservice Warehouse Stores will be rebranded as US Foods CHEF’STORE. US Foods acquired Smart Foodservice Warehouse Stores in April 2020 to accelerate growth in the cash and carry market. This change will combine the power of the US Foods brand with the assortment, pricing and customer service of Smart Foodservice Warehouse Stores and pave the way for an enhanced customer experience.

Sysco introduced nine innovative concepts through its Cutting Edge Solutions platform. These new and differentiated products are available exclusively from Sysco and provide foodservice operators with unique menu offerings, innovative meal solutions and environmentally friendly cleaning and beverage products.

The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) elected new officers and directors to its Board of Directors during its recent Annual Membership Meeting. The newly-elected AFFI officers are: Julia Sabin of The J.M. Smucker Co. as chair; John Tentomas of Nature’s Touch as vice chair; and Meghan Swan of J.R. Simplot Company as immediate past chair.

As we wrote in our January magazine story about cold storage and ports, ALDI is building a distribution center near the Port of Mobile, in Loxley, Alabama. That facility has officially broken ground, and will be overseen by design-build firm A M King.