CANADA - I’ll soon be making my way to Montréal, Canada, to attend the Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s (CPMA) Convention and Trade Show. I won’t be the only one carving up the show floor, as companies like The Star Group will be in attendance to talk shop.

I caught up with Carey Tufts, Director of Marketing and Brand Management, to learn what the provider has in store.

“There is an abundance of new and exciting stuff happening at The Star Group,” he noted immediately. “In berries, we will be showcasing our new strawberry brand, the Just Picked Juliets, grown at our greenhouse in Delta, British Columbia. In lettuce, we will highlight a new limited-edition whole-head trio, developed and grown at our state-of-the-art greenhouse in Lethbridge County, Alberta. In product innovation, we will be sharing our new omelette kits, which uniquely allow dairy, meat, and vegetables to be co-packed.”

In addition to this already impressive lineup, The Star Group will also be showcasing overall industry innovation.

“We are proud to be a part of the Queens University-led Open Plastic initiative, a pan-Canadian research project with the goal of completely eliminating plastic waste in Canada by the year 2030. There are also plenty of new developments in our import programs, our other greenhouse operations, and our Okanagan fruit program,” Carey told me.

Looking to inspire the industry as a whole, The Star Group’s key messaging at CPMA will center on what inspires those who work in the fresh produce biz.

“In addition to the connection to our Inspired line of lettuce products, the team really did sit down and ask ourselves the question ‘What are we inspired by in fresh produce?’ Fortunately, there was no shortage!” Carey shared. “At The Star Group, we are inspired to grow Canada’s best-tasting strawberry, year-round. We are inspired to continually raise the bar for Canadian-grown lettuce. We are inspired to bring the best fresh produce from around the globe into Canadian homes. We are inspired to be the change that we want to see in our industry.”

This is perhaps most notable in the company’s contributions to sustainability and eliminating single-use plastics.

“It is our mission to be the most innovative team in produce, and although we are proud of what we have accomplished over our 30+ year history, we feel that we are just getting started,” Carey continued. “We are eager to work with our partners in retail, foodservice, the supply chain, and beyond to not only succeed together, but to improve our industry in the process.”

Carey noted that building a thriving fresh produce industry in Canada requires all kinds of collaboration between growers, packers, marketers, wholesalers, food service, logistics, retailers, and many others.

“These types of gatherings are so important to help seed new ideas, improve existing ventures, build and strengthen partnerships, and improve the industry for the benefit of all,” he emphasized. “After a long hiatus, we are super excited to get back together with our friends, customers, partners and colleagues in Montreal.”

Swing by booth #607 to strike up a conversation yourself!

The Star Group