Abhi Ramesh launched Misfits Market this past summer, with its first orders being shipped out in August 2018. Ramesh, the founder and CEO of the business, founded it after working in the food supply chain and logistics.

When in that part of the industry, Ramesh became interested in food distributors and where the supply chain was lacking. One such area was the “vast” amount of inefficiency and waste in that system. That sparked his idea to found Misfits Market, a food delivery service that delivers ugly and imperfect fruits and vegetables.

“Unlike a lot of food entrepreneurs, I didn’t come from the consumer side of the industry,” Ramesh says. “I don’t have a restaurant background. I was looking at the ugly part of the food world.”  

How Misfits Market came to be

Ramesh got the idea for Misfits Market on an apple-picking trip in Eastern Pennsylvania. While at the orchard, he spoke to the farmer and asked to look at the processing facility. When on the tour, Ramesh saw workers inspecting apples one by one; for every perfect apple they’d find, Ramesh says there would be two or three apples that were deemed imperfect. From there, the “imperfect” apples would be put into storage before the company would attempt to sell them. But the apples would likely be thrown out or composted, according to the farmer.

“I said, ‘That’s crazy,’ because there were 10,000 apples in that bin that someone could purchase from you or eating,” Ramesh says.

According to Ramesh, Misfits Market sources its produce from the same greenhouses and farms that the other produce sold in grocery stores comes from. For months after the apple-picking trip, Ramesh contacted growers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and got them on board with his business idea. And according to Ramesh, there are some customers that find the imperfect produce more interesting because of its imperfections, once they understand that aesthetic issues do not always mean the produce is bad. 

Different options for consumers 

Currently, Misfits Market offers two different boxes to its customers — the Mischief box that retails for $19 and comes with 10 to 12 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables, and the Madness box that retails for $34 and comes with 18 to 20 pounds of the produce. Boxes could include anything from kale and arugula to cauliflower and potatoes to apples and plums depending on the season. Customers can choose between weekly or every-other week delivery, or request a one-off order (at a higher price) to try out the box. 

“I think the convenience factor is huge,” Ramesh says. “Meal kits showed that.” 

Currently, Misfits Market is available in five states — Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Connecticut — with eventual plans to expand to other regions. Most of the produce comes from farms in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and is available based on the season.

“Nature doesn’t produce everything in perfect symmetry,” Ramesh says. “And what’s not perfect can be really fresh and really tasty.”

Produce Marketing Association (PMA) held its annual Fresh Summit Conference & Expo in Orlando, Florida, Oct. 18-20. While the event included numerous opportunities for education and networking on the show floor, lessons from speakers who PMA billed as “Big Voices” resonated with numerous Fresh Summit attendees in the Orange County Convention Center’s spacious Valencia Ballroom.

For these “Big Voices” speeches, PMA welcomed many recognizable speakers, including its own CEO Cathy Burns, who delivered the association’s annual State of the Industry address; “Hamilton” actor and singer Leslie Odom, Jr., who shared motivational lessons from his career; and retired NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, who spoke about leadership and teamwork.

“Hamilton” actor Leslie Odom, Jr., shares life lessons

Leslie Odom, Jr., The Grammy and Tony award-winning actor and singer who played Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical “Hamilton” spoke at Fresh Summit on Oct. 18.

Odom, whose book “Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning” was published earlier this year, was joined by his mentor — and father-in-law — Stuart K. Robinson and Morning News Beat’s Kevin Coupe to discuss how Odom has “failed up,” as well as how others can succeed. Below are some of Odom’s and Robinson’s lessons.

Try better.

Six years ago, before he acted in “Hamilton,” Odom was tiring of the highs and lows of acting and considered quitting. He sat down with Robinson to talk about a possible career transition. “It was like, ‘How can I take this skill set — these things that I’m good at — and put [them] into something else? Is there something else I can do with my life that will make me just as happy?’” Odom said he asked Robinson. “Stuart said, ‘Sure, you can quit. That’s fine. We can talk about those things. Love to see you try first. I’d love to see you try before you quit.’”

Odom clarified that at the time, he thought he was trying. But he recalled that Robinson told him that he thought Odom was “waiting for the phone to ring,” and Odom saw truth in that. He said Robinson challenged him to take more initiative to find work and improve his situation. “From that day forward, I have not stopped working in six years because of that advice,” Odom said. “I’m never, ever, ever sitting on my couch waiting for the phone to ring. I just made changes.”

At Odom’s prompting during the PMA discussion, Robinson cited three things that will get people where they want to go, so they can not necessarily try harder, but “try better.” The first thing is knowing who you are — “not your title, not your name, not your family name — who you are,” Robinson said. The second thing is knowing what you do. “I’d ask in the audience right now and someone would say, ‘Well, I’m in produce,’ or ‘I’m in flowers,’ etc. That’s not what you do. What is it you do as a restaurant owner, as a venue director, etc.? What is it you do, what is it you provide?” The third thing is knowing why you are here, Robinson said, giving this example: “Why we’re here is not just to tell you stories, etc., but to find some way to make a difference in your life — to have you leave this room saying, ‘That inspires me to do something better, to try better.’”

Follow your dreams.

Odom also found success by deciding to do what felt right for him. After he took Robinson’s advice to try “try better,” more opportunities began to open up. He had signed a $500,000 contract for a TV show in Los Angeles but was reconsidering because he was drawn to the off-Broadway first production of “Hamilton,” which paid $400 a week.

“I tried to get comfortable with the money — I really did,” Odom recalls. “I was like, ‘My mom needs a roof,’ ‘I don’t know how we’re going to live off $400 a week.’ But ‘Hamilton’ — it was the most extraordinary thing I’d ever read. There were no guarantees about any of it. There was no guarantee for Broadway or awards — any of that stuff. This is an off-Broadway show. I bet on myself. I bet on myself and this team that I was a part of, and I took the risk. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.”

Work with a dedicated and diverse team.

The creators and cast and crew members of “Hamilton” offered insight into what makes a successful team, Odom said. “Some of you have worked for people who have been sometimes afraid to have somebody working under them who might be better at a certain thing than they are, might be a little faster at a certain thing — but I was with a world-class team, and there were no limits,” he said. “We were encouraged to fly as soon as possible and as high as possible.”

The “Hamilton” team was aware that at any point, anyone could have derailed the show, whether it was Odom; Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and actor playing the title character; the lighting designer or the costume designer. “If ‘Hamilton’ had had weird costumes, or if the set kind of was lame, or if the press rollout was whack — any one of those things could have derailed the entire thing,” Odom said. “When there’s a win like ‘Hamilton,’ there are a lot of people to thank. It's a miracle.”

“Hamilton” used a diverse cast to tell the stories of its historical characters, who were white. Odom explained that he grew up watching Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford on the silver screen. Now, though, for the first time, people who come from diverse backgrounds are seeing and empathizing with leading actors such as Odom, who is black; and Miranda, who is of Puerto Rican descent.

A diverse team brings new perspectives and ideas to the business world, too, Odom said. “If you have someone on your team — if you have been conscious enough to build a team and diversity is something that you’ve been able to inject into your business and your business model — tap those people for those unique experiences,” he said. “If it’s a room full of guys and you have one or two women, there might be a different perspective — I’m sure there is a different perspective. I’m sure there is a perspective that can be offered — my wife would agree — from the woman at the table.”

Be inspired.

Inspiration is a crucial tool to achieving one’s dream, and it can be found anywhere, Odom said. “The old lady on the elevator next to you, the little kid walking towards you who lets the balloon go and doesn’t care — it’s just all around you, so soak that stuff up. We need it.”

Odom took a note from Robinson, who wrote his own book, “It All Begins With ‘I’” to share with the audience his own answer to his mentor’s “Why are you are here” question. “I feel like my mission, or what I’m here to do, is to empower people, to connect with people,” Odom said. “I’d be doing that if I was working at a bank, or I’d be doing that if I was teaching third grade or I’d be doing that whatever my business was. Once I identify those things, I can do them anywhere, on any level, in any room.”

Read more about Odom’s discussion with Robinson and Coupe here

Football star Peyton Manning discusses leadership at PMA Fresh Summit

On Oct. 19, PMA welcomed peyton Manning, two-time National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl-winning quarterback and the NFL’s only five-time MVP, to speak at Fresh Summit.

In his speech, Manning touched on the themes of leadership, teamwork, and preparing for and bouncing back from challenges. The retired quarterback, speaking in the inflective accent of his native New Orleans, peppered his speech with numerous jokes and anecdotes, as well as lessons that the produce industry could glean from his 18 years in the NFL and four years playing college football.

Manning’s mentors

Manning’s own mentors ranged from his father, former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, to Tony Dungy, the younger Manning’s head coach for several years when he played for the Indianapolis Colts.

In front of the PMA audience, Manning recalled that his high school coach used to use malapropisms like ones for which baseball catcher Yogi Berra was famous. (Berra said, “Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.”) Manning said his coach told him, “‘Peyton, when you’re sprinting out to the left now, it’d be a heck of a lot easier if you could throw the ball left-handed — if you were amphibious.’ I think he meant ambidextrous — I never asked.”

“Buying in” to different coaching styles allowed Manning to succeed throughout his career, he said. In football or in any business or organization, the best leaders need to always learn more. “An old coach told me once, ‘You either get better or you get worse every day — you don’t stay the same,’” he said.

Leaders must also get to know the members of their teams well — what motivates and upsets them, Manning said. “Believe me when I say that authority is not leadership. Leadership isn’t about muscle,” he said. “You can’t bend others with your will.” Rather, he said, leadership is persuading people “to align with your thinking in pursuit of a common goal.”

Preparing for anything

Manning admitted that he had weaknesses as a quarterback, including not being the fastest. “I had a coach tell me once that I couldn’t run out of sight in a week,” he said, adding jokingly under his breath, “That was nice.”

But a theme that Manning kept coming back to was how relentlessly he prepared for whatever the game threw at him. “Whatever the outcome of a game that I played in, I can honestly say I never left that field feeling like I could have done more to prepare myself for that game,” he said. One time he submerged his hand in a bucket of ice water “to approximate the frigid temperatures of the upcoming game.” Another time he requested the Colts equipment staff to lie down on the field in practice, after he played in a game in which he tripped over another player and it cost the team a touchdown.

Winning with a team

In 2011, Manning had multiple surgeries to fix a neck injury, and he missed the NFL season that year. A right-handed quarterback, Manning suffered nerve damage in his right arm and right hand. He didn’t know if he could play in the NFL again.

Manning’s wife, Ashley — with whom he has 7-year-old twins, Marshall and Mosley — told him at the time he should start thinking differently, and that’s what he did. With the support of family, coaches, doctors and teammates, he signed on with a new team — the Denver Broncos — for the 2012 season. “I think because I was adaptable and flexible, that I can play quarterback in a different way, allowed me to be flexible and join a new team and learn their new system, and still remain an effective quarterback,” he said.

Not only was Manning effective, but he was a champion, winning Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos in the 2015 season. Along the way, though, Manning felt he had to earn the respect of his new teammates. “Even though I played for 14 years, I had not played with these new teammates, these new coworkers,” he said. “I went in there very humble.”

Contrary to what many people believe, a football team’s offense doesn’t rest on just the quarterback, Manning said. And as important as the players are, it’s not just the players who are on the team. It’s the people who are behind the scenes. Manning noted that this same mindset translates to any company or organization. “There are people who get zero credit, they get zero attention, but they are just as important as the CEO,” he says.

Ultimately, Manning said his greatest takeaway from his career is not specific to the game of football itself, as many people would expect. It’s the relationships he has made with people. “Despite some of the individual honors that I’ve received over the years, there’s been nothing I’ve been more proud of than being able to call myself ‘teammate,’” he said.

Read more about Manning's speech here

3 lessons from PMA CEO Cathy Burns’ 2018 State of the Industry address

In pma’s annual State of the Industry address on Oct. 18, CEO Cathy Burns talked about new technologies, initiatives and trends in produce and floral.

In her speech, Burns cited various assets of the produce and floral industries and acknowledged the challenges they face. While new technologies and presentations of produce gain traction throughout the supply chain, so do efforts to address food insecurity and climate change. Burns showed that customers like making both online and in-store purchases of produce and floral goods. Here are three lessons we took away from Burns’ speech.

1. Innovation and disruption continue to take place in produce.

Burns talked about innovation and disruption in the produce industry and interconnected markets, such as fashion and retail. Burns gave shout-outs to Creator, a startup that uses robots to make burgers for customers at its San Francisco restaurant of the same name; the Plant-Based Supermarket, a grocery store in London that sells all vegan foods; and a robot at West Virginia University that pollinates blackberries.

2. Some businesses and nonprofits are fighting food insecurity and climate change.

Businesses and nonprofits are addressing issues around hunger and the environment. One of these is Brighter Bites, a Houston-based nonprofit and PMA partner. “Each week, Brighter Bites provides 50 servings of fruits and vegetables directly to families,” Burns said. “With boots on the ground in Texas, New York, Washington, D.C., and Southwest Florida, they’re providing children and their families with fresh produce, tip sheets, recipes and in-class lessons that encourage them to eat healthier.”

Supermarket Ekoplaza is one business dedicated to protecting the environment. It opened a plastic-free aisle earlier this year in the Netherlands, where it sells produce and other food and beverages in biofilm packaging, Burns said.

Meanwhile, MAX Burgers in Sweden sells a climate-positive burger, Burns pointed out. “With every purchase, the chain will plant enough trees to offset 110 percent of the carbon emissions associated with its business,” she said. “In their view, it’s not enough to just reduce emissions, or actually even to be climate-neutral. They feel they have to do more.”

3. Ecommerce and in-store purchases are popular with consumers.

While people are spending more money on food, the amount they spend in grocery stores is decreasing, Burns said, citing Nielsen statistics. At the same time, she said Deloitte has measured a 30 percent increase in ecommerce grocery sales. China, South Korea, France and the United Kingdom are responsible for much of the growth in the ecommerce space.

“But according to Retail Feedback Group, only 28 percent of shoppers say they buy fruits and vegetables online,” Burns said. “Why? Produce falls short of meeting their expectations of freshness and quality, and for some, they just find pure joy in picking their fruits and vegetables in-store.”

What’s more, while online subscriptions to meal kits are still common, Burns said sales of in-store meal kits grew 26.5 percent in 2017.

Floral customers like making purchases in the store, too, Burns said. “IRI has found that global floral sales increased 5 percent annually over the past five years, in comparison to the rest of the fresh departments, growing 3 percent annually,” she said.

Read more about Burns’ address, including a fourth lesson, here

The yellowstriped armyworm, Spodoptera ornithogalli, is an insect pest of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and pepper (Capsicum annuum) crops grown in hoop houses and greenhouses. The caterpillars (larvae) feed on tomato leaves and tunnel into the fruit of tomato and pepper (Figs. 1 & 2).

Biology and life cycle

Development time from egg to adult is between 30 to 90 days, dependent on environmental conditions such as temperature. Females lay eggs in clusters of 200 to 500 with individual females capable of laying >2,000 eggs during their lifespan. Larvae hatch from eggs and there are six larval instars (stages between molting). Older caterpillars are 40 to 50 mm (1.5 to 2.0 inches) long, and brown, gray to black with two distinct yellow-orange stripes extending along each side of the abdomen (Figs. 3 & 4). Two black triangle-shaped spots are located on top of each abdominal segment (Fig. 5). The head is brown with black markings and has a light-colored inverted ‘V.’ Larvae feed for about three weeks and black fecal deposits (frass) may be present on the upperside of plant leaves.

The yellowstriped armyworm overwinters as a pupa in the soil with the larva initially creating a cell that is lined with silk. There are three to four generations per year. Adults eclose (emerge) from pupae in April through May. Adults have front wings that are patterned gray-brown with light and dark markings. There is a tan to brown diagonal band near the center of the wings. The hind wings are white with a narrow brown margin (Fig. 6).

Management

Scout regularly by randomly looking at plant leaves to detect early infestations. Insecticides can be used against yellowstriped armyworm caterpillars but they need to be applied when the caterpillars are small (young). For instance, Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (Btk) and spinosad can be used when the caterpillars are small and before they tunnel into fruit. Both materials are stomach poisons, so the caterpillar has to ingest the material to be killed. Thorough coverage of both upper and lower leaf surfaces is important, and frequent applications are warranted. Btk is a microbial insecticide and is most effective when caterpillars are young as larger (older) caterpillars are more difficult to manage because they need to consume more plant material before they are negatively affected (refer to “How to properly use Btk” in the August 2018 issue of Produce Grower for more information). Therefore, in order to reduce damage from large caterpillars that are less susceptible to insecticides, hand-pick and place caterpillars into a container of soapy water.

Raymond is a professor and extension specialist in horticultural entomology/plant protection in the Department of Entomology at Kansas State University. His research and extension program involves plant protection in greenhouses, nurseries, landscapes, conservatories and vegetables and fruits. rcloyd@ksu.edu or 785-532-4750

This is the second part in a two-part series about greenhouse tomato production. You can read part one here.

Pollination: While tomato flowers can be self-pollinated and do not require a different cultivar to act as a cross-pollinator, tomato flowers must be actively pollinated to maximize the number and quality of fruits. For large greenhouses, bumble bees are most commonly used as a pollinator. For smaller plantings, vibrating wands placed on flower clusters or a gentle shake of the plant by hand are sufficient for pollination. If pollinating by hand, save time and effort by pollinating only those flowers that are ready. Evidence of a flower ready for pollination includes petals that are reflexed or curving up, as well as anthers with pollen that is a vibrant yellow (not a pale green) color and may also have a rough appearance, indicating the pollen is mature and ready for dispersal.

Pruning and training: The first type of pruning or training you may do is to bifurcate your tomato plants. Instead of planting seedlings and training a single main leader, a second leader is allowed to develop; the stems are then run in opposite directions in double rows. This reduces the number of transplants required, but can delay the time until the first tomatoes are harvested. Whether a single or bifurcated transplant, stems are trained to twine using the “lean and lower” system. Stems are trained to vine on twine suspended from a trellis above the crop, usually at the same height as the gutters, at an angle; as the crop reaches the wire, they are lowered down and allowed to continue to grow vertically (Fig. 1). Greenhouse tomato cultivars are indeterminate, meaning the plants should be grown with a single leader and axillary branches or “suckers” should be removed to maximize productivity (Fig. 2). If allowed to grow, they divert energy and growth away from desirable vegetative growth and fruits. It is generally best to remove suckers as soon as they are clearly identifiable; they can often be rolled out with your fingers. Larger suckers should be removed using a pruning shear or another tool so the main stem is not damaged. Foliage may also be removed from plants during this process. Old leaves are removed starting when the third or fourth cluster of fruits are starting to form, eventually up until the oldest cluster starts to ripen (Fig. 1). In addition to removing the lower foliage, you may also remove one or two leaves between fruit clusters during the summer when light levels are high; this will help balance the vegetative and generative growth of the plant. Depending on the type of tomato grown, you may need to prune fruit clusters. While this is not done for cherry, grape or cocktail tomatoes, some beefsteak or cluster varieties may need to have fruit thinned in order to promote better development of fewer fruits; the least developed or underdeveloped fruits are the ones that should be removed. In order to maximize the number of ripening fruits that can be harvested before terminating the crop, tomato plants are topped four to six weeks prior to the end of the crop. This will focus the remaining energy on the developing fruits instead of new growth that won’t produce marketable fruits before the crop is terminated.

With any of this pruning, be sure to sterilize any tools you are using between plants to avoid spreading diseases among your crop.

Pests: The two primary insect pests are thrips and whiteflies. Thrips are particularly problematic because, in addition to damaging plants and fruits, they serve as vectors for tomato spotted wilt virus. Thrips screening around vents and entryways are used to try and minimize this pest, but chemical and/or biological control may also be used. Parasitic wasps (Encarsia formosa) are a commonly used biocontrol for whiteflies.

Diseases: One of the most common diseases you will find on tomato plants in the greenhouse is powdery mildew. Dehumidifying the greenhouse is one of the best ways to prevent this disease. Viruses including tobacco mosaic virus and tomato spotted wilt can be devastating. These viruses are best managed by prevention: controlling potential insect vectors such as thrips; employing strict sanitation and hygiene policies for employees; and sterilizing tools used for pruning in between plants.

Physiological disorders: Physiological disorders can be observed on tomato foliage, flowers and fruits. One of the most common disorders observed on tomato foliage is intumescence — protrusions on foliage that look like little bumps. The cause of this disorder is unclear; it has been attributed to a lack of ultraviolet light, as well as high humidity when temperatures are warm and light levels are high. Flower abortion is the most common flowering disorder and is usually related to either excessively warm air temperatures (>86° F) or a unit heater or CO₂ burner that is not functioning properly and releasing ethylene from incomplete combustion. Blossom end rot is one of the most common fruit disorders and is caused by a calcium deficiency in fruits. While this can be caused by nutrient solutions low in calcium, it can also occur when there is adequate calcium available, but uptake is inhibited. Catfacing, where the fruit looks puckered from not fully expanding, is the result of incomplete pollination.

Harvesting: The appropriate time to harvest a tomato depends on which type of tomato you are producing. The earliest greenhouse beefsteak tomatoes are harvested is around the “breaker stage,” where the fruit is starting to turn from greenish-yellow to pinkish-red; harvesting at this stage is more for producers who will be shipping their crops farther distances and need firmer fruit to reduce susceptibility to mechanical damage during transport. For local markets or cluster varieties, fruits are to be harvested when they have over 90 percent color; this enhances the flavor of the tomatoes and creates a higher-value product. Regardless of variety, all tomatoes will be harvested by hand. Beefsteak tomatoes may be able to be twisted off by hand (taking care to leave the green calyx on), while cluster varieties should be cut from stems to avoid tearing stem tissue.

Postharvest care: Once fruits are harvested, they should be cooled down. The temperature depends on the degree of maturity; fruits that are fully ripened should be held between 46 and 50° F, while those with less color should be kept a few degrees warmer (52 to 54° F).

Christopher is an assistant professor of horticulture in the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. ccurrey@iastate.edu