Viva Fresh

Apr 13, 2022
Grower-shipper to host Viva Fresh podcast

A grower-shipper’s podcast will be hosted live at this year’s Viva Fresh Expo on April 23.

The Fresh CrEd podcast, featuring Craig Slate and Ed Bertaud of Rio Rico, Arizona’s SunFed, will be onsite performing interviews and providing commentary.

The podcast will be the first for Viva Fresh, according to a release from the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA).

“The Fresh CrEd podcast started out as a passion project for me,” remarks Slate, SunFed’s CEO. “My business partner, Matt Mandel, introduced me to the world of podcasting and I found myself hungry to learn more. When I called Ed with the idea, he, too, was all in. Neither of us can pass up the opportunity to talk! And now for us to be broadcasting at Viva Fresh, one of the most impactful produce events of the year, is a real honor and an exciting opportunity for us to expand the fresh produce message.”

Slate’s vision for the podcast is to reach people all over the globe who have a passion for produce. “We hope to share what’s going on in the Texas/Mexico trade corridor with buyers, produce managers, and consumers alike,” Slate said in the release. “Although our podcast is about more than fresh produce, our lives are based on this foundation and we believe that a key to getting better in all aspects of life starts with the foods that we eat.”

The podcast centers around current events, unique produce stories and innovative ideas and concepts to improve health.

Previous interviews have ranged from a mega real estate investor to the only man to swim the Amazon River, as well as folks within the industry who have taken the Clean Eating Challenge to heart.

TIPA awaits Viva Fresh’s start. “We are fast approaching another Viva Fresh Expo and we’re very excited to be returning to Dallas with all of our TIPA members, sponsors, and industry friends,” Dante Galeazzi, TIPA’s president and CEO, said in the release. “We are continuing our mission to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. With Viva Fresh, we are continuously striving for and supporting innovation, particularly as it relates to attracting more consumers to the fresh produce aisle. Bringing The Fresh CrEd live to the expo is just another outside-the-box idea to reach folks from all over, so they can experience what we are doing with fresh produce here in the Lone Star state.”

Galeazzi recently talked with the podcast’s hosts and discussed Viva Fresh and how food impacted his life’s journey.

SunFed is a grower, shipper and importer of Mexican produce.




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