Fresher Than Ever

Jennifer Strailey

12/5/2015

The more than 19,300 attendees, including 1,060 exhibiting companies, at this year’s Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit Convention & Expo filled Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center with unprecedented energy and innovation, offering every indication that the future of produce is indeed bright.

The annual State of the Industry address at Fresh Summit, presented by PMA CEO Bryan Silbermann and President Cathy Burns, touched on industry trends, challenges and initiatives.

During the address, PMA unveiled its partnership with the Entertainment Resource & Marketing Association (ERMA), which aims to elevate the exposure of fresh produce in television shows, movies and online entertainment. The new partnership complements PMA’s ongoing initiatives, including Eat Brighter! and FNV (Fruits and Vegetables), both of which seek to improve the nation’s health and combat childhood obesity.

The presentation also addressed changes in fresh produce consumption, which has been driven largely by the Millennial demographic — a generation more interested in trying new foods and more concerned with the integrity of the food supply than any generation before.

Ethical Eating

According to new market research from Chicago-based Mintel, “Millennials pursue unique foods from retailers and brands they perceive as trustworthy,” thereby blending a desire for both “authentic” and “ethical” retailers and brands.

Mintel further found that 59 percent of Millennials will stop buying a certain brand’s products if they believe that the brand is unethical.

In response to increased demand from consumers for transparency, Turbana Corp., a Coral Gables, Fla.-based importer of bananas, plantains, pineapples, and ethnic tropical and healthy snacks, unveiled a communication platform at PMA that includes the launch of a new website, www.turbana.com, featuring detailed information about Turbana’s produce, farms and production processes.

Turbana’s new messaging, “Together, We Grow,” expresses how the corporation works with its retail partners and shoppers to create opportunities that empower people and transform lives. Turbana gives a portion of every purchase of its products to Fundauniban, its social foundation dedicated to developing farming communities in banana- and plantain-growing regions.

Meanwhile, Fair Trade was top of mind at Wholesum Harvest, a Nogales, Ariz.-based organic produce company, which featured new products that support its commitment to sustainability.

“What does Fair Trade mean on our farms?” asked Ricardo Crisantes, VP of Wholesum Harvest. “Fair Trade creates community and year-round reliable work on our farms.”

In an effort to help retailers better communicate the Fair Trade message, Wholesum Harvest revealed plans to introduce its growers to some of its retailer customers, and to educate produce team members on Fair Trade practices.

The company also debuted Wholesum Harvest Organic 6-count Tomatoes in cardboard packs that are 100 percent compostable. The packs are sealed with a film that significantly reduces plastic waste.

Healthful Snacking Soars

Produce suppliers continue to innovate with healthful snacks that allow consumers to incorporate more produce into their diets, and often on the go. The PMA Expo showcased an abundance of these easy-to-enjoy nutritious treats.

Mariani Packing Co., of Vacaville, Calif., presented its Probiotic Prunes. Featuring the probiotic culture GanedenBC30, these nutrition-packed pitted prunes support digestive and immune health, offer antioxidants, and are a source of dietary fiber. Mariani’s Probiotic Prunes come in 7-ounce bags (12 to a case).

At Yuba City, Calif.-based Sunsweet Growers Inc., a new line of dried-fruit products, Pacific Tropicals, satisfies both the better-for-you snacking trend and heightened interest in exotic flavors by offering Philippine Mango, Philippine Green Mango, Tai Coconut and Philippine Pineapple varieties.

Bard Valley Date Growers, which showed visitors new ways to sample and serve Medjool dates, such as spread with peanut butter or cream cheese. The Bard, Calif.-based producer of Natural Delights also featured a number of new products, including seasonal date rolls in three favors: Pecan Pumpkin Pie Spiced, Dark Chocolate Orange and Lemon Coconut.

A Different Apple a Day

As consumers increasingly look for new and interesting apple varieties, more growers are cultivating lesser-known, hybrid and heirloom varieties.

Selah, Wash.-based Rainier Fruit Co. displayed a number of unique apples, including the Junami brand. A cross between Idared, Maigold and Elstar, the Junami apple was, until recently, grown only in Europe. Rainier is the exclusive North American grower of this variety.

The company also featured its Lady Alice premium variety apples in a new pouch bag, available in January. While the heritage of the Lady Alice is unknown, the name was chosen to honor the mother of Rainier’s owner.

One of the “rising stars” in the apple category, organic apples are increasingly in demand, noted Rainier’s Aaron Deherrera, who noted that the company has built an organic-only, high-tech facility for its organic apples.

Exhibitors offered every indication that the future of produce is indeed bright.

Produce suppliers continue to innovate with healthful snacks that allow consumers to incorporate more produce into their diets, and often on the go.

Berry Bonanza

Berries are a top category in produce, and while everything from blueberries to blackberries to raspberries is a strong seller, strawberries continue to outpace the pack.

Based on the buzz at the PMA Fresh Summit Convention & Expo, innovative packaging, an emphasis on quality and consistency, and enticing usage ideas will continue to drive berry sales.

“I think berry sales are still strong because they truly have become an everyday fruit that consumers like to have in the house on a year-round basis,” says Cindy Jewell, VP of marketing for California Giant Berry Farms, in Watsonville, Calif.

Providing consumers with recipes and easy usage tips for enjoying strawberries throughout the day are just some of the ways that California Giant sustains the strawberry momentum.

“Strawberries are always the anchor of the berry category, due to total volume, making them readily available and affordable to every consumer,” continues Jewell. “However, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries all continue to see increased consumption every year, as they each become more available and consumers get more comfortable including them in their daily menu planning.”

California Giant recently launched a holiday campaign, Just Drizzle It, featuring fun ways to enhance existing recipes with berries and to create new meals for holiday events.

On the expo floor, Jewell found many attendees eager to discuss the weather’s potential impact on berry crops.

“Much of the talk this year was about the California drought and what kind of effect El Niño will have on the early crop,” notes Jewell. “We had many conversations with our key customers about the fact that California Giant has multiple growing regions, so if the weather impacts southern California in the first quarter of 2016, we can also draw volume from Mexico and Florida to fill orders, especially since Easter is early next year.”

Everyday Enjoyment

“Berries have arrived as a destination item for the produce department,” asserts Amber Maloney, director of marketing for Wish Farms, in Plant City, Fla. “More and more customers are picking up berries every time they go to the grocery store.”

Maloney attributes the rise in berry sales, at least in part, to consumers’ increasing comfort level with using berries in more meal occasions.

“They’re a great grab-and-go snack, but consumers are also cooking with them,” she notes. “They’re using them in a variety of dishes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Berries are used across all meals of the day, and that’s really helping the category.”

A supply chain that is consistently delivering high-quality fruit is also encouraging consumers to buy more frequently. “Berries are an investment to consumers, and they want a brand that they can trust,” adds Maloney.

With that in mind, Wish Farms has expanded its Sweet Sensation Strawberries this season. A new variety from the University of Florida, Sweet Sensation Strawberries are larger in size and lighter in color than other strawberries, but highly flavorful.

“We decided to plant significant acreage this season,” says Maloney, adding that the season is mid- to late December.

Knowing how important recipes and usage suggestions are to consumers, Wish Farms recently launched a new website featuring recipe videos. Each season, consumers can access new culinary ideas. For December, the company created a strawberry red velvet cupcake with peppermint cream cheese icing. Wish Farms suggests that consumers make the cupcake, put it in a mason jar and present it as a holiday gift.

Blueberries to Go

Naturipe Farms, of Salinas, Calif., won PMA’s Impact Award for Excellence in Packaging for its Blueberry blends. The original introduction, a 1.25-ounce rigid pack filled with fresh blueberries, is now complemented by Mango and Blueberry and Grape and Blueberry 1.5-ounce packs. All of the items feature fresh fruit that’s washed and ready to eat.

Rhapsodic for Raspberries

Driscoll’s drew visitors to its booth at the PMA Fresh Summit with a 3D experience designed to promote the berry supplier’s Taste a New Tradition campaign. Through a 3D field-to-fork video, participants could feel like they were picking their own raspberries to be made into a pie. To complement the virtual experience, real mixed-berry pies were sampled at the booth.

“We have seen successful in-store execution via pie demonstrations, inspiration cards and cross-merchandising,” says Jenet DeCosta, Driscoll’s marketing manager of Taste a New Tradition.

The campaign is designed to inspire consumers to enjoy raspberries in new ways through its dedicated #raspberrydessert campaign that focuses on the many delicious variations possible with raspberry pie.

Watsonville, Calif.-based Driscoll’s teamed with Kate Lebo, a cookbook author and pie enthusiast, to update tried-and-true pie recipes. During the holiday season, tools will be available on Driscolls.com, as well as live-streaming events via Periscope and Twitter chats.

Feeding the need for more raspberries, Well-Pict Berries introduced an 18-ounce clamshell raspberry pack, the largest consumer pack ever available from the Watsonville-based company.

Created in response to retailer requests for larger berry containers, the new clamshell complements Well-Pict’s 6- and 12-ounce raspberry packs.

Well-Pict also introduced an updated label design for 2016. The eye-catching strawberry-shaped label celebrates the company’s nearly 50 years in the berry business.