Freshest on the Floor

Newest on-trend fruits and vegetables take center stage at annual conference.

Freshness ruled at the Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) 2013 Fresh Summit in New Orleans, Oct. 18–20 — from produce to packaging to recipe ideas to solutions for grocers and consumers alike.

The three-day conference drew more than 18,000 members from the global fresh produce and floral industry (from more than 60 countries and featuring more than 3,000 buyers) for networking, innovation-focused general sessions, educational workshops and two days of a bustling expo floor. Highlights included the unveiling of PMA’s new strategic plan, and themes of innovation and a new direction in marketing that infused many new products throughout the exposition.

Cathy Green Burns, who joined the Newark, Del.-based trade organization as its new president, was on hand, as was PMA’s newly installed board chairman, The Giumarra Cos. President Tim Riley, who noted a “palpable buzz” on the show floor.

PMA CEO Bryan Silbermann’s annual State of the Industry address featured Bolthouse Farms CEO Jeff Dunn; First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative’s executive director, Sam Kass; and Dawn Sweeney, president of the National Restaurant Association. The quartet urged the industry to focus its marketing efforts on driving consumer demand, while Elisa van Dam, of Simmons College, joined Silbermann in an industry call to action for more women in leadership roles.

Appealing to kids, innovative packaging and digital innovations came into sharp focus in the new Innovations@Work area that included the more than 100-item New Products Showcase with numerous new products designed just for children. The Sensory Experience Contest, meanwhile, celebrated the importance of flavor; 10 recipe finalists were taste-tested by buyers from across the supply chain, as well as kids from the Big Easy’s St. Tammany Parish. Winner of the Buyers’ Choice award was Bridges Organic Produce, while Sunkist Growers took home the Kids’ Choice award from the contest’s student judges.

Four exhibitors were chosen by an anonymous panel of industry experts as Best of Show: In-line Booth, Sun-Maid Growers of California; Island Booth, Amerlux Lighting; Best New Product Launch, Sambazon; and Best First-Time Exhibitor, It’s Fresh!

Packaging Innovators Make an ‘Impact’

Eighty-six submissions vied for five 2013 PMA Excellence in Packaging Impact Awards, which honor packaging innovations that demonstrate originality with an emphasis on connecting with consumers, safeguarding the product, sustaining the environment and improving supply chain efficiencies.

Winners were Clear Lam Packaging Inc. and Ready Pac Foods Inc., Ready Pac Peel and ReSeal Lettuce Trays; Frieda’s Inc., Frieda’s Meyer Lemon & Seedless Lemon Bags; NatureSweet, NatureSweet Cherriots; Sunkist Growers, Inc., sk Choice Lemonade Pouch; and T. Marzetti Co., Marzetti Simply Dressed Pourables.

H-E-B’s Zetzsche Earns PMA Floral Marketer of Year Award

Joe Don Zetzsche, director of floral for H-E-B Blooms Floral Shops, was named 2013 Floral Marketer of the Year during the Floral Networking Reception. The award, now in its 33rd year, recognizes an outstanding floral professional who has served the mass-market floral industry with dedication and distinction.

“Joe Don is a leader in the industry because he inspires on a personal level,” said Traci Adams, Safeway’s VP and GM of floral, the 2012 winner. “He rallies the troops together to keep the progress of the industry in a positive direction, and because he delivers attention-getting business results.”

Zetzsche will serve as chairman of PMA’s Floral Council for 2013–14. Work will be plentiful for the group: In addition to a floral Fresh Connections event planned for 2014, the new Fresh Summit Floral Pavilion will double in size next year.

Increased Consumption Defines PMA Strategic Plan

Helping members build connections, apply advances in science and technology, identify talent, and reduce barriers to consumption are the key strategic goals of PMA’s strategic plan for 2014–18, as revealed by Jan DeLyser, VP of marketing for the Irvine-based California Avocado Commission, during her outgoing chairman’s message at the concluding Fresh Summit general session.

“It’s a plan that focuses on building a support community so members worldwide — both within the U.S. and around the globe — can focus on increasing consumption,” said DeLyser, who noted the integrated framework through PMA and the Foundation for Industry Talent “to provide members better connectivity to more value year-round.”

Helmed by The Giumarra Cos.’ Riley, who was installed as PMA’s new chairman, PMA’s Strategic Planning Task Force worked with Julie Krivanek, president of Denver-based Krivanek Consulting, to develop the new strategic direction for PMA and its foundation over the next five years.

Building off the 2008 plan’s success, “PMA 2.0” provides a road map for PMA’s year-round delivery of personalized and differentiated value for members worldwide, while focusing on the critical trends and issues facing the global produce industry around four focal areas that align with members’ needs now and into the immediate future: global connections, science and technology, industry talent, and issues leadership.

Members can expect to see a focus on work that will deliver compelling and personalized value for members; a new web portal connecting members to market information, research, best practices, educational tools, news and contacts; an expanded science and technology scope, going beyond food safety to help members manage new technologies, from supply chain efficiencies to seed technology, packing innovations and data management; and an expanded global consumer trends research library, helping members respond to and build consumer demand worldwide.

Plans are currently under way for PMA’s 2014 Fresh Summit Convention and Expo, slated for Oct.17–19, 2014, in Anaheim, Calif.

Exhibitor Highlights

Here are some snapshots from our comprehensive on-floor coverage during the gathering:

Potandon Produce displayed its new Klondike Rose and Klondike Goldust Express potatoes in microwaveable packaging. Potandon also announced new pouch packaging coming in December, which the company claims will be be the first pouched potatoes on the market. Pouch packaging is indeed a hot trend, as confirmed by retailers we spoke with during the show.

Disney is continuing its efforts to attract more kids to the world of healthier snacking, partnering with companies like CrunchPak on its Flavorz flavored sliced apple line in clamshell multipacks of single-serve snack bags, and Marvel Comics on Snackers single-serve trays featuring apple slices, grapes and cheese cubes, as shared by Disney’s John King.

House Foods launched Wok Me Up, a tofu-and-sauce starter kit to which end users just add the veggies of their choice. The company’s Paul Eastman explained this product is aimed at making tofu even easier for home cooks who still might be intimidated by it. With at SRP of $3.99, Wok Me Up has a 65-day shelf life and comes in Sweet Teryaki and Spicy Orange varieties.

Turbana, a leading importer of bananas and other tropical fruits, is a grower-owned company that stresses community involvement in the Latin American nations where its produce is grown. “Our mission is to provide healthy tropical fruits that transform people’s lives,” said Turbana’s Marion Tabard, explaining that the company puts resources toward improving education, housing, infrastructure and nutrition.

Vedgee is a neat new line of vegetable-based tortilla wraps. They’re all-natural and made with vegetable purees and extra-virgin olive oil. We sampled several varieties, including San Marzano Tomato & Garlic, and Sweet Pineapple Honey; there are eight flavors in all, according to Marissa Petriano and William Isaias.

The folks at Country Fresh Mushrooms said portabellas are hot at the moment, including baby bellas like the company’s single-serve personal portabella line. Country Fresh, sporting a new branding image this year, also offers microwaveable mushrooms and is moving toward more sustainable packaging, according to the company’s Laura Matar.

Chiquita displayed new additions to its Fresh Express salad lines, following the trend of bagged salads confirmed by retailers to PG. The company’s Dan Wasser showed off new chopped salad kits in Asian, Bacon Caesar and Southwest varieties, along with Cooking Greens and Juicing Greens, blends designed for those uses, and single-serve pouches of Baby Spinach, 50/50 Mix and Hearts of Romaine. Coming from Fresh Express in February are new Gourmet Café single-serve salads in varieties like Kale Power Greens, Chopped Santa Fe and Chicken Caesar, with each ingredient individually wrapped within the bowl. Fresh Express also unveiled a new packaging design for its organic line.

The gang at Limoniera continued to hammer home its “Unleash the Natural Power of Lemons” campaign, working with grocers to cross-promote lemons throughout the store in a five-pronged approach aimed at educating consumers on the versatility of lemons when used for health, beauty, recipes and cleaning.

Del Monte Fresh rolled out a host of new products aimed at enhancing healthy eating and convenience: Watermelon and pineapple spears in five-packs of single-serve pouches; a 6-count bag of multicolored bell peppers; Bon Bon sweet grape tomatoes in single-serve cups; honeydew, apple, pico, mango and pineapple salsas; Fresh & Tasty fresh-cut fruits in handled carrying pouches; and a line of Fresh Guac being testmarketed in the Southeast.

Promoting Better Snacking

Jeff Dunn is tired of produce losing share of mouth to junk food, and he aims to help fruits and vegetables maintain a better position against other snack alternatives.

Dunn, CEO of Bakersfield, Calif.-based Bolthouse Farms, discussed plans for an industry-wide initiative to get more fresh produce (and presumably less sugar and fat) into people’s mouths, between meals as well as during the three square dayparts, in his presentation during Fresh Summit.

Generic campaigns like “5-A-Day” haven’t borne nearly the fruit they should have, says Dunn, a former Coca-Cola executive. What the industry needs, he insists, is a category-specific effort designed to boost consumption across the board. “The retailer wants scaled-up activities,” Dunn told PG after his presentation, asserting that “customer-specific campaigns work.”

Key demographics that should be targeted? Millennials with children, as well as the children themselves, namely “treating them like consumers” who are as tuned into social media as much as — or more than — most adults. The idea should be to win over kids’ palates with healthier snacks before they get too used to sugary fare, and make the “nag effect” work in produce’s favor.

“There’s no reason you can’t create that for healthy food,” Dunn declares. “Make healthy food as creative and fun as unhealthy food.”

Dunn says the First Lady’s nutrition campaign is “helping the industry get more activated” with its own efforts — which is good, since regulatory pressure on the food industry as a whole is unlikely to ease up any time soon. “I think the produce industry has an opportunity in demand creation,” he says.

For the immediate future, Dunn envisions an online marketing community “to capture best practices” shared by growers, shippers and marketers among PMA’s membership. For the longer term, Dunn’s marketing team is working with PMA to develop a number of online and offline vehicles designed to help industry players refine their messages and get them out to consumers.

Dunn comes from Coke, one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved brands, which for decades has delivered a clear message to consumers and blue-chip returns for grocers. If that background is any indication, Dunn’s plans to inject excitement into the produce category ought to be a great success.

“PMA’s strategic plan focuses on building a support community so members worldwide can focus on increasing consumption.”
—Jan DeLyser, California Avocado Commission and outgoing PMA chairman

“Make healthy food as creative and fun as unhealthy food.”
—Jeff Dunn, Bolthouse Farms