Good To Eat

Potatoes, apples and cherries are a hit with health seekers.

As summer winds down, our nation's appetite for traditional fall produce such as apples and comfort foods like potatoes will undoubtedly return with gusto. This fall, the hottest merchandising strategy for produce, from just-picked apples to end-of-season zucchini, is one that emphasizes nutrition. As consumers continue to take a more active interest in the connection between the foods they eat and their health, produce retailers are judiciously promoting the nutritional selling points of the season's bounty.

Sweet Potato's Secret Weapon

Men's Health has called sweet potatoes "one of the healthiest foods on the planet." In a story entitled "40 Foods with Superpowers," the magazine touted the many virtues of the sweet potato, including the fact that the tuber contains glutathione, an immune system-boosting antioxidant that can help protect against Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, cancer and more.

So it stands to reason that if you want fries with that, why not make them sweet potato fries? "The big buzz is the sweet potato fry," says Pat Wooten, sales manager for Wayne E. Bailey Produce Co., a Chadbourn, N.C.-based sweet potato supplier and the exclusive sweet potato packer for Green Giant Fresh. "The sweet potato fry has really come on strong in restaurants around the country," he observes.

The well-reported health benefits of sweet potatoes have helped drive sales overall, says Wooten, who notes, "Sweet potato consumption continues to grow each year. A year or two ago, per capita consumption was 3 pounds per person; now it's over 5 pounds per person annually."

In addition to foodservice's wildly popular sweet potato fry, Wooten says many restaurants are now offering a choice of baked potato or baked sweet potato. This, too, has spurred interest in home preparation of sweet potatoes. Green Giant Fresh has responded with individually cellophane-wrapped sweet potatoes for microwave preparation in minutes, as well as bags of petite sweet potatoes that contain five or six individual serving-size tubers in a microwavable bag. The entire bag of sweet potatoes is ready in 10 minutes.

Spud Light

While sweet potato sales have benefited from a barrage of positive press, regular old spuds have been slower to gain nutritional traction. However, a new story emerging about the health benefits of potatoes, from russets to fingerlings, may soon give these potatoes the attention they deserve.

The latest Dietary Guidelines, released in January 2011, recommend the increased consumption of starchy vegetables such as potatoes. What's more, potatoes were specifically recognized as a good source of potassium.

"In a weird way, potatoes are a diet food," says Richard Leibowitz, managing director of the Specialty Potato Alliance (SPA), a conglomeration of potato marketers and growers with East Coast offices in Mountainside, N.J. Fingerling potatoes are Leibowitz's specialty, a variety that he finds packed with flavor, easy to prepare and perfectly portioned.

"The category has grown a lot over the last two years. It's easily been growing 25 percent a year for two years in a row," says Leibowitz, who attributes this sales success to the unique flavor profile and versatility of the vegetable.

While some fingerlings like the Peter Wilcox variety, which are purple on the outside and yellow on the inside, contain the antioxidant carotenoid and other nutritional benefits, Leibowitz laments: "Right now, the only nutrition label a potato can carry is one that talks about potassium. That's the nutrient label claim for the entire category."

SPA is currently exploring the need for nutrient label changes for fingerlings, but in the meantime, Leibowitz says the best thing retailers can do is to sell customers on the taste of these distinctly flavorful potatoes through sampling.

The Apple Corps

The United States is the world's second-largest producer of apples (China is No. 1), so when the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its 2011 "Dirty Dozen" list of the most chemically contaminated produce with apples in the top slot, the outcry shook orchards from coast to coast.

United Fresh Produce Association president and CEO Tom Stenzel responded, "At a time when medical experts strongly urge Americans to realize the health benefits from eating more fruits and vegetables, it is irresponsible to mislead consumers with a sensational publicity stunt disguised as science."

The U.S. Apple Association, based in Vienna, Va., countered the EWG's findings with its own "Delicious Dozen" list of 12 reasons it's healthy to eat an apple a day. From promoting brain, bone and digestive health, to cancer prevention and weight management, the association hit back with nutritional news underscoring the health benefits of the fruit.

Apples: Now Even More Convenient

In addition to spotlighting nutritional benefits, what trends will drive apple merchandising this fall? Think convenience, local and sustainable, says Karin Rodriguez, executive director of the Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Program, a Harrisburg-based nonprofit organization representing the state's apple growers, who produce some 440 million pounds of apples each year.

"I always say that apples are nature's perfect portable snack," says Rodriguez, but even so, she has found an eager market for pre-cut apples. "People like pre-cut, on-the-go and healthy snacks," she continues. Pre-cut is particularly popular with parents and kids. "It's funny how kids will only take a couple of bites of a whole apple, but when you cut it up, they eat em all up," she observes.

Convenient and healthful snacking for the whole family is the idea behind some of the newest offerings from Del Monte Fresh Produce of Coral Gables, Fia. "Del Monte continues to develop innovative packaging to meet consumer demands, like the recent family-size apple slices bag," notes Dionysios Christou, VP of marketing. The ready-to-eat slices come in a convenient, resealable 14-ounce bag. "Also, adding lift tabs and providing plastic spoons or sporks with some of our items have made it even easier for consumers to enjoy fresh-cut produce on the go," he observes.

Local and sustainable are equally important trends, notes Rodriguez of the Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Program. "Customers want to buy from growers who are good stewards of the land, and who provide a safe and healthy product," she asserts.

In addition to promoting local and sustainable apples through signage, Rodriguez's other key merchandising tips are to alternate apple colors, remove bruised apples and those with broken skin from displays immediately, and inform customers about the need for refrigeration.

Rodriguez additionally recommends: "Clearly identify varieties. There are hundreds of varieties, with a little something different about each one. Find creative ways to communicate these differences, and support new varieties with demos."

Life's Just a Bowl of…

For many retailers and consumers alike, the cherry season is too short and ever so sweet. As the season winds down this month, the folks at Columbia Marketing International (CM I), one of Washington state's largest cherry growers and shippers, has announced a cherry photo contest to launch its Facebook page.

Wenatchee, Wash.-based CMI is asking consumers to capture their favorite summer memory using a package of CMI's Sweet Red or Rainier Cherries in a creative photo. Consumers are invited to e-mail their photos to [email protected] for a chance to win prizes including an iPad2 and an iPod touch. The deadline for photo submissions is Sept. 1, 2011.

In other news, Stemilt Growers, also of Wenatchee, has introduced a new state-of-the-art optical sizerthat uses a high-speed camera to measure the diameter of each piece of fruit to deliver a pack of similarly sized cherries. Stemlit has also implemented an in-line cluster cutter that reduces the number of times handpicked Rainier cherries require handling, by gently separating cherries that come off the tree in clusters.