Hot And Healthy

Canada's Longo's Market spotlights greenhouse-grown produce to spur daily fruit and veggie consumption.

If anybody knows that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is as healthy for customers as it is for supermarket sales, it's Longo Brothers Fruit Markets. The Ontario-based chain of 25 stores began as a greengrocer in 1956, and produce remains the backbone of its business.

When Longo's polled shoppers earlier this year, it found that many customers, while interested in eating a healthier diet, were concerned about the time it would take to prepare more nutritious meals. The independent grocer has since launched two campaigns designed to make healthful, produce-rich meals more accessible than ever.

Last month, Longo's kicked off its "All That's Good" wellness initiative both in stores and in its Experience Magazine.

The campaign focused on shopping, cooking tips and recipes to promote healthier lifestyles, as well as the importance of eating fresh and local foods.

Fresh produce formed the heart of the campaign, and Longo's expanded its offerings of pre-washed and chopped vegetables and fruits, added healthier options to its Longo's Kitchen prepared foods and salad bar, and sponsored a team of dietitians who offered one-on-one consultations in select Longo's stores during the month of March.

'Inside' Locally Grown

Demand for locally grown produce has surged in the United States, and the story is no different north of the border, where Longo's recently launched its "Eat Local All Year Long" promotion.

"We have a very big local campaign," says Mimmo Franzone, Longo's director of produce and floral. "We move to local right away, regardless of price, because it's what our customers want."

But in a country where locally field-grown is a short and sweet season in many regions, eating locally year-round presents certain challenges. And that's where greenhouse-grown becomes the star in Longo's produce departments.

The chain is taking a multipronged approach to sourcing and promoting local, and in many cases, locally greenhouse-grown, in its stores. The grocer developed "Taste Ontario," its own branded local program, which it supports with POS and in-store demos. Longo's also educates its customers about greenhouse-grown produce through editorials in its store magazine and recipes featuring dishes made with greenhouse-cultivated foods.

On the supply side, Franzone believes Canada's competitive edge lies in greenhouse-grown. "Our greenhouse growers are innovators who are always developing new items, whether it's different types of cucumbers or tomato varieties," he says. "They're also using proprietary seeds to differentiate themselves from the competition."

Franzone points to Kingsville, Ontario-based Mastronardi as one example of a Canadian greenhouse grower who excels at unique and flavorful products. "Flavor is a big deal with Mastronardi, because when you think greenhouse-grown, you don't necessarily think of flavor first, but they do a lot of research and development to get it right, and you can taste that in their products," he says.

When it comes to greenhouse-grown, quick and healthful snack options, Pure Hot House Foods Inc. of Leamington, Ontario, which offers the Pure Flavor brand, is top of mind for Franzone. "They're constantly testing new items, and most of them have a convenience factor."

Pure Hot House has seen "tremendous growth" from its greenhouse-grown Juno Bite Grape Tomatoes, Mini Cucumbers and Aurora Bite Mini Peppers, says President Jamie Moracci. This spring, the company will expand its grape tomato program under the Pure Flavor brand with the launch of three colored grape varieties intended to feed the demand for convenient produce snacking.

Fair Trade Certified

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Oppenheimer Group (Oppy) began offering a full-scale organic and conventional Fair Trade Certified sweet bell pepper program for the first time in 2012. The program has been so well received that Oppy is on course to double its Fair Trade Certified pepper offerings in 2013.

Produced by greenhouse pepper grower Divemex S.A. in Culiacan, Mexico, every box sold delivers 50 cents toward education initiatives and scholarships for workers and their families. With the Fair Trade label gaining traction among North American consumers as a symbol of social and environmental responsibility, Divemex is preparing to ramp up production with a recently opened second certified facility.

"Our greenhouse growers are innovators who are always developing new items, whether it's different types of cucumbers or tomato varieties."

—Mimmo Franzone, Longo Brothers Fruit Markets