ORLANDO, Fla. — As retail buyers roamed the aisles of Southeast Produce Council's March 2-4 Southern Exposure event, some stopped at the Healthy Family Project Booth for a good cause — besides good business.
- Alan Smith, Joel Cotrell and Mike Roberts of Harps Food Stores, Springdale, Ark., took a photo at the Healthy Family Project booth. The organization ran a promotion during the show itself: For each social media post made at their booth with a certain hashtag, they would donate to Feeding America.
Arturo Mendoza and Juan Molano of Luv by Fresh Directions really got into the SEPC show's “Star Trek” theme with the booth banner and costumes, including one set of pointy ears, like the show's Vulcan character, Spock.
They made guacamole, a grandmother's recipe, and handed out fresh avocado-mango smoothies as well. The company processes, packages and distributes 100% fresh and natural fruit pulps and guacamole.
Related: Seen and heard at SEPC's Southern Exposure — Part 2
Conor Chilvers of Mastronardi Produce's Sunset showcased the new Angel Sweet cup of snacking tomatoes, featuring revamped packaging. There's a yellow cap on it to make it more eye-catching, and it's 100% recyclable.
More so than resealable packages, this lid is easy to place back on, and it's stackable and has a label on both ends for a variety of merchandising display options at the supermarket.
Stephen Cowan of Mucci Farms said a tomato virus has instigated Mucci Farms to “start afresh with new varieties.” The new line of Savories tomatoes are sweet like a strawberry and savory like a tomato and are packaged on the vine.
“Snacking is the second-biggest growth category in tomatoes,” Cowan said.
Aaron Sumption says Local Bounti built a farm in Byron, Ga., where two lettuce products, including Crispy Green Leaf, are grown for the baby leaf program.
Another new product is the Asian Style Chicken Lettuce Wrap Kit, which is everything a shopper would need to make a meal for two at home.
Brian DiCarlo of Westmoreland Sales and Topline Farms and Colton Moore of Apeel Sciences are part of a partnership in launching a new mini cucumber. It's sold loose and in bulk with a plant-based coating from Apeel Sciences that eliminates the need for single-use plastic and overwraps. “Usually, mini cukes sold in bulk go bad in one to two days, so they have to be in a pack, but then there's condensation that gets trapped in there,” Moore said. “These mini cucumbers are totally novel in that they're loose and shelf stable for up to 10 days.”
The fresh apple cider created from Fowler Farms in Wolcott, N.Y., is doing really well at The Fresh Market and a lot of wholesalers and independent retail chains in the Midwest, say Mark Sharp, Austin Fowler, Michael Hacker and Isaac Olivas of Fowler Farms.
“I don't know if it's the brix or the season, but we've had a lot of good luck with our cider,” Fowler said. “There is a really devoted cult following, and we don't do private labels."
There are seven varieties in the cider. “We pick the best of the apples that don't make the cut for the fresh market. No wax or stickers,” he said.
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