Seen and heard at IFPA show, part 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. — “Innovation” was the word on everyone's lips at the International Fresh Produce Association's high-energy and well-attended Global Produce and Floral Show, Oct. 19-21. From new products to new packaging to show-stopping booth designs, the show was filled with fresh produce industry inspiration in every aisle.

Molly's Grape & Citrus Co., which took home IFPA's Best First-Time Exhibitor award, served ice cream made with Molly's grape jam in its colorful, eye-popping booth. Co-founder and President Todd LaForest said the company is developing a high-sugar Molly Pop Mandarin.

“Just like you don't get a sour Molly Pop grape, you won't get a sour Molly Pop mandarin,” LaForest said. “If kids eat a sweet grape, they'll keep eating them. The same is true for mandarins.”

Molly's Grape & Citrus is free to innovate because it's an “agile” and “scrappy” brand with a plan, LaForest said.

POM Wonderful showcased its new campaign that aims to empower consumers to fortify their defenses against free radicals — the unstable molecules that can cause damage to our bodies over time — by protecting themselves with the antioxidant power of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice.

At show time, POM Wonderful had begun sending off the season's first shipments of pomegranates. “It was a favorable growing season this year,” said Derrick Miller. “There's plenty of big fruit with a nice balance of sweet and tart flavor.

“Retailers can blow the doors off the season and double sales velocity with POM Wonderful's [display] bins,” he added.

Related: Pom Wonderful launches new campaign villainizing free radicals

Thanks to “near perfect weather,” Envy apples anticipates an “incredible season” for its Washington-grown fruit, said Vinnie Lopes. “The color and size is 100% better than last season.”

The brand is poised to support the fruit with new grower videos, digital and retail marketing programs that support trial, and a robust campaign in collaboration with the Hallmark Channel that positions Envy as “The Ultimate Holiday Apple,” said Cecilia Flores Paez.

Envy apples is also seeing significant volume in organic offerings, Lopes said. “Retailers can leverage the organic volume this year as we continue to expand the brand nationwide.”

David Perie shared one of the ways Rijk Zwaan, a vegetable breeding and seed production company, fosters innovation.

“Our breeders work a half-day on Friday to devote the rest of the day to passion projects,” he said. “They can be creative and discover something new.”

Innovative varieties like Tatayoyo peppers are just one success story from this “passion project” approach.

Salad innovation was on full display at FiveStar Gourmet Foods, where Tal Shoshan demonstrated the fresh convenience of its new Simply Fresh Salad Shakers. The new patented bowl design features a lid that can be inverted, allowing consumers to shake all the ingredients inside to get dressing on every bite. The design also reduced the amount of plastic in the bowl, Shoshan said.

FiveStar Gourmet also showcased its loaded salad kits with “truly premium” ingredients, more toppings and more dressing, Shoshan said. “It's a restaurant-quality salad for $5.99,” he added.

The salad's packaging features Ultra Fresh Sealed Technology, which extends the shelf life and delivers “pristine” greens, he said.

Red Sun Farms' Carlos Visconti talked seed-to-plate innovation. As one of the largest vertically integrated greenhouses in North America, Red Sun Farms is able to control the entire process from seed selection to climate-controlled indoor growing environments to its distribution centers and growing facilities in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, which translate to shorter delivery times and fresher produce.

Related coverage:

• Seen and heard at IFPA show, part 1

• Seen and heard at IFPA show, part 2