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Produce Show Daily 1 3 Friday, October 18, 2019 New Sun Dried Tomato Chipotle Sauce in a Squeeze Packet Mooney Farms and the Bella Sun Luci brand are introducing an innovative way to use their popular Sun Dried Tomato Chipotle Sauce: individual-sized squeeze packets. The convenient new 2-ounce squeeze packets are meal-kit-ready. Add them to power lunch bowls, salads, gro- cery to-go meals and more. Just squeeze and stir! This new packaging is easy to open, easy to use and still offers the same delicious taste as the larger 8.5- ounce jar of Sun Dried Tomato Chipotle Sauce. Now, customers can easily add the sauce to ready-made meals or meal kits. The sweet and smoky flavors of the sun dried tomatoes and chipotle peppers pair great with ready-made vegetable dishes, rice bowls, whole grain salads, southwest salads, burrito bowls and more. "Our new and innovative squeeze packets are helping to get one of our favorite products into customers meals much easier. It's now as simple as squeezing and stirring straight from the one-time use packet into a dish!" says Mary Mooney, Owner of Mooney Farms. Mooney Farms prides itself on understanding the changes of consumer demands and is very excited to be intro- ducing this new and innovative product to its line-up. Bella Sun Luci is a line of premium Mediterranean-inspired products creat- ed from authentic family recipes. The line includes a variety of deliciously sweet sun dried tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, sun dried tomato chipotle sauce, pasta sauces, bruschetta spreads, estate-grown olive oil, risotto, mari- nades and new vegan jerky. Bella Sun Luci is produced by Mooney Farms, a third generation, fam- ily-owned company based in Chico, California, that is rooted in quality, integrity and family values. Mooney Farms is the premier producer of sun dried tomatoes in the United States. For more information, visit booth #2002 or go to www.bellasunluci.com. ERC Expands Brand to Regional and National Retailers through Distribution and Foodservice ERC Produce, founded in 1987 and located in San Luis, Arizona, is a family- owned company with growing operations in five different regions of Mexico and a total of 9,200 acres of productive land. The company strives for the highest qual- ity and compliance standards and works to exceed the expectations of its cus- tomers in the U.S., Canada and Europe. ERC incorporates good manufacturing practices as an integral system. This con- cept is based on teamwork, continuous improvement of its plant and a three-way communication between direction, man- agement and the production team. It is a fully vertically integrated model, which adds to the company's value proposition, allowing it to be as nimble as possible and react to the ever-changing markets while fostering a long-term relationship with customers. As Alberto Harfusch, Vice President of ERC, says, "Growing isn't a business but a way of life." He continues, saying that ERC would like to thank all their customers for placing trust in ERC. At the show, the company intends to con- tinue promoting sustain- able initiatives with potential customers and business partners and create new relationships to develop in a win-win environment. The com- pany takes pride in family values, which then translates into the way ERC does business. ERC strives to take care of its customers while also being responsible to its growers. This busi- ness belief ensures that the company will have excellent cultivation – not only currently, but also for years to come. The company is expanding its brand by servicing business partners in distribution and foodservice, as well as regional and national retailers. ERC is excited to complement its organ- ic line with the addi- tion of asparagus and watermelons. On core items, this season the company is also including cauliflower. As a grower-packer-shipper-mar- keter, ERC is able to streamline the process by eliminating intermediaries and maximizing returns for customers. It continually adapts and customizes according to its customers' needs. For more information, visit booth #1447, go to www.ercproduce.com or call 619.915.0570. JSL Foods Reconnects with Family Legacy By Lorrie Baumann JSL Foods has re-established a relationship with the company's founding family by naming Jade Wong Lucas as National Accounts Sales Manager. As National Accounts Manager of Foodservice, Lucas is now promoting the Twin Dragon brand her grandfather created 65 years ago. Her grandfather, Hailey On Wong opened Main On Company in 1954, producing authentic Asian won-ton wrappers, egg rolls, pot- sticker wraps, tofu and bean sprouts, which he sold to local restaurants and bodegas in and around the Los Angeles area. "The company started with my grandfather as Main On. We then created the Twin Dragon brand. Under that brand, we sold almond cookies, Asian noodles," Lucas said. The company passed out of the fam- ily's ownership in the early 1970s, and although Lucas was still involved in the same industry, she had been working for one of JSL Foods' competitors. "The owner reached out to me. We started talk- ing, and he gave me an opportunity to move over to this company," she said. "At first, I was very hesitant going to the competition, but with the Twin Dragon brand it held a legacy to me personally." In her new position, she calls on national restaurant accounts all over the country representing JSL Foods and showcasing its Asian noodles, pasta and wraps, which are non-GMO verified, cer- tified vegan and cholesterol free. "One thing I really love about this job is the ability to make an impact in growing the business. The owners give me an ability to grow this business with a lot of support. With product that is innovative, that meets customer needs with portion control, with clean label – these are some of the new demands that our industry asks for," she said. "We have the ability to have a noodle with protein added, the ability to incorpo- rate green pea or spinach noodles or black bean noodle. These are added features for the noodle that gives added value to the noodle for the consumer. Asian noodles are as different as pastas, ramen, yakisoba, udon. What we do here at JSL Foods is that we do a lot of customization for our customers' needs and preferences." For more information, visit www.jslfoods.com or email Lucas at jlucas@jslfoods.com. KORU Apples: Outstanding Flavor, Incredible Crunch KORU ® apple growers are gearing up for their best and biggest harvest to date this fall. Growers in Washington, New York and Pennsylvania are all reporting that the KORU crop looks great and should exceed all expectations on quality and flavor this season. KORU is a New Zealand apple that is currently imported into the States in May and marketed through September. U.S.-grown KORU come mostly from Washington and New York harvests in late October and can be marketed through March. KORU is a cross between a Fuji and Braeburn and was first discovered in New Zealand in 1994. The apple cul- tivar is Plumac and is registered as KORU after the Maori word that sym- bolizes "new life, growth, strength and peace." First introduced into the U.S. in 2013 from New Zealand, KORU contin- ues to delight customers who are looking to Escape the Ordinary ® with its out- standing flavor, incredible crunch and a sweet hint of honey. Crisp, sweet and nat- urally delicious. KORU apples are managed by Coast to Coast Growers, who have the exclusive rights to import and grow KORU in the U.S. Coast to Coast has retained three of the top apple marketing groups in the U.S. to manage the import and domestic sales. In Washington state, Chelan Fresh and Starr Ranch Growers work closely with New York Apple Sales, Inc, of New York, all marketing KORU sales. "This is our fifth year that that we have worked collectively selling KORU, and each year the team gets stronger," says Kaari Stannard, President and Owner of New York Apple Sales. "We're excited about the new crop. It's shaping up to be a real crowd pleaser for apple customers." "Timing is on track for Home Grown KORU sales this November," comment- ed Michael Harwood, Sales for NYAS, Inc. Brent Shammo, of Starr Ranch Growers, says, "Our KORU crop this year is shaping up to be one of the best looking and tasting crops we have had yet." Mac Riggan, who leads the Chelan Fresh sales team in Washington, added, "We are all excited about the 2019 crop of KORU." This fall, sales will continue using merchandising tools and support programs to retailers. Ongoing in-store support with high graphic cartons and display kiosks, support of consumer demos along with on- line coupon and/or instant rebates will be available. In addi- tion to store activities, social media efforts will be ramped up to invite dialogs and conversations with con- sumers. Social media influencers along with food bloggers will help spread the good word about KORU. For more information, visit Chelan Fresh at booth #1899, go to www.chelanfresh.com or call 509.682.4252; visit New York Apple Sales, Inc. at booth #3061, go to www.newyorkapplesales.com or call 518.477.7200; or visit Star Ranch Growers at booth #4185, go to www.starranch.com or call 509.663.2191.