Oser Communications Group

PMA19.Oct19

Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1173476

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 49 of 63

Produce Show Daily Saturday, October 19, 2019 4 8 peppers, from opposite sides of the world, made for a harmonious marriage of tastes. The richness of the sun dried tomatoes coupled with the smoky heat of the chipotle peppers created an unparal- leled flavor profile. Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomato Chipotle Topper & Sauce adds rich taste to any raw, grilled, sautéed or steamed vegetable. But the flavor doesn't stop at vegetables; the sauce is also delicious topped on sandwiches, wraps, tacos, hamburgers, in dips and more. Visit Mooney Farms and the Bella Sun Luci team at booth #2002. This great product, along with the rest of the Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomato line, will be Bella Sun Luci (Cont'd. from p. 1) available for tasting. 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, marinades and new vegan jerky. Bella Sun Luci is produced by Mooney Farms, a third generation, family-owned com- pany 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. water system offers the right chemical and water mix at the right specs at the right pressure to the right places. Let's say your sanitation crew uses tap water pressure and a 3/4-inch hose, and they manually mix in portable foamers. Most companies use a central water system for rinsing, and the pressure often varies from 75-200 psi, so increas- ing to 325 psi saves up to 50 percent in water. With a centralized cleaning system, there's no manual dosing and no portable foamer to fill. Central dosing of chemi- cals uses the proper amount and saves time, not to mention improving worker safety. Labor can simply go to the right satellite station, do their job and move on. Typically, facilities can recoup costs within the first 18 months of use. Other benefits of Birko by Lagafors include consistent, repeatable cleaning, Birko (Cont'd. from p. 1) pre-diluted chemicals on demand for up to six simultaneous users per chemical, and secure web-based reporting with the Log Trace System. "We're proud to be the sole and exclusive distributor of Lagafors in the U.S., Canada and Mexico because Lagafors upholds the same values and commitment to food safety as Birko," said Mark Swanson, Chief Executive Officer, Birko. "The equipment couldn't be coming at a better time for North American food plants that are facing a tight labor market, new sanitation requirements and the challenge of doing more with less. Birko by Lagafors will support these needs by reducing water, labor and chemical use in sanitation prac- tices, but providing a consistent and reli- able outcome every time." For more information, visit booth #4425, go to www.birkocorp.com or email information@birkocorp.com. promotions – there are a few steps you can take to help ensure you don't miss out on sales. Here's a closer look at planning a summer surge fresh supply chain pro- gram, using watermelon as an example: 1. Work with a network of growers. For consistent supply, it's a good idea to work with geographically diverse grow- ers. Watermelon is a nomadic crop with harvest times varying by location. Typically, the first U.S. watermelons of the season come in April from Florida and Texas. As the season progresses, the harvest moves in waves toward northern climates. Working with multiple growers gives you a larger supply and reduces the chances of a region creating problems. Keep in mind how summer weather issues can impact supply. For example, if you work with only a single grower in Florida and a hurricane wipes out their crop, you need a backup option. Having a network of growers is essential. Robinson Fresh offers consistent global supply with produce grown in over 40 countries with the strongest growing sea- sons. 2. Make plans, but plan to be flexible. During summer surges, it's probable something will go wrong with your fresh supply chain. But since you can't know exactly what (or when), you need to have proactive backup solutions ready. When, Four Steps to Prepare (Cont'd. from p. 1) for example, a severe storm hits your main distribution center, an already- established multipronged supply chain could mean the difference between unin- terrupted watermelon orders and a three- day out of stock situation. 3. Prepare your fresh supply chain for success. Watermelons are a challenging item to move through the supply chain – they are bulky and can be awkward to transport, with harvest times all over the map (liter- ally!) from April to September. That's why it's important to work with a grow- er-shipper that emphasizes accurate lead times and stays in constant communica- tion with you about crops, fill rates and correct product availability. They should also monitor the weather and keep you updated if melons from particular regions will arrive from the field earlier or later than anticipated. 4. Analyze now for a better tomorrow. Use this year's summer surge as an opportunity to improve your fresh sup- ply chains for the future. Completing a quality supply chain analysis can go a long way toward making next year's summer surge planning even better. After the season wraps up, take the time to analyze what worked well and what didn't; then, implement changes as nec- essary. For more information, visit www .robinsonfresh.com. trEAT4u Snack Bags trEAT4u is a line of 1-ounce snack bags that are a healthier grab and go option. Specially developed to meet a 10-point nutritional criterion, they are ideal for retailers looking for better-for-you snacks. trEAT4u is available in seven flavors of nuts, dried fruit and trail mixes. All flavors in the line offer no artificial ingredients, less than 200 calo- ries and 20g sugar with no cholesterol. The line includes Almonds, Fiber Crunch Delight, Fruit Bowl, Moonburst, Perfectly Fit, Sunshine Blend and Triple Treat. Whether your customers are look- ing for a quick pick-me-up in the after- noon or a mid-morning snack, trEAT4u has a taste your customers will keep coming back for. Available in 24 and 120 count boxes. For more information, go to www .trulygoodfoods.com/treat4u. Funding Fans Flames for Beanfields' Bold Flavors By Lorrie Baumann Fueled by several million dollars in new funding from a Series B round that closed in February, Beanfields is roaring ahead with new flavors of its signature bean- based chips on a product development trajectory that will take the company to a broader range of salty snack items featur- ing navy and black beans as their hero ingredient. The new flavor variations on existing products are launching at this year's food industry trade shows, where they've already started creating some buzz, according to Arnulfo Ventura, the company's new Chief Executive Officer. Ventura joined Beanfields last July, brought on board by Beanfield Chairman and private equity investor Mark Rampolla, of PowerPlant Ventures, to rejuvenate the brand's relevance to its core consumers – the natural foods shop- pers who'd abandoned the salty snacks aisle of their favorite stores because corn and tortilla chips didn't meet their nutri- tional goals. What those customers really liked about the Beanfields brand was that it offered bold flavor in an alternative to conventional tortilla chips. Ventura's first task at hand, then, fol- lowing his arrival at the company from Califia Farms, where he headed up busi- ness development, was to figure out how the brand could grow without alienating those customers. "Only after 10 months here do I feel I have the full vision in place for the potential for this brand," Ventura said. "But when I think about everything with bean as the hero ingredi- ent, I think of [Beanfields] as potential to be a master brand with multiple legs or frontiers that it can expand out into." With its new funding in hand, Beanfields' first foray into growing rele- vance for its core consumers was with the development of five new flavors in 13 SKUs of its bean chips, including two flavors that had particular relevance to its vegan customers: Spicy Queso and Cheddar Sour Cream, both made with vegan recipes. "In that space, for vegans, there aren't that many vegan alternatives in the salty snack cat- egory," Ventura said. "We want to contin- ue to provide those options, and we do that very well." Beanfields' consumers are embrac- ing the changes at the brand. By the end of February of this year, Beanfields had racked up 12 consecutive months of year- over-year sales growth that included eight consecutive record-breaking sales weeks at the end of 2018. January 2019 brought the highest monthly sales in Beanfields' history with a number that represented triple-digit year-over-year growth – this as the company was also in a mad sprint to get ready for trade show season. As Ventura and the company turn that first mad sprint from the close of its funding round into a marathon run, Beanfields will continue to focus on its appeal to the consumers shopping in the natural foods channel who are already delivering that sales growth as well as others in the same stores who've given up on salty snacks because they won't eat corn or potato chips and haven't yet found an alternative that offers them exciting flavors along with crunch. "We're giving them a reason to come back to the salty snack category," Ventura said. "The key to our success lies in zero compromise. At the end of the day, they really want a good-tasting chip, and if it happens to be better for them, good on us. We don't want it to be a good chip for a vegan chip or a good chip for a bean thing – we want it to be a good chip.... The addressable market is anyone who wants a good-tasting chip." As the brand matures in the natural foods space, Ventura is also looking ahead at a future in other retail channels as well as in other product categories, both inside and outside the snack foods space. "That's part of our longer-term innovation roadmap," Ventura said. "There's a big addressable market for us outside of snacks. As to when we choose to go there, there's a lot to think about between now and then."

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

view archives of Oser Communications Group - PMA19.Oct19