Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/264049
P r o d u c e S h o w D a i l y 6 9 S a t u r d a y, O c t o b e r 1 9 , 2 0 1 3 rapidly over the last 17 years. How did you get started? AS: My father, a Dutch immigrant, introduced me to the flavorful little potatoes he grew up with. Together, we grew our first acre in 1996, sorting, washing and bagging our first crop by hand. It has been and continues to be a labor of love. We remain dedicated to bringing back the orig- inal, diverse goodness of little potatoes. PSD: What can you attribute your suc- cess to? AS: First and foremost: our people, which includes our staff, growers and potato breeders who contribute to the business every step of the way. We wouldn't be where we are today without our retail part- ners, whose feedback and support has taken us to be leaders in North America. And, of course, our consumers. We always try to anticipate and focus on consumer needs, and with today's fast-paced lifestyles, we believe our convenient and nutritious product fills a unique niche. We focus on differentiating our proprietary creamer potatoes, trying new products, sometimes taking risks, and using clever marketing and promotions to set us apart. PSD: What are your thoughts on the cur- rent state of the potato industry in North America? AS: Unlike other produce crops, there has been a lack of innovation and excite- ment within the potato category. We view ours as a value-added produce business versus a commodity, which has allowed us to evolve as consumer needs change. Little Potato Company (Cont'd. from p. 1) PSD: How do you intend to bring back excitement into the potato category? AS: The possibilities are endless. We have recently introduced two new value-added products using fresh potatoes; a microwave steam kit and a roasting/ grilling kit that will hit shelves soon. We are always looking to add to our proprietary varieties of little potatoes that will continue to add excitement and ease for consumers. PSD: When you say you want to "bring back the original, diverse goodness of lit- tle potatoes," what do you mean? AS: We envision a future in which pota- toes are once again the centerpiece of family meals because they are a nutri- tious and flavorful choice. Our little pota- toes are available in several unique vari- eties and can be prepared in countless ways: steamed, in soups, stews and sal- ads, roasted, even grilled. PSD: What makes you a market leader in North America? AS: We are focused solely on breeding, growing and marketing small creamer potatoes that have outstanding flavor, great texture and better nutrition. It's all we do. We have single-minded dedica- tion and commitment to small potatoes. And you can taste the difference! By going back to the potato's roots, we have uncovered the same types of potato vari- eties first cultivated – small, highly nour- ishing, vastly diverse and packed with flavor. For more information, visit www .littlepotatoes.com or stop by booth 3923 during Fresh Summit. ripening rooms across North America since 1994. That must add up to a lot of bananas. DB: Over 100 million pounds of daily ripening capacity to be exact, or to put it another way, over 70 percent of all bananas ripened in North America. As banana imports have continued to rise, the demand for ripening rooms has continued right alongside, even through the recent down- turn in the economy. There seems to be no slow-down in new orders whatsoever. PSD: Wouldn't you expect an increase in banana imports to boost ripening room demand? DB: Not necessarily. Based on the recent economy, as well as increased banana costs worldwide, we've often thought the market- place might be getting close to saturation in the short term. As it turns out, the highly competitive nature of the industry, com- bined with the need for ever-greater opera- tional efficiency, has driven an increase in installations not only in the U.S., but across Canada and Mexico as well. The sheer number of projects quoted one, two, even three years ago that got approved for con- struction this year have kept us running close to capacity, even with the recent 15,000 square foot expansion of our manu- facturing facility in South Carolina. PSD: Expand on what you mean by the competitive nature of the industry, and how ripening rooms impact operational efficiency. DB: In an increasingly competitive retail marketplace, as bananas have become more important to profitability, quality has become more important than ever. By Thermal Technologies (Cont'd. from p. 1) helping our customers maximize the qual- ity and color of fruit on display, we're able to help them enjoy a sizeable increase in sales and per-box profit. Doing this in a way that increases operational efficiency while mitigating supply chain issues leads to a faster return-on-investment which, in turn, translates into more TarpLess ® ripen- ing room installations. That's why we love making our clients more profitable, and why our unwavering commitment to client profitability has been a large part of our overall growth and success. PSD: When you say "TarpLess" ripening room, what exactly does that mean? DB: That's the name of our patented pressurization system. When Thermal Tech invented the system nearly twenty years ago, it revolutionized the industry and has been leading ever since. Today, more bananas are ripened in the TarpLess ripening room system than in all other systems combined, which is amazing. We are truly blessed that the design has become such an industry standard, and we continue to make improvements to deliver even greater efficiencies. PSD: How do installations look for this year and beyond? DB: You can never predict the future, but the fact that bananas are so profitable con- tinues to fuel our clients' need for first class ripening facilities. Now, with our expanded manufacturing facilities com- pleted, I'm happy to report that ripening room installations show every indication of continued growth into 2014 and beyond, and that we're ready to meet the demand. Visit Thermal Tech at booth 3057 during Fresh Summit, or check out www.go tarpless.com to find out more. America's culinary consciousness through its innovative creation of cate- gories and unrelenting quality standards. Over the last couple of years, they have been familiarizing customers with what can be done to a salad with little or no effort by opening a jar of Just Add Lettuce 3D. But Formaggio's latest offer- ings to the produce department are actu- ally cheese items. What's going on here? What are two cheese products doing in the produce department? Betta-Bleu and Betta-Feta actually belong in the produce department. The majority of the crumbled feta and crum- bled bleu cheese sold is used on prod- ucts that originate from the produce department. People use it in all sorts of salads using all kinds of lettuce, and also on mashed or roasted potatoes. Sometimes they stuff it in mushrooms. Since the Betta line consists of products that go with and enhance ingredients from the produce department, that's where they belong. Because Formaggio's Betta-Feta and Betta-Bleu are a fresh twist with a fresh product aspect, they belong in a fresh section. Formaggio Italian Specialties (Cont'd. from p. 1) Yes, Formaggio's Betta-Feta and Betta-Bleu will enhance any salad. This is the most popular use. But if you were going to buy feta or bleu cheese to put on a salad, would you be done? Of course not. You still have to add herbs and spices, garlic, maybe olives and some oil. Or, you can simply open a cup of Formaggio's Betta-Feta or Betta-Bleu, which is sold with all those ingredients already inside. Formaggio's Betta-Feta and Betta- Bleu are value-added items. They are consumer-friendly items which will help make consumers' lives easier. Who wants to spend all that time buying separate ingredients and then preparing all those things? Crumbling, breaking, chopping, mincing, mixing – and let's not forget the clean up. Fuhgeddaboudit! Formaggio's Betta-Feta and Betta-Bleu are not just award-winning products for flavor pro- file. They are also products that win huge praise for the simplicity brought to the lives of modern consumers. Visit Formaggio Italian Specialties at booth 1303 during Fresh Summit. To learn more, call 845-807-3630 or email fran_formaggio@yahoo.com. and vegetable industry with convenient on-the-go products that promote healthy eating habits among consumers. Handy Candy won the 2012 Impact Award at the 2012 PMA Fresh Summit in Anaheim for packaging, which was an incredible honor. PSD: What particular products will you be showcasing at the PMA Fresh Summit? RM: We will be sampling and highlight- ing our Handy Candy Grape Tomato cups, along with our newest edition to our product line, the Handy Candy Blueberry cups. PSD: What would you say makes your company unique? RM: What makes us unique is our flexi- bility to meet the demands of the con- sumer in all aspects: flavor, consistency, user-friendly packaging, price points and distribution, as well as maintaining a sharp focus on ensuring that our customers get the highest quality fruit available. PSD: Did your marketing strategy in the past year provide you the overall position you had projected? RM: Yes, I would say so. When rolling out any product on a national level, it is important to not compromise the integrity of the product by over-pursu- ing a goal. Our marketing strategy was Handy Candy (Cont'd. from p. 1) to roll the product out in select areas, then gradually enter into new areas. We are honored to say that Handy Candy is available nationwide. PSD: What do you anticipate to be your greatest challenge in the year ahead? RM: I would say that our greatest chal- lenge ahead of us this upcoming year would be meeting the demand for new products. I would almost rather call it a blessing as opposed to a challenge. To help us meet these challenges, we are partnering ourselves with great growers and distributors across the country. PSD: To what do you attribute your company's success? RM: We attribute our success to the con- sumer who has selected Handy Candy to be their product of choice, and to our network of growers and distributors. Without either of the two we would not be where we are today. PSD: How can our readers find out more about your company? RM: Come and visit us at booth 1469 at the PMA Fresh Summit, or visit us online at www.myhandycandy.com. Find Handy Candy during Fresh Summit at booth 1469. For more infor- mation, go to www.myhandycandy.com, call 205-323-7306 or email rmurrah@flavorpic.com.