Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/586344
P r o d u c e S h o w D a i l y 7 3 S u n d a y, O c t o b e r 2 5 , 2 0 1 5 PSD: What are some current food trends that excite you? DB: I am very excited to see more food- service operators adopt a root-to-stalk approach to fresh produce. Restaurant operators are finding new, creative ways to reduce food waste by using more parts of the plant. I am also pleased to see the "ugly produce" movement that started in Europe make headway in the U.S., as growers, processors and restaurateurs find more ways to utilize produce that was previously tilled under because it was not aesthetically pleasing. PSD: What produce varieties do you expect to see on menus in the coming year? DB: I think we will see "old school" pro- duce, like beets, parsnips, celery root and kohlrabi get more attention. We are also seeing more heirloom varieties, with an increased color palette. Products like rainbow carrots, orange, green and pur- ple varieties of cauliflower and the vari- ous potato colors give chefs another tool to add visual appeal to their offerings. PSD: What can foodservice operators do to incorporate more fresh produce into their operations? DB: Be willing to look at alternate prod- ucts and preparation techniques to make produce come to life on the plate. For example, at Freshway Foods, we have found that more consumers are willing to try beets when we cut them in a way that maximizes their natural sweetness. Foodservice operators are finding that it is easier to incorporate more fresh pro- duce into their menus when they take the Freshway Foods (Cont'd. from p. 1) time to maximize the flavor, texture and appearance of their produce offerings. Many times, this is as easy as creatively borrowing from more produce-centric cuisines, such as Mediterranean, Carribbean or Indian cuisines. PSD: What role does fresh produce play in satisfying consumer demands for authenticity? DB: In my opinion, authenticity means being open and honest with your cus- tomers and telling them the story behind the food you serve. Whether that story includes the source of your ingre- dients or the source of your inspiration for the dish, if there is something that makes your food special, let the cus- tomer know about it. In some cases, that special story comes from building part- nerships with suppliers who can help you meet consumer demand for fresher, more authentic food. For example, many consumers are concerned about food miles, or the distance food travels from the farm to the plate. At Freshway Foods, we have built a robust network of local growers, and are able to fill our customers' needs for locally grown pro- duce. PSD: What one change would you like to see on restaurant menus in 2016? DB: I would love to see foodservice operators embrace the "Shareable and Snackable" trend by offering more small plate options on their menus. Smaller plates give consumers the opportunity to go on a culinary journey by ordering smaller, shareable offerings instead of one large plate of food. For more information, visit www.fresh wayfoods.com or stop by booth #676. celebration of all things lemon," says John Chamberlain, Limoneira's Director of Marketing. "We have wit- nessed the ever increasing popularity of lemons over the past several years – a global trend that we're definitely happy to see. Our Lemons for Life campaign embraces and extends this interest with new content describing the many ways that lemons can be used at home, at the office, at events and when dining out. Not only are lemons one of the healthiest items that can be consumed, they offer a tart tangy flavor to culinary creations and delicious drinks. Limoneira's new Lemons for Life website offers exciting new content and advertising in consumer and trade media that's fun and provides a variety of cre- ative answers to the age-old question of what to do when life gives you lemons. "It's important for us to be relevant to our grocery and food service cus- tomers," adds John Carter, Limoneira's Director of Global Sales. "This campaign along with several promotions allow us to highlight the great things our cus- tomers are doing and we help drive traf- fic to their produce aisles and to their stores." Lemons also have a number of cross-promotion possibilities. The obvi- ous ones center around menu items that pair perfectly with lemons, such as seafood, salads and baking, along with less obvious uses in beauty, natural cleaning and health. Many stores now have nutritionists on staff. Lemons for Life health tips and merchandising mate- Limoneira (Cont'd. from p. 1) rials show shoppers how to become healthy easily and naturally. Health is such an important topic that Limoneira has added several nutri- tionists to their Global Opinion Leader Network. These talented individuals are experts in their field, and they're located in Limoneira's grocery and food service customers' geographic food prints. The company has also linked with leaders that are chefs, mixologists, beau- ty experts, event planners and green cleaning gurus. This is a great idea that is synergistic and harnesses the power of communication, promotions and messag- ing for the benefit of customers who are looking for fresh ways to connect with their shoppers and guests. Sustainability also continues to be an important topic with consumers, and they are searching for sustainable items when they're shopping. Limoneira has been providing sustainably-produced lemons for over a century. Examples of the company's sustain- ability initiatives include the solar energy that powers the company's operations, the gravity fed and natural plant filtration water project that cleans and purifies waste water for irrigation, integrated pest management that harnesses the power of beneficial insects to combat predators naturally, organic mulching projects that remove green waste from landfills and create better soil for healthier root stocks and leadership in providing farm worker housing to assist those that do the hardest work of all. For more information, visit booth #1947 or go to www.Limoneira.com. for RockTenn and MeadWestvaco. Can you give our readers a high-level overview of the merger that established WestRock? WRK: RockTenn and MeadWestvaco each have a long history of successful mergers which created even stronger companies – the inception of WestRock is no different. This union expands our breadth and global reach, leverages our scale and cost position, and reinforces our financial strength. The result is a $15 billion global consumer and corrugated packaging solutions company focused on customers, innovation and operational excellence. PSD: That's pretty impressive, but how will the merger benefit your customers? WRK: Packaging matters, to us and especially to our customers. We want to build unbeatable packaging solutions to fuel our customers' business edge with innovation that achieves strategic objec- tives and meets tactical needs. As a dynamic new company, we will draw on combined experience, market insights, and innovative operating platforms to seamlessly deliver our products and serv- ices with uncompromising quality and reliability. That's what we like to call winning together. PSD: Congratulations! That's a great message and mission. Tell us more about your corrugated solutions for produce and your association with PMA. WRK: Our legacy companies have been huge suppliers of packaging materials and solutions to the produce industry for many years, and that's not going to change. Fresh Summit affords us the WestRock (Cont'd. from p. 1) opportunity to support the industry, our customers and members of PMA as well as introduce our products and services to any newcomers. Corrugated containers are currently the preferred shipping container for most produce products in the U.S. and are expected to remain the container of choice for the foreseeable future. With this posi- tive forecast, our focus is on educating retailers, growers, and shippers on the benefits of corrugated packaging and how it can help them save money, sell more product, lower their risk, and improve their sustainability. WestRock is the only company in the industry with specialized packaging equipment to deliver consult- ing services, branding and marketing sup- port and even retail and shelf-ready con- tainer designs, all customized to the needs of the individual plant. PSD: Speaking of equipment, what's key to forming a quality box? WRK: Anybody can make a box, but quality packaging begins with quality equipment and materials engineered for optimal performance. Our machinery, particularly the precision mandrel-form- ing technology, produces cases and trays that outperform any others in the indus- try. Our products truly are multi-purpose. They have increased stacking strength with less fiber, structural design to keep produce safe, reduced waste and trans- portation costs, eight graphics panels for high-impact branding, and display and shelf-ready designs facilitate faster and easier stocking by the retailer and pur- chases by the consumer. Multiple chal- lenges, one solution – WestRock. For more information, visit booth #3434 or contact WestRock Automated Packaging Systems at 407.843.1300. better serve our Ohio customers year-round with locally grown produce and continue to grow our U.S. operations," said Quiring. "It's looking like we'll be shipping our first case out of Ohio by this December." The project will be completed in several phases over the next seven years with a significant investment by the year 2022. By the last phase of the project, the company expects to employ more than 300 people annually. NatureFresh maintains dedicated greenhouse space to trial over 300 vari- eties annually, test new growing tech- niques and evaluate the occasional crazy idea. There is always something going on. NatureFresh collaborates with a vari- ety of like-minded growers worldwide, sharing ideas and best practices on grow- ing better products more efficiently, sus- tainably and profitably. The results help strengthen relationships with retailers NatureFresh (Cont'd. from p. 23) with better quality products at reasonable prices for the consumer. "When the tide comes in all ships rise," said Quiring, "The health of our company is tied to the health of the indus- try and increased fresh produce consump- tion by consumers. Better quality prod- ucts benefit everyone; from the grower through the retailer to the end user." It's this "open-source" approach that has retailers and consumers interested as well. The Grow-to People positioning is an attractive proposition that goes beyond the typical and often meaningless promis- es. Being the Grow-to-People is about personal and professional development, learning, teaching, consistency, wellness, and above all, adventure. "It's how we've operated since day one, so this isn't really so much a repositioning as it is a simple and true reflection of who we really are." Visit www.naturefresh.ca or email grow@naturefresh.ca.