Archive For The “News” Category
By National Mango Board
The National Mango Board (NMB) conducts ongoing consumer research to explore consumer awareness, knowledge about mangos, buying habits, barriers to purchase and many other factors of consumer attitudes relative to mangos. Understanding consumer purchasing behavior is key to increasing mango consumption in the U.S.
In 2013, the NMB conducted an in-depth consumer attitude and usage study to better understand consumer purchasing behaviors. The overall goal was to measure consumer awareness and usage practices as they relate to mangos, and importantly, determine the extent to which shifts have taken place over time. In addition to tracking and updating who mango consumers are, why they buy the fruit, and what might encourage future purchases, the study also investigated health awareness and health perceptions toward mangos. Results highlight that overall, providing more information and education about mangos and keeping them in front of consumers at point-of-sale (POS) and in the media would help increase mango sales. Basic education is most needed by consumers since the research reflects not knowing how to choose and select a “good” mango, as well as what to do with it after purchase.
In 2014, the NMB conducted Qualitative Exploration Research, also known as focus groups, with small groups of mango buyers and non-buyers to provide direction on effective mango messaging. The study included discussions of mango associations, usage, likes and dislikes, and the buying or eating experience and then progressed through a series of messaging statements. The statements covered general, education, nutrition and sustainability messaging. Key findings include the overall positive mango associations with tropical and sweet; with nutrition being one of the strongest messages for consumers. Top interest was paid to “100% of daily Vitamin C in a single cup,” “20 vitamins and minerals” and “100 calories a cup.” Other opportunities for mango messaging include the lack of familiarity, not knowing what to do with a whole mango, and selection and cutting.
“Consumer research is vital to focusing our marketing strategies around the obstacles and opportunities that mangos present to consumers,” stated Megan McKenna, NMB Director of Marketing. “Armed with these findings, the mango industry can move forward with its outreach regarding mango selection, ripening, cutting, and usage since they continue to be the barriers to purchase.
About National Mango Board
The National Mango Board is an agriculture promotion group, which is supported by assessments from both domestic and imported mangos. The board was designed to drive awareness and consumption of fresh mangos in the U.S. The superfruit mango contains 100 calories, an excellent source of vitamins A and C, a good source of fiber and an amazing source of tropical flavor.
Mango availability per capita has increased 53 percent since 2005 to an estimated 2.87 pounds per year in 2013. Mango import volume for 2013 was 935 million pounds.
New DOLE SALAD COMPANIONS™, the first line of natural, just-add-lettuce salad solutions providing a total-recipe option in an all-in-one-package, gives consumers everything they need to turn their favorite, freshest greens into an exciting flavorful salad.
Each Salad Companions recipe includes a variety of flavorful toppings – including dried cranberries, crispy apple chips, roasted nuts and other ingredients – with an original, perfectly paired dressing. Consumers simply toss Salad Companions with their favorite greens, head lettuces or premixed salad blends to create a delicious salad in minutes.
Four new DOLE Salad Companions™ will launch in convenient tray packaging in June 2014, with national supermarket distribution expected by October 2014 – and more flavor varieties expected soon.
- DOLE SALAD COMPANIONS™ Apple Walnut Harvest: Crispy apple chips, dried cranberries, walnuts, aged white cheddar cheese and Dole’s own Apple Cider Dijon Vinaigrette dressing. Pairs best with Dole’s popular Spring Mix or similar blends.
- DOLE SALAD COMPANIONS™ Pesto Asiago: Pine nuts, sun-dried tomato croutons, shredded Asiago and Mozzarella cheeses, and Dole’s own Signature Caesar dressing. Pairs best with butter lettuces or mild, sweet greens like Dole’s Butter Bliss blend.
- DOLE SALAD COMPANIONS™ Pecan Honey Dijon: Dried cranberries, roasted pecans sweet cornbread croutons, aged white cheddar and Dole’s own Honey Dijon dressing. Pairs best with Dole’s Field Greens or similar blend.
- DOLE SALAD COMPANIONS™ Signature Caesar: Parmesan, Romano, Asiago and Mozzarella cheeses, toasted garlic croutons and Dole’s own Signature Caesar dressing. Pairs best with Romaine lettuce or a DOLE Salad blend like Hearts of Romaine or Leafy Romaine.
About DOLE Salads
DOLE Salads is one of the world’s largest lines of packaged salads, with 47 unique salad blends and all-natural salad kits. The line is supported by a comprehensive online library of salad and salad-based recipes, serving suggestions and entertaining tips, as well as various consumer-friendly tools like the on-pack DOLE® Salad Guide, Taste and Texture scales, and “Pairs well with” feature, as well as the Dole Salad Circle online community of salad lovers.
Dole Food Co,is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education and research.
Produce loads to Canada should increase in 2015.
It looks like there will be substantially more opportunities for U.S. produce truckers to haul fresh fruits and vegetables across our northern border into Canada.
The USDA has recently published new information indicating Canada looks likely to import far more US fruits and vegetables during the coming year, pushing the value of American exports to Canada to $21.7 billion.
Overall, the value of fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts exported by the US in 2015 could outstrip that of grain and feed for first time in the country’s history, according to new information published by the US Department of Agriculture.
Fresh produce exports including nuts are forecast to generate a record US $37 billion in 2014, the report said, thanks to strong demand and higher prices.
And the sector appears set to buck the prevailing trend as far as US agricultural exports are concerned, with lower prices for corn, wheat and soybeans expected to push down the value of the country’s exports to US $144.5 billion, down US $8 billion or 5.25 per cent from the previous year.
As for imports, the US is expected to spend US $117 billion on agricultural products in 2015, an increase of US $7.5 billion, which the USDA attributed to projected growth in the American economy.
The Port of Savannah plans to receive South American fruit through a U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program allowing imports of cold-treated commodities. The program was launched September 1.
The Savannah, Ga., port will be authorized to accept commodities from Peru and Brazil that have undergone cold treatment. Brazil and Peru grapes and Peru blueberries and citrus, including mandarins, tangelos, clementines, tangerines, grapefruit and sour limes, are to be allowed, according to a news release. The cold treatment process prevents the transmission of agricultural pests and last year, the USDA approved a similar program for cold-treated Peru and Uruguay blueberries and grapes into Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and the Port of Miami.
Jacksonville, Fla.-based Crowley Maritime Corp. Inc., imports produce and other commodities through the south Florida ports and ports in Jacksonville, Pennsauken, N.J., and Gulfport. The test program should help increase produce movement, something the Savannah port doesn’t handle much of. The program is said to be the next logical step to complement cold treatment conducted at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport. The port is looking to grow their perishables imports because they export a lot of poultry and refrigerated cargo.
Containers that fail cold treatment will be prohibited from entering the port and will not be offloaded from vessels but will be allowed to ship via sea to a northeastern port for retreatment or be returned to the country of origin, according to the release.
While South American fruit destined to customers in the Southeast has traditionally been shipped to northern U.S. ports, the addition of Savannah could reduce truck delivery times and allow fresher offerings for stores and longer shelf life for consumers.
The port plans to work closely with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection to evaluate the application of cold treatment and to monitor its progress, according to the release.
During the past year researchers have been studying how temperature monitoring can help ensure longer shelf lives for strawberries. A temperature tracking system has been used to study how various fresh produce items and strawberries fare.
Jeffrey Brecht, director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ Center for Food Distribution and Retailing, and other researchers studied how temperature monitoring can help ensure longer shelf lives for strawberries. Using radio frequency identification tags, researchers collected temperature data and mapped temperatures throughout shipments of trailer loads from Oxnard, Calif., and Plant City, Fla., to Wal-Mart distribution centers. Florida berries were tracked in shipments to Illinois and Washington, D.C., while California strawberry loads were recorded in shipments to Alabama, South Carolina and Washington state.
Brecht says the research showed strawberries can warm during transport ,but not uniformly throughout the trailer. There was a variance of about 5 degree F. in temperatures in the trucks with the pallets nearest the truck walls, particularly those on the truck’s south side exposed to the sun from California shipments to the East Coast. This is were the most increase in temperature occurred.
If a shipper knows the quality of the produce and the temperatures the products have been exposed to, they will know which pallets should be delivered first to stores for longer shelf life, Brecht said.
The researcher adds the tracking technology can be used on many perishable produce items, including bell peppers, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes.
“All the crop inputs, there are so many things if you think of it, it’s mind-boggling,” Brecht said. “If we take it all the way to the end and the product winds up in the trash can in someone’s kitchen, it’s a horrible waste. Making sure everything is of high enough quality and will be eaten by the ultimate consumer, that’s improving sustainability.”
Models developed by the researchers are being commercialized by project partners Franwell Inc., a Plant City agricultural software firm, and the a Bridgeton, Mo.-based Hussman Corp., which manufactures refrigeration and food merchandising equipment. The research was funded by a $155,000 grant by the Fayetteville, Ark.-based National Strawberry Sustainability Initiative, which is supported by the Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s foundation.
45 percent of U.S. residents buy organic foods at least once a month, according to research recently released by Consumer Reports.
Additionally, the USDA reports $35 billion was spent on organic food in 2013. However, that is still only 5 percent of the total “at home food sales” for that year. In another report, TechSci research forecasts annual sales increases of 14 percent through 2018 for organic foods. This is causing a lot of folks to believe organic foods are on the verge of becoming mainstream.
Big retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target and preparing to cash in on the trend. Both have recently announced they will be adding over 100 organic and “natural” products.
In a press release Wal-Mart stated 91 percent of their customers would choose organic over conventional if the different in price wasn’t too much. The retailer later this year plans launch an organic private label, Wild Oats, that will save shippers 25 percent compared to other organic products.
Organic Web Domain
Next consumers will be seeing websites with a new domain name “organic” instead of com or net. It will be one of more than 175 new generic top-level domains recently introduced by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, Marina del Ray, CA. Until 2013 there were only 22 domains, with the best known including com, net, org and edu.
Afilia Limited, an Irish registry services company with its subsidiary Afilias USA Inc. based near Philadelphia, is handling the new organic domain. Only certified organic producers and marketers and organic trade associations will be allowed to use the domain.
HALL, NY– Say hello to Butterkin, a flavorful new variety of winter squash developed for its distinctive flavor and texture.
“I think the best way to describe it is Butterkin is like butternut’s hotter cousin. It’s sweeter than butternut with a creamier texture and less stringiness. I see it gaining popularity over the next few years as more people are exposed to it,” says Michele Collins at Fair Weather Acres in Connecticut.
There are over 300 growers in 34 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces who are growing it.
“The feedback from the growers has been very positive and we’re looking forward to a very successful season,” says Dean Cotton, Vegetable Seed Business Manager at SEEDWAY, LLC.
This new variety measures about 6 to 7.5 inches in diameter and weighs between 2 to 4 pounds, according to a press release. Its flavor is a perfect blend of sweet and buttery, and its texture makes it extremely versatile and excellent for baking, roasting, steaming and even grilling.
Butterkin will be harvested in September and available in parts of the U.S. and Canada, with supplies expected to last through November.
By Dole Food Company
LATROBE, Pa. — Last year, the world watched as Latrobe, Pa., was officially recognized as the birthplace of the banana split with the unveiling of a historical marker from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in honor of National Banana Split Day. This spirited, appealing ceremony, held at the location where the banana split was first created in 1904, kicked-off a weekend-long celebration of the classic American dessert christened the Great American Banana Split Celebration.
Since Dole Fresh Fruit wants to be where banana lovers are, the banana leader teamed up once again with The City of Latrobe and Saint Vincent College to continue this sweet tradition, honoring the iconic, triple-scoop treat – as well as the city where it all began – by hosting Second Annual Great American Banana Split Celebration, a two-day celebration of both the classic banana split and new, healthier versions developed by Dole.
The festival culminated with August 26th launch of National Banana Split Day at the exact place in Latrobe, the former site of Tassel Pharmacy, where David Strickler created the first banana split 110 years ago.
Dole Fresh Fruit, based in Westlake Village, Calif., served as a title sponsor of the event and provided thousands of DOLE® Bananas and recipes for banana-themed snacks, entrees, drinks and of course, banana splits. Continuing in its tradition of offering “guilt-free” versions of classic desserts, Dole used its involvement to offer recipes for healthier banana split varieties featuring bananas topped with Greek yogurt, sorbet, honey, pomegranate seeds, berries, sliced pineapples and other fresh fruit.
“Last year we celebrated Latrobe as the birthplace of the banana split but also introduced healthier ways to enjoy this iconic dessert as part of Dole’s commitment to health and nutrition,” said Bill Goldfield, Dole’s director of corporate communications. “As America’s number one banana provider, Dole helped host the 2014 event to reinforce this message that there are healthy-but-fun—and just as delicious— alternatives to the ‘traditional’ banana split.”
About The City of Latrobe
With its relatively small size and proximity to Pittsburgh, the City of Latrobe affords its residents a full service community nestled within one of Pennsylvania’s most beautiful regions. Latrobe is recognized as the birthplace of the original banana split, Mr. Fred Rogers, Arnold Palmer, and the first ever professional football team.
Coconut water, maple water, even birch and cactus waters… A quick inventory of beverages in the produce section makes it clear — plant waters are rising.
Soda and non-fresh juice sales are flat or slipping slightly, but plant-based products like coconut water — along with other alternative beverages such as kombucha and tea-based drinks — are growing, particularly those sold alongside your fruits and veggies, according to data compiled by market research firm Nielsen.
“The one area of the store where we are just seeing phenomenal growth is the produce department,” says Sherry Frey, health and wellness expert for Nielsen.
Coconut water has been big for a while, after being introduced several years ago. Maple water is a newer entry and is essentially maple sap, the stuff that normally is boiled down to syrup. Brands include Vertical Water and SEVA. And that’s not the only tree water on the market. There’s also birch water and, on the plant side, cactus, barley and artichoke waters.
Sales of all waters, including the new products, “fitness” and enhanced waters, as well as regular sparkling and still, grew 4 percent by value and nearly 7 percent by volume since July 2013.
Coconut water is not yet being tracked specifically, but totals for beverages in the produce department, which is where much coconut water is sold, showed double-digit growth. The value jump for all produce section beverages — which includes smoothies, fresh juices and teas as well as water — was nearly 13 percent.
Why the sudden thirst? Nutrition expert and registered dietitian Tina Ruggiero sees it as a trend driven by the beverage industry’s desire to find the next big thing, as well as consumers’ interest in finding natural alternatives to soda. “This natural beverage market just presents a tremendous opportunity,” she says. “There is a fight to create the next best-selling natural water.”
All of the brands promise unique nutrition benefits, but Ruggiero advises clients to read labels carefully, beware of the hype and watch for calorie content. Chocolate “healthy” waters may not be any better for you than some other sweetened drink.
Plant waters are fine for recreational athletes, i.e. people who exercise less than 90 minutes a day, says Ruggiero. On the other hand, you’re also fine with good old tap water — which is much, much cheaper — and maybe a banana and/or some salted pretzels.
Does all this choice in natural beverages make Americans No. 1 in hydration?
Ruggiero laughs. “I don’t know if we’re the best hydrated,” she says, “but we sure as heck spend a lot of money on bottled water and beverages in general.”
The ports of the Delaware River are growing and expanding services for the global fruit trade, offering more loading opportunities for refrigerated trucking operations.
International produce trade is originating from countries such as Peru and Uruguay, which are expanding in their role to export fresh fruits and vegetables to the United States. Chile remains an enormous produce supplier, as that trade has become year around. Central American and South American banana trade remains strong as always. South Africa, Spain and Morocco are building their export volumes to the United States. Argentina, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica Guatemala and Brazil are among Latin America’s strong suppliers of fresh produce. All of these countries, and more, are shipping product through the Delaware River ports.
Bananas are coming into Wilmington, DE, Gloucester City, NJ, and Philadelphia by Dole, Chiquita, Del Monte, Turbana and Banacol .
Soft-peel citrus has become a major commodity for seaports and their service providers here both during the summer and winter months.
The area also has independent cold storages such as Manfredi Cold Storage in Kennett Square, PA, and Lucca Freezer & Cold Storage Inc., in Mullica Hill, NJ. These cold storages have been or increasing the efficiency of the ports with not only large, modern cold storages but also repacking and other services to benefit the refrigerated commodities.
Uruguay will start exporting more summer citrus. That country shipped a handful of containers last year. This year they plan to ship a lot more. Peru is a big growth market. Costa Rica is always a staple with pineapples and bananas. Ecuador is a staple. Chile is huge as well.