The race to re-format foods to on-the-go convenience focused options now offers retailers many fresh produce options. Major growers, processors, and fruit marketers are innovating solutions to save retailers time and effort offering healthy options. Expand your offerings and improve your profitable opportunities. Take a look below at some of the ideas we've recently found in our travels. Food processors are creating more options that are:
- Ready to Eat - Washed / Cut and ready to munch!
- Single Servings - Minimizing the need to keep excess left-over food items refrigerated while keeping portion sizes reasonable.
- Innovatively Packaged - Easy to open modified environment packaging is convenient and offers increased shelf-life.
- Unique - The industry is offering enhanced products well beyond the basic cliche cut fruit offerings of years past. The industry is innovating to make blends, creative cuts, and varieties available.
- Customizable - Fresh cut processors are helping retailers build private label products of distinction under their own brands. These processors and other tangent solutions are consolidation points for other inclusions in fresh food kits which are now including protein (nuts, meat, jerky), dairy (cheese, yogurt), and other small packaged food & sweets married into one simple package.
| D.I.Y Grab & Go Pear Packaging The Pear Bureau Northwest display at the Southeastern Produce Council Show featured this simplistic pear specific packaging solution for offering washed pears in the foodservice environment. The ultra-clear plastic will enhance the product visual and two easy snap enclosures will make offering a variety of pears quite easy to manage. This packaging will likely be an improvement to traditional house produced plastic wrapped fruit offerings. |  |
Cabo Fresh & Calavo Guacamole Packages
Longer stay hotel or resort properties may benefit from single serve boxes of guacamole packages. In vacation areas many guests enjoy relaxing by the pool with chips & salsa or other appetizer or snacks. These solutions in individual size or these convenient 4 single serving packs could offer a solution with good shelf life which could meet guest needs without compromising possible product shrinkage due to loss. Aseptically packaged options offer the retailer opportunities to limit exposure while still making these products available.
Longer stay hotel or resort properties may benefit from single serve boxes of guacamole packages. In vacation areas many guests enjoy relaxing by the pool with chips & salsa or other appetizer or snacks. These solutions in individual size or these convenient 4 single serving packs could offer a solution with good shelf life which could meet guest needs without compromising possible product shrinkage due to loss. Aseptically packaged options offer the retailer opportunities to limit exposure while still making these products available.
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| Dippin' Stix Fresh cut apples and carrots made for dipping will please kids and the kids at heart. These solutions offer traveling guests options for convenient day-trip ready snacks. The product is packaged in perforated boxes which transition to a retail ready tray to hold product upright on refrigated shelves. Key options include Sliced Apples with Yogurt Fruit Dip, Sweet Galas Apples & Caramel, and Baby Carrots & Ranch Dip. Products are UPC coded and ready to sell. These solutions make great turn-key fresh products. |  |
| Club Chef, LLC Fruit / Protein Trays This processor is innovating healthy food kits. Hospitality and travel minded retailers may find opportunities in solutions already existing which are currently aimed at the school food lunch and snack programs. These processors are accustomed to building ideas to meet certain price points. Club chef featured these fruit, vegetable, nut and raisin filled kits at a recent trade show. |  |
| Reichel Pro2Snax Touted as "healthy snacks to fuel your body," these 2 item packs feature protein and produce. For many hospitality retailers staying focused on producing retail ready products is a challenge due to other most important priorities. When a major banquet is pressiong to make dinners for 1000 people do you think the carrot sticks for the lobby market are going to become a priority? Think again. The opportunity in implementing outsourced grab and go retail ready products is to take advantage of the consistency these items afford. Being out of stock on any important items in food markets means missed sales. Missed sales means you are spreading overhead labor and operating costs over less revenue impacting your overall profitability. |  |
| Naturipe Snacks Naturipe has developed an artisan line of sweet & savory grab and go formatted solutions including their world famous berries. Higher end ingredients and compelling ingredient descriptions will appeal to more affluent guests. Examples include: Classic & Sharp: Grapes, Blueberries, Roasted Salted Almonds & Sharp Cheddar Cheese; Sweet & Zesty: Strawberries, Cracked Black Pepper, Cashews & Aged Swiss Cheese; Bold & Spicy: Grapes & Chili Mango Cashews & Pepper Jack Cheese. These retail-ready solutions may be ideal for upper scale hotel & resort brand markets and be aligned with millenial and lifestyle brands. At 5.5 ounces they may be utlized as a quick meal solution, snack or even paired with a cocktail or wine. |  |
In our consulting practice at Merchandise Food we regularly help our clients develop and enhance their product mix offerings. Our attention to trends and review of new products helps our clients get the right products in front of the right guests more often. Curated product mixes are becoming more and more important to align with food retailer and hospitality marketplace brands. The quality of and the products you offer in your food market reflect your image. By offering fitting items you can communicate your understanding the guests and customers you serve. Your hospitality can extend to proactively meeting guests needs by having fitting products on your shelves and in your coolers before they ever check-in. Great luck enhancing your grab & go foods programs with more fresh produce offerings.
We are always looking to learn about new products. If you have a new convenience or grab & go product please reach out to us and let us know.
We are always looking to learn about new products. If you have a new convenience or grab & go product please reach out to us and let us know.
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