Kansas City-Demand for salad buns and other fresh, convenient and healthy options continues to grow. According to FMI's 2021 Power of Produce report, sales of value-added lettuce and other fresh agricultural products reached $15.5 billion, accounting for 22.3% of total agricultural product sales.

These numbers are expected to continue to climb-according to FMI, three out of ten shoppers said they will buy more value-added products in the coming year, and the purchase rate is higher than reported in the previous four years.

Tal Shoshan, CEO of FiveStar Gourmet Foods, headquartered in Ontario, California, said that during the pandemic, food safety issues were at the highest level in history and there was strong demand for salad sets.

Shoshan said that for FiveStar, this translates into the rapid development of the company's new simple fresh salad Value Plus series, which solves food safety issues while also attracting price-sensitive consumers.

The Value Collection includes familiar classic dishes such as Chicken Caesar Salad with Lemon Caesar Sauce, Cranberry Walnut Salad with Very Berry Balsamic Vinegar and Asian Sesame Salad with Honey Tahini Dressing.

Xiao Shan said: “Since many consumers are more cautious about money during the pandemic, their sales are very good.” “Meeting this high demand while maintaining our quality products is what we will do during the worst period of the pandemic and beyond. The key to success."

Even though the most serious period of the popular trend has passed, FiveStar continues to maintain strong growth. Shoshan said the main driver now is the company's Simple Fresh Premium Salads. The best-selling products in this category include Santa Fe Chicken Salad and Ultimate BLT Chicken Salad, Taco Salad-made with Beyond Meat, to the family-sized fig and walnut salad, which is one of the company's new products.   

During the peak of the pandemic and effective home orders, consumers are more open to trying and trying new products, which leads consumers to cook more at home. As the pandemic continues, consumers are looking for more convenient options to make their lives easier, especially when they are tired of cooking at home, and are now accustomed to the more convenient options they continue to seek today.

In 2020, FiveStar launched the SimplyFresh 2GO series, which is an extension of the Simply Fresh brand product line. A year later, Shoshan said that it is booming.

"This is a great success. During the pandemic, so many consumers are looking for convenient and fresh solutions for home use. Our customers are full of praise for this production line and are particularly impressed by the quality and diversity of our products. profound."

Shoshan expects a lasting legacy of COVID to be more focused on foods that consumers believe are good for health. 

For example, FiveStar is tracking the growing demand for immunity-boosting products that promote an active and healthy lifestyle and the busy schedule of millennials. 

Shoshan said that looking forward to the future, FiveStar will continue to look for new shelf life extension options, from packaging improvements to film innovations, which will enable fresh food to be integrated into more products and processes. 

"We are always looking for ways to improve quality and maintain high food safety standards, and use the latest technology to do this."

Four new packages for Fresh Express

Thanks to COVID, more and more people are looking for new and simple meal solutions at home. At the same time, consumers want more nutritious choices. 

Michael Goldman, head of marketing and branding, said that with these two facts in mind, Fresh Express in Windermere, Florida launched four new salad sets in March. They include Bacon Thousand Islands, Kickin' Bacon Ranch and Italian Balsamic (for all consumers); spinach and bacon lettuce (for millennials and generation X). 

Golderman said that spinach and bacon lettuce are an ancient favorite, and they have become better with some new twists and turns.

"We added delicious toppings to baby spinach, crisp red cabbage and carrots, such as smoked uncured bacon chunks and mesquite smoked almond slices. The seasoning is the ultimate touch-popular sweet onions and perfect balance Dijon seasoning."

At the same time, Italian Balsamic is considered to be a simple way to provide delicious, economical, restaurant-inspired solutions for consumers who are pressed for time. The salad features a piece of iceberg, green leaf lettuce and radicchio, sprinkled with white balsamic vinaigrette sauce, topped with a mixture of focaccia croutons and Italian cheese.

Goldman said that Kickin' Bacon Ranch Chopped provides the flavor of classic jalapeno popcorn without heating.

"We put uncured pieces of smoked bacon and cheddar tortilla strips with crisp red and green cabbage, leafy lettuce, carrots and onions, all coated with creamy jalapeno ranch sauce."

Fresh Express’s fourth new salad, Bacon Thousand Island, features iceberg and leafy lettuce, topped with honey butter cornbread crisps, parmesan cheese crisps, uncured smoked bacon chunks and creamy bacon Thousand Island dressing.

Chopped, ranch, and pepper: three not to be missed

In July, Dole Food Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina added DOLE Chopped! Salad series launched two new salads:

The suggested retail price (SRP) of these kits is $3.99.

Dole Public Relations Director Bill Goldfield said that the new product makes use of two facts: Ranch salad dressing is the preferred salad dressing, and black pepper is the preferred spice.

Dole also plans to chop DOLE! Goldfield said that the DOLE Fresh TakesÔ RTE salad series is expected to be released before the end of the year.

Goldfield said that although it has gradually returned to a "normal" state, family life is still as crazy and busy as ever, and even more, which continues to drive the demand for convenience-oriented kits and ready-to-eat salad series. For Dole, this means expanding its FreshTakesÔ RTE product line from limited to national distribution.

Goldfield said: "As supply is rushing to catch up, the overall demand for salad sets continues to grow vigorously." !String."

Goldfield added that the impact of the pandemic should not be underestimated. At the beginning of the lockdown, store shelves were wiped clean. Dole’s demand for packaged salads and their products has increased because consumers recognize the need for nutritious food during their shelter-in-place orders, and stores are still open and operating.

He said that although the demand for many products has returned to normal levels, because the convenience still resonates, Salad continues to perform well. 

"In the warmer months, we continue to see a surge in demand for packaged salads-this phenomenon will undoubtedly intensify this year as the country continues to open up and at least return to normal."

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