DES MOINES, Iowa — Loffredo Fresh Produce Co. has introduced a fresh-cut line and inked a deal to pack for a celebrity chef’s new line of microweaveable vegetables.
The fresh-cut line, Highway 28 Farms, debuted on retail shelves this spring.
Elizabeth Winders, the wife of Steve Winders, the company’s chief operating officer, developed the name, which denotes the address of Loffredo Fresh Produce.
Elizabeth Winders does marketing design for the company.
The line features sliced apples, diced onions, sliced red peppers, vegetables trays, sliced oranges and many other items.
The line has more than 20 stock-keeping units in all.
“We’re really working on moving this along,” said Gene Loffredo, the company’s president and chief executive officer.
“It’s a nice, expanding line for us.”
In addition to traditional retail, the line has been a hit with convenience stores and in school lunch programs, Loffredo said.
Loffredo Fresh Produce is not new to fresh-cut. The company had packed generic packs and co-packing for other companies’ brands, Loffredo said.
“We decided to bring it all under one brand, in-house,” he said.
For the launch of Highway 28 Farms, Loffredo bought a new apple slicer and a triangle bagging system.
The company now has 35,000 square feet of warehouse space for its processing operations, Loffredo said.
Also new at Loffredo Fresh Produce, the company has been selected to repack potatoes, green beans and other vegetables for a new line of microwaveable bags bearing the Paula Deen brand name.
The 5-ounce bags are set to debut this fall, Loffredo said.
The bags feature vegetables, alone and in medleys, and sauces.
Loffredo is partnering with Pelion, S.C.-based Walter P. Rawl & Sons Inc. on the line.
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