Baby lettuce and spinach grower Veg Pro International has doubled the size of its processing facility in Sherrington, Quebec, to 80,000 square feet, introduced a convenience salad in a bowl and revamped its carrot and onion facilities.
Anthony Fantin, vice president of operations, said the single-serve Solo offers a 3- to 4-ounce baby salad blend in a grab-and-go plastic bowl sealed with an easy-peel film.
Unlike Veg Pro’s single-serve Attitude salad kit, however, the four varieties don’t come with dressing or toppings.
Fantin said Solo is for brown-baggers who like a salad with their sandwich but don’t want the hassle of transferring greens from a big bag or clamshell to a smaller container in the morning.
Many salad lovers keep their own bottle of dressing at work, he said, and feedback from the Altitude kits shows that consumers find the dressing pouch either too big or too small.
“We’re giving people the opportunity to have their salad the way they want it,” he said.
Solo has been listed in Wal-Mart Canada for under $2.
Veg Pro has also completely revamped the carrot packing facility it purchased two years ago from CAMS Inc. nearby. The facility will enhance quality control, uniformity in packaging and food safety, Fantin said.
“We went a bit overboard because we’re planning on processing carrots,” he said.
An addition to the CAMS onion building is now under way, he said. It will also include a processing facility for the future.
CAMS is Quebec’s largest onion grower. Veg Pro is located 40 minutes south of Montreal, close to the U.S. border. During the winter, the company grows and processes baby greens in Belle Glade, Fla.
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