Starting with a mini-romaine selection, Coastline Family Farms is introducing a line of products under the sub-brand of Culinary Bouquet, says Robert Verloop, chief operating officer of the Salinas, Calif.-based company.
Verloop said the line initially consists of a consumer single sleeve pack and a two-count bag of crunchy mini-romaine lettuce.
The crunchy and sweet variety featured in the pack is a blend between romaine and butter lettuce, he said, and features a tag line “Curate with Fresh Flavors.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March, Verloop said the mini-romaine program was underway for foodservice outlets.
The company held off on introducing consumer packs until this year, he said.
“We have increased our plantings and we have several customers that are regularly buying,” he said.
One head of the mini-romaine lettuce is perfect for one salad and the color also is appealing to chefs and consumers, he said.
Verloop said the Culinary Bouquet sub-brand will see new products introduced in the months ahead that have not been branded in the past.
“We’re trying to break a little bit through the commodity mindset of vegetables and really try to focus in on how people can use products in more of a culinary setting,” he said.
Verloop said the new packaging will help consumers and third-party shoppers easily identify the product.
“You want to make the product easy to identify and you want to make it easier for the cash register to scan the price,” he said, adding that Culinary Bouquet items have unique UPC codes. That will make identifying product easier and makes pricing much more consistent for retailers, he said.
“There is also less touching; consumers are more open to some of these recyclable plastics because less people are touching the product and it is less exposed,” he said.
In addition, the variety and the packaging allow the product to have very good shelf life, he said.
Over the next year, Verloop said Coastline Family Farms will be introducing a whole range of products under the Culinary Bouquet sub-brand with a similar look. The company also will help educate people what they can do with the products, he said.
