Los Alamitos, CA (March 2021) – As Women’s History Month comes to a close, Frieda’s Specialty Produce looks forward to celebrating its 59th Anniversary on April 2 with the release of a new children’s book titled, “Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat.”
Authored by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Giselle Potter, the book celebrates the incredible life of Frieda Caplan—the produce pioneer who forever changed the way Americans eat by introducing a whole new world of delicious foods to the United States—from baby carrots to blood oranges and, of course, kiwis!
“TRY IT! is what Frieda Caplan did,” says Mara Rockliff, the book’s author. “When she started selling produce in the 1950s, there were no women doing what she did. She could have given up and gone home, or she could have followed the men’s lead and sold the same old apples and bananas and potatoes and tomatoes. Instead, she decided to try something new, and she changed the whole industry.”
Frieda was credited with differentiating her products and building her niche through the clever use of product naming, clear labeling, customer education, and interesting recipes, all of which remains deeply entrenched in the company’s ethos.
“My mother always believed in thinking outside the produce box,” says Karen Caplan, CEO and president of Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “In fact, my favorite story is how she was approached by a produce manager to locate what is now known as kiwifruit. She managed to get the first shipment on grocery store shelves, and, as they say, the rest is marketing history.”
The book has already received rave reviews and is the perfect way to inspire the little ones in your life. For more information, please visit here and TRY IT! for yourself!
Speaking of kiwis, April 2 is also Love Your Produce Manager® Day, the perfect opportunity to recognize the incredible work done by the unsung heroes of produce and honor their knowledge, hard work, and ability to go above and beyond even during the toughest times.
Without produce managers, there would be no calamondins, kumquats, lychees, dragon fruit, or other exotic produce. So, don’t forget to celebrate your produce teams this year and highlight all they do to help create that outstanding consumer experience that shoppers are looking for.
Call your Frieda’s account manager today for ways to celebrate these produce heroes.
