Duda Farm Fresh Foods expects a good year
Duda Farm Fresh Foods Inc. should have a wealth of good-quality vegetables available this spring, said Nichole Towell, senior director of marketing.
On the bulk side, the Oviedo, Fla.-based company will offer whole stalk celery, celery hearts, iceberg lettuce, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, radishes, romaine and romaine hearts.
On the value-added side, there will be tray-pack corn, Ready Radishes, Radish Ministicks and Radish Coins.
“Duda continues to see growth in the value-added, tray-pack corn, especially around Memorial Day,” Towell said.
“With the holiday marking the beginning of summer, shoppers are looking for convenient and easy options to have on hand for their outdoor grilling parties.”
Duda’s tray-pack corn comes pre-shucked and cut to reduce prep time for consumers, she said, and offers “eco-conscious packaging made from fiber board trays that’s 100% recyclable.”
At retail, corn is a great item to build primary and secondary displays to drive trial and sales in the category, Towell said.
Duda also offers organic whole-stalk celery and celery hearts.
Demand for organics is “definitely on the rise,” Towell said, especially the demand for organic celery.
“Not only is organic on-trend right now, but celery consumption as a whole has increased across the board, partially due to the juicing fad last year.”
Despite some weather challenges, such as unseasonably warm conditions through winter with short spells of large amounts of rain as opposed to the normal pattern of rain coming in smaller amounts over a longer period, Towell said the overall quality of the Florida crop is good, and volume estimates are consistent with the past two years.
In mid-February, Duda was about one-third of the way through its Florida corn and celery seasons and about halfway through its leaf and lettuce program.
The Florida growing area offers fresher product to those east of the Mississippi, Towell said, and all of Duda’s items packed in Florida have the “Fresh from Florida” logo on them, which allows consumers to know the state of origin for their produce.
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