Melissa's introduces ready-to-cook vegetable line

World Variety Produce, which markets under the Melissa's brand, has launched a ready-to-cook vegetable line.

Now available to retailers, the line has 11 items: baby carrots, mixed baby carrots, mixed baby squash, green summer squash, yellow summer squash, baby zucchini, Brussels sprouts, French beans, cubed butternut squash, butternut squash noodles, and zucchini noodles. The vegetables come in 1-pound packages.

The idea behind the line is simple: convenience for consumers.

"They don't have to wash it, they don't have to prep it, they don't have to clean it," said Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa's. "They just need to open up the package and start cooking with it, however they want to use it."

Another new Melissa's product, which will be available to retailers around the end of August, is an addition to the company's steamed vegetable line: peeled and steamed butternut squash. The squash is cubed and comes in 8.8-ounce packages. Schuller said it knocks down some of the barriers that might prevent people from buying the vegetable.

"A lot of people feel like those butternut squashes are really big, and if you're a small family, household or maybe single in a dwelling, that making the investment of a butternut squash is too big for a single serving," Schueller said, "so we did this butternut squash which is already peeled, which is already cut. A lot of people are kind of leery or discouraged about cutting a squash."

Schueller said the additions to Melissa's offerings are driven by requests for more convenient versions of popular products.

"A lot of items are suggested from our retailers," Schueller said. "We really listen to the retailers and our foodservice providers on what they're looking for in the marketplace - an easy way to do this, an easier way to do that, and we follow the trends that are in the marketplace."

Other items Melissa's has debuted this year are Kool cabbage, introduced in January; roasted jalapeno peppers, introduced in early June; and coconut hearts and coconut slices, introduced in late June.