SALINAS, CA - The name of the game for SEPC’s 2018 Southern Innovations event is foodservice and organics, and Ippolito International is excited to bring both. The company will have plenty to showcase for multiple sides of the industry, including its Organic Asparagus and organic salads for both retail and foodservice customers, and its recently-launched Brussels Chips for foodservice.
“We found the show well-attended last year and in general find these regional shows to have great impact, with a good buyer/supplier ratio,” Dan Canales, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Processing, tells me of the gravity of exhibiting at Southern Innovations. “It gives us another opportunity to visit with current customers as well as establishing new ones. With our product mix and various packs in organic and foodservice, we can have a nice showing of our capabilities.”
Speaking to those capabilities, Dan shares that Organic Asparagus is falling in line with the growth of the entire organic category.
“This is our first year with Queen Victoria branded Organic Asparagus and it’s been a nice door opener for new business,” he says. “With us closing in on an eight-months-out-of-the-year organic program, it complements what is becoming an almost year-round conventional asparagus program for Ippolito.”
Dan adds that retail is a great vehicle for both conventional and organic asparagus for the volume that is produced. While not traditionally a large volume player on the foodservice side, he says it’s an important part of the overall business mix Ippolito has to offer.
“As chefs become more creative with preparation and year-round availability, asparagus will continue to be a growth item in the foodservice sector,” Dan assures me.
And speaking of growing foodservice categories, also in attendance at the company’s booth will be its new Brussels Chips.
“We are also getting our new pack of Brussels Chips, which are just the leaves of the Brussels sprouts. It’s a great versatile product that lends itself to a wide variety of menu applications, from salads to snacks to soups. Brussels Chips were introduced at the last trade show we participated in and gathered a lot of interest,” Dan says.
As someone who was in attendance and hooked on the veggie-powered trail mix the team offered as some Brussels Chips inspiration, I can vouch for this as a valid spot to swing by while touring the Southern Innovations floor. It can all be found at booth #619 at the Southern Innovations Organics and Foodservice Expo at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, TN, September 6-8.
