RIO RICO, AZ - Spring has sprung for consumers, and with a new season comes a new span of opportunities to put produce at the center of the plate. One such selection that has customers filling up their baskets with plans to grill, bake, and more, is SunFed Produce’s vibrant offerings of eggplant.
As VP of Marketing Brett Burdsal, VP of Sales North America Craig Slate, and Executive Vice President and General Manager Mark Cassius recently told me, SunFed has seen an uptick in demand for its product not based on consumer palates alone—which are blooming—but for the specific quality of the SunFed brand.
“Increased demand for SunFed brand eggplant has truly has been driven by the quality of our eggplant.” Craig tells me. “Buyers are returning to SunFed this year because they saw our exceptionally high-quality last year, and saw that not only have we maintained the quality, but improved it. Having exceptional quality at the retail shelf increases purchase intent and reduces retail shrink. A real win for both retailers and consumers.”
SunFed is packing eggplant right now and will continue to offer supply through early June, before its summer production begins later in the month.
“Customers are communicating to us that SunFed is the preferred brand in eggplant in the Northeast region,” Mark adds. “We’ve done a phenomenal job with the aesthetic appearance and firmness of our product, making for a truly beautiful product. We’re proud to say we are delivering the most consistent high-quality eggplant on the market.”
With eggplant continuing to be the focus of many foodservice innovations, the company sees the offering’s importance growing for its buy-side customers. Tapping in on this interest, SunFed is finding increased possibilities in an assortment varieties, and what each has to offer. New to its program this year are trial harvests of organic specialties such as Graffiti, Japanese, and Italian.
“As vegetables take more and more of the center plate and as consumers continue to move towards healthy meat substitutes eggplant's appeal becomes very sexy,” says Brett. “We think its popularity and importance in the produce aisle will only continue to grow as more people rediscover and discover this wonderful, versatile vegetable.”
As demand for SunFed and its eggplants continues to grow, the company plans to continue to explore the diverse opportunities that the segment, its consumers, and various geographic regions have to offer.
On SEPC’s Southern Exposure show floor tomorrow? Stop by booth #723 to get a peek of SunFed’s selections yourself.
With more set in store for the success of the SunFed brand, count on AndNowUKnow for all the latest updates.
