CALGARY, AB - With over 230 exhibitors and nearly 3,000 attendees, there was a lot to take in at this year’s CPMA Annual Convention and Trade Show. Even the new product showcase was packed to the brim with over 50 new products, packaging, and innovations.
Didn’t get a chance to see it all? AndNowUKnow is here to help! Here are five items that caught my eye and kept me coming back for more:
Red Sun Grape Tomato Family Picnic Pak
Red Sun Farms’ new Picnic Pak grape tomatoes were the perfect taste of a summer barbecue to warm up a breezy Calgary day. Featuring red grape tomatoes and either orange or Chef's Collection tomatoes, the company’s Picnic Paks give consumers an easy way to take your tomatoes on any outdoor excursion. I can see this being a go-to product for trips to the river this summer!
Chelan Fresh’s Orondo Ruby Cherry
Chelan Fresh had its Orondo Ruby cherries in the product showcase at CPMA, showing off a sweet and robust variety just in time for their late June harvest debut. With a vibrant red appearance with a golden-yellow flesh, the Orondo Ruby cherries not only look lovely, but provide a crisp bite with a big level of juiciness. What better to get the industry ready for cherry season than a great new variety.
Grimmway True Organic Juices
To my delight, Grimmway had four new varieties of its popular True Organic Juices at the show. Now offering Kaleifornia, Blissful Beets, Apple Cherry Harvest, and Citrus Carrot, the company is expanding into new flavor trends in a big way. As I often say, juices like Grimmway’s are packed with the nutrients your body needs in a fast, and easy-to-consume way. Pro-Tip: Apple Cherry Harvest tastes just like cherry pie without having to eat a sugar-packed dessert.
OrganicGirl’s Sweet Pea and Peppergreens Blends
I am such a nerd over flavored greens blends, and I’m adding these two new offerings by OrganicGirl to my list of favorites. Taking a page out of the sweet vs. spicy trend, the company is now providing a Sweet Pea and a Peppergreen variety. Sweet Pea offers baby greens blended with sweet pea shoots to create a crunchy salad with a subtle sweetness, while Peppergreens adds a kick of peppery heat to salads with a bold blend of baby mustard greens, arugula, spinach, and more. Something to suit everyone’s mood!
Schur’s New Net Bags
It’s no secret that packaging is a huge part of marketing your product, and if you ask me, Schur’s new Net Bags are one of the most visually appealing ways to do that that I’ve seen recently. The netting not only allows you to see the quality of the product inside the bags, but always the produce inside to breathe for a boost in shelf-life. I can see this brand of bagging being a new trend in packaging coming soon.
That’s all folks! Thanks to CPMA for providing the perfect venue for pushing the latest in produce, and stay tuned to even more coverage on the event, including picks from our own, Melissa De Leon.
