KINGSVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADA - Some companies keep you in a constant state of awe, and Mastronardi Produce is one of those dream makers and fresh produce innovators. As the company shares, it is a little-known fact that Mastronardi Produce actually has its roots in lettuce, and now the greenhouse phenom is returning to those foundational elements with the launch of a new high-tech lettuce brand, Queen of Greens™.
“We are always looking for better ways to deliver on the food that people have been used to settling for,” says Paul Mastronardi, President and CEO of Mastronardi Produce. “It’s why we’re always pushing the boundaries on flavor, technology, and sustainability. We believe the lettuce category needs a revolution, and we have the expertise and resources to drive that change.”
Queen of Greens will launch during PMA’s Virtual Fresh Summit, October 13-15, 2020 with supply immediately available.
When founding member Armando Mastronardi bought a farm in the 1940s, his first crop was not tomatoes—it was lettuce. With the current category challenges in the supply chain today, the lettuce category has room for both growth and evolution. Over the last two years alone, disease pressure has cost retailers an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars and has severely tarnished consumers’ perception of the category, according to a press release. Long periods on transit result in shorter shelf-life and negatively impact the environment while limited varietal development means lettuce has long been viewed as strictly a vessel for salad dressing instead of a stand-alone produce powerhouse.
Leveraging Mastronardi’s expertise in research and development, its connections with some of the best seed companies around the world, and the team’s knack for innovation and branding, Mastronardi believes its new lettuce offering will truly change what the world expects from its greens. Queen of Greens promises better varieties, exciting and innovative products, branding that will elevate the category, and consistent, year-round supply as well.
The greenhouses that grow the lettuce will feature the most advanced technology in the world and will be completely automated and touch-free from seeding to packing.
Additional benefits of the brand include:
- The protected nature of a greenhouse allows for consistent and predictable quality and supply 365 days per year
- Significantly less land and less water used than field farms
- More sustainable and environmentally-friendly than much of what is available in today’s conventional lettuce category
- Controlled environment agriculture mitigates the risk of wildlife contaminants that are seen in field farming
“We’re excited to change the game in this category. We’ve done our research, we know what consumers are looking for, and we know the potential within the category is incredible,” Paul stated. “As pioneers of the commercial greenhouse industry, we are confident that we will be the ones to drive the advancement and growth in the high-tech lettuce segment.”
A huge congrats to the Mastronardi team for continuing to keep the industry on its toes and retailers supplied with innovation and ingenuity 365 days per year!
