Offer Something Different

To grow sales of store brand frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, consider rolling out products that are a little less traditional.

What's not to love about frozen and canned fruits and vegetables? Whether they're used as a recipe ingredient or consumed as a side dish, frozen and canned fruit and vegetables are a delicious and convenient way to give any meal a boost of nutrients.

But Americans can eat the same old can of corn — or defrost the same old bag of blueberries — only so many times. For that reason, retailers need to make sure they're offering unique products that add a little life to the canned and frozen fruit and vegetables segment.

Variety in veggies

On the frozen vegetable side, retailers increasingly are stocking exotic blends from around the globe, says Elise Cortina, director of public and industry affairs with the American Frozen Food Institute of McLean, Va.

"Consumers will find vegetable blends incorporating the flavors of ... Asia, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Deep South — perhaps in the form of added legumes, spices or even protein," she explains.

To supply these retailers, a number of manufacturers are developing unique frozen vegetable blends that differentiate retailers' store brand programs from the competition. For example, Ontario, Calif.- based Haliburton International Foods offers a Mexican-style fire-roasted corn and a fire-roasted wasabi soy edamame blend for private labeling. Products such as these breathe new life into retailers' store brand programs, says Bobby D. Ray, vice president, retail and private brands for Select Store Brands, a division of Haliburton.

"New items are the lifeblood of retailers," he says. "The days of adding a new size to the same item is old news. But new items in store brands that are ... superior [and] comparable to the national brands are what will make own brands grow!"

Exotic varieties and flavors also have been gaining steam in canned vegetables. David Brown, vice president of retail sales for Siloam Springs, Ark.-based Aliens Inc., says he has noticed increased demand for canned vegetables that are seasoned according to classic Southern recipes.

"As a result of this ... uptick, it's clear that consumers are looking for variety when it comes to store brand offerings," he explains.

Within the last couple of years, Aliens released a line of Southern-style seasoned vegetables and vegetable blends to satisfy this hunger for variety. The line — which includes such classics as Hoppin' John with Vidalia Onions, Seasoned Blackeye Peas Triple Succotash and Seasoned Southern Style Kale Greens — is not available for private labeling, but an Aliens spokesperson said the company can work with retailers to develop unique Southern-style seasoned vegetables and vegetable blends for their own-brand programs.

Do liven up your private label frozen and canned fruit and vegetables with exotic varieties such as Southern-style vegetable blends or fruit blends containing guava or papaya.

Don’t assume steel cans are the only packaging option for shelf-stable fruit — consider packaging fruit in glass or plastic jars, or even single-serve plastic cups.

Fast forward to fruit

In the frozen fruit category, blends incorporating tropical fruit and superfruits are entering the market, Cortina says.

“Fruits typically found in Latin America and the Caribbean — such as guava, papaya and passion fruit — have recently entered the frozen food market in the form of fruit pulp,” she explains.

According to the website of Colombian manufacturer Alimentos SAS S.A., consumers can use these pulps to make juices and smoothies in their kitchens.

Speaking of smoothies, Peter Skolnick, president of Monterey, Calif.-based Imperial Frozen Foods, says frozen fruit smoothie blends are especially popular at the moment.

But in canned fruit, the only major trend seems to be in new packaging. Dan Byrne, vice president, retail sales with Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based Rema Foods, says more and more brands are opting to package shelf-stable fruit in glass and plastic jars instead of steel cans. Single-serve plastic cups also have become a popular alternative to cans, especially for consumers looking for portion-control products.

Single-serve cups also are emerging in the frozen fruit scene, says Lee Rankin, director of sales with Wawona Frozen Foods of Clovis, Calif. In fact, she notes that more and more consumers are choosing single-serve frozen fruit cups over their shelf-stable counterparts, as they contain less or no added sugar or preservatives.

“There are more offerings of individual fruit sizes, [such as] the frozen Wawona fruit cup singles and the Dole fruit cups," she says. "They offer the convenience and portion control of a shelf-stable fruit cup, but with the taste and texture of an individually quick-frozen fruit — which is comparable to fresh."

Meanwhile, more frozen fruit processors are dropping pillow packs in favor of stand-up pouches.

"Pillow packs, despite the cost savings, have almost disappeared," Skolnick notes.

Do use quick-response codes to connect smartphone users with recipes for delicious and healthful meals that incorporate your own-brand frozen and canned fruit and vegetables.

Don't forget that stand-up pouches provide your store brand frozen fruit and vegetables with better visibility than pillow packs.

Pouches big in veggies, too

Stand-up pouches also are becoming a favorite with frozen vegetable processors, says Todd Eucke, marketing manager with Manitowoc, Wis.-based Lakeside Foods.

"Many retailers are considering private brand stand-up pouch packaging, which can be merchandised with a greater billboard effect in upright freezer cases," he says.

And the microwavable steam pouch also continues to be a dominant packaging trend in the frozen vegetable market. Brown explains that he is seeing more retailers packaging private label frozen veggies and veggie blends into steam pouches.

"The need for consumer convenience, health and flavor contribute to this demand," he points out," and it remains one of the biggest trends we see in the frozen [vegetables] category.”

Wholesome merchandising

To further drive home the health and convenience message of frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, retailers could develop educational programs for their customers. For example, Eucke recommends that retailers build awareness of USDA's MyPlate guidelines — which replaced the Food Pyramid guidelines in June 2011 — through in-store advertising.

"Recommend pairing canned vegetables with the store's meat department in promotions and sampling stations to ultimately provide education and awareness of health and nutritious meals," he explains.

Retailers should consider adding demonstrations to the educational mix, too.

"If consumers can have a sensory experience of seeing the pairings cooked in-store, it will drive awareness, trial and ultimately healthier meals for ... customers," Eucke adds.

Recipes also drive trial. Brown recommends publishing recipes online and linking to the recipe pages with quick-response (QR) codes on packaging, shelf edges and promotional materials. By scanning the codes with a smartphone, consumers can find ideas on how to create a delicious dinner using store brand frozen and canned fruit and vegetables.

"Soon, nearly 80 percent of the population will utilize [smartphones] for everything from telephone calls to recipe searches," he says.

"Smart brands will continue to capitalize on these opportunities to educate the consumer in nontraditional ways to win the consumer's heart and sell more product."

And don't forget to develop cross-merchandising deals that incorporate your private label frozen and canned fruit and vegetables. By pairing items as "meal-building solutions," Rankin says retailers will increase the overall basket ring at checkout. For example, if the store is running an ad on frozen fish, it could offer a "meal-builder solution" that incorporates a frozen fruit, a frozen side dish, a frozen dessert item and a bottle of wine.

"This could be sent out via Facebook or e-mail blast to frequent shoppers," she says.

Canned and frozen fruit and vegetable segment performance

Source: SymphonylRI Group. U.S. supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandiser outlets, excluding Walmart, for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 27, 2011.

Look what’s new

Trader Joe’s Wild Boreal Blueberries from Monrovia, Calif.- based Trader Joe’s are naturally grown in the Boreal region of Quebec. The frozen berries — which retail in a 16-oz. bag — are said to have a sweet-tart flavor and can be added to cereals, muffins, cakes, smoothies and ice cream.

New from Target, Minneapolis, is Archer Farms Broccoli in Four Cheese Sauce. The frozen product contains broccoli and a sauce made with parmesan, Romano, white cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. It retails in a 12-oz. microwavable steam pouch.

green beans, carrots, cauliflower, red and yellow peppers, and onions. The frozen deluxe-cut product is microwavable and retails in a 32-oz. pack featuring recipe suggestions.

Truly Bartlett Pear Halves from the Hudson’s Bay Co. of Toronto come in light syrup and retail in a 796ml recyclable steel can.

Winn Dixie Seasoned Southern Style Vegetables from Jacksonville, Fla.- based Winn-Dixie contain tomatoes, okra and corn. The product retails in a 15-oz. steel can that features the Assurance of Quality logo.

The Cincinnati-based Kroger Co.’s Fred Meyer Mediterranean Blend Vegetables contain all-natural whole

Fresh or frozen?

A diet rich in fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk for many leading causes of death and may play an important role in weight management, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But does it make a difference if those vegetables or fruit are fresh instead of frozen?

Not really, according to the American Council on Exercise. On its website, the organization says most evidence suggests that frozen fruit and vegetables are just as good — if not better than — fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Unless you are choosing fresh produce from a Farmer’s Market or your own backyard, chances are good that your produce was picked at least several days ago, likely not at its peak ripeness (otherwise it would spoil too quickly en route to the store), and with degradation of some of its nutritional value after picking and during transport,” the website reads.

Produce destined for freezing, on the other hand, is picked at its maximum ripeness, quickly frozen to a temperature that maximally retains its nutritional value and flavor, and kept frozen until it gets to the grocer’s freezer, the website says. So retailers can tell their customers not to fret when purchasing frozen fruit and vegetables.

Although some initial nutrient loss occurs during the first steps of the freezing process, the low temperature keeps the produce good for up to a year, on average, the council reports. When consumers thaw and eat a product, they get a majority of the food’s original nutritional value.

“Be assured, if you love blueberries and all of their health benefits, for example, the frozen version is just as good as the fresh,” the council says. “And depending on how you cook or prepare the food, it may taste quite similar to its fresh counterpart.”