Los Alamitos, CA – (November 2018) – Frieda’s has been selected as one of the specialty produce suppliers for Sysco Corporation’s innovative e-commerce platform, Supplies on the Fly (SOTF). Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distribution of food products to restaurants, healthcare and education facilities, lodging establishments and more.
SOTF is Sysco’s customer exclusive online ordering platform for foodservice operators. The site offers over 170,000 different restaurant essentials including heavy equipment, tableware, disposables, kitchen supplies and specialty food and beverages, and more. Grounded in convenience, this platform was created to help make foodservice operators more efficient by delivering items straight to their door.
Through this partnership, Frieda’s is the preferred provider of over 150 specialty produce items helping to elevate foodservice operations, restaurants and menu’s across the United States. “We are thrilled to provide Sysco with our products for their Supplies on the Fly online ordering platform. This platform directly connects Frieda’s to chefs & food service providers all over the country, so that together we can inspire new food experiences,” says Karen Caplan, President and CEO of Frieda’s.
“Sysco is excited to welcome Frieda’s Specialty Produce into our Supplies on the Fly e-Commerce platform,” said Brian Todd, senior vice president of merchandising for Sysco. “We are proud to partner with Frieda’s, a women-owned, family-run business that has inspired new food experiences for over 50 years. This partnership further expands Sysco’s portfolio of innovative and on-trend products and provides customers with an opportunity to differentiate their menus and businesses. We look forward to working with Frieda’s and continuing to be our customers’ most valued and trusted business partner.”
About Frieda’s Inc.
Frieda’s Specialty Produce has been inspiring new food experiences for friends, families, and food lovers everywhere since 1962. From kiwifruit to dragon fruit and from Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes to habanero peppers, Frieda’s has introduced more than 200 unique fruits and vegetables to the U.S. marketplace. Founded by produce industry trailblazer Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, subject of the 2015 documentary “Fear No Fruit,” the family company is owned and operated by Frieda’s daughters, Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins, in Orange County, California. Find Frieda’s on Facebook, @FriedasProduce, and Friedas.com. Inspire. Taste. Love.
Specialty Produce trendsetter makes predictions for 2019
Los Alamitos, CA – (November 2018) – Frieda’s Specialty Produce, known for spotting trends like plant-based protein and turmeric, has released their predictions for 2019 to help retailers make room for what’s hot.
Frieda’s trendologists have had a high rate of success when predicting trends. “We are in the fields with our farmers and in the kitchens with our chefs,” according to Cindy Sherman, Director of Marketing & Innovation, “Fads become trends when they resonate with consumers beyond their 15 minutes of fame. We overlay consumer sentiment to predict what will really stick.”
Frieda’s trend predictions can be found below:
About Frieda’s Inc.
Frieda’s Specialty Produce has been inspiring new food experiences for friends, families, and food lovers everywhere since 1962. From kiwifruit to dragon fruit and from Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes to habanero peppers, Frieda’s has introduced more than 200 unique fruits and vegetables to the U.S. marketplace. Founded by produce industry trailblazer Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, subject of the 2015 documentary “Fear No Fruit,” the family company is owned and operated by Frieda’s daughters, Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins, in Orange County, California. Find Frieda’s on Facebook, @FriedasProduce, and Friedas.com. Inspire. Taste. Love.
3rd generation family member is tapped to head sales function
Los Alamitos, CA – (November 2018) – Frieda’s is thrilled to share the promotion of Alex Berkley to Sales Manager, responsible for the sales function of the specialty produce company.
The eldest daughter of Frieda’s Specialty Produce CEO Karen Caplan, and the granddaughter of founder Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, Alex Berkley joined the company in 2011 after graduating from George Mason University, making Frieda’s a three-generation family-business success story.
Alex started in the Frieda’s marketing department before moving into the sales department in 2014 as an account manager, and was promoted to Assistant Sales Manager in 2017. At age 24, Alex was the youngest produce professional to be accepted into the United Fresh Leadership Program Class. That same year, Alex earned a certificate of Produce Executive Development from Cornell University’s Food Industry Management Program.
“Alex brings her deep knowledge of the produce industry and experience in both sales & marketing to this leadership position. She uniquely bridges the older and younger generations of produce, making her a perfect fit for the job. We can’t wait to see her impact”, says Karen Caplan, Owner and CEO of Frieda’s.
Alex served as a member of the Produce Marketing Association’s Women’s Fresh Perspectives Advisory Committee and was co-chair from 2015 to 2017. She also served on the Board of Trustees of the Westerly School of Long Beach, a California K-8 non-denominational private school.
About Frieda’s Inc.
Frieda’s Specialty Produce has been inspiring new food experiences for friends, families, and food lovers everywhere since 1962. From kiwifruit to dragon fruit and from Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes to habanero peppers, Frieda’s has introduced more than 200 unique fruits and vegetables to the U.S. marketplace. Founded by produce industry trailblazer Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, subject of the 2015 documentary “Fear No Fruit,” the family company is owned and operated by Frieda’s daughters, Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins, in Orange County, California. Find Frieda’s on Facebook, @FriedasProduce, and Friedas.com. Inspire. Taste. Love.
As we are now a week from Thanksgiving and finalizing exactly what we are going to cook and feast on for the holiday of thanks (myself included), I can’t help but share what I plan to serve for dessert at my Thanksgiving dinner.
First, a little background.
Obviously, I love vegetables. In fact, for a few Thanksgiving dinners in the last decade, I prepared and served more than 10 (yes, 10) different vegetable dishes. Admittedly, 10 was probably a bit much.
In the last few years, my daughters, Alex and Sophia, have joined me in my cooking adventure. So it’s become quite fun to hang out in the kitchen while preparing dinner. Each year we make a few family favorites—roasted root vegetables and Stokes Purple® sweet potato salad with chipotle dressing always make the list. And I always try a new way to make Brussels sprouts as they are the preferred green veggie at my house.
But dessert has always been a challenge. I’m not a big pumpkin pie fan, and frankly, everyone seems more interested in how many bottles of wine we drink (we line the kitchen counter with empty bottles and do a count at the end of the evening). But this year, my daughter Alex announced to me that she is making dessert.
Stokes Purple® sweet potato pie!
Admittedly, Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are one of the top-selling items at Frieda’s. And as we were developing new recipes for them this year, we noticed that pies were really trending. So our chef said, “Let me give it a try.” She created a colorful and seriously delicious Stokes Purple® sweet potato pie.
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As you can see, it is colorful. And it’s a nice change from the conventional pumpkin pie. So I am happy to share the recipe with you and secretly hope you’ll try it for your family celebration next weekend. I would love to hear how it goes over.
Stokes Purple® Sweet Potato Pie Recipe:
Ingredients
1 9-inch frozen, pre-made pie crust, thawed
Filling:
2 large, baked* Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes (5-6 inches long), peeled and roughly chopped
3/4 cup coconut milk (from 15-ounce can full-fat coconut milk)
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
Seeds from 3-inch piece vanilla bean (or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
Topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Seeds from 1-inch piece vanilla bean (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Pecans, whole or crushed
Steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pie crust 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in blender container or food processor, blend sweet potatoes, coconut milk, butter, egg, cinnamon, allspice, sea salt, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. If too thick to blend, add 1-2 teaspoons coconut milk.
When crust is done, increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Transfer pie crust to wire rack; carefully pour in filling. Smooth out top with spatula. Put pie back in oven and bake 15 minutes. Then, decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake additional 15 minutes. When done, crust should be barely golden and filling should look set. Remove pie and allow to cool to room temperature on wire rack. Cover and place in refrigerator to cool overnight.
Chill whisk and bowl from stand mixer (or regular bowl and whisk) in freezer at least 10 minutes. Pour heavy whipping cream, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt into chilled bowl and whip on high until peaks form, about a minute. It’s better to under-whip than over-whip! Store whipped cream in refrigerator up to 4 hours.
Before serving, allow pie to come to room temperature. Just before serving, whip topping by hand to make it extra fluffy. Top pie with maple whipped cream and pecans. Slice and serve.
*Note: For extra-creamy sweet potatoes, wrap in foil and bake the night before making pie. Store in refrigerator, still wrapped in foil, and use in recipe as directed.
Attending this event were more than 150 people in the Orange County community—most of whom would definitely be considered “seniors” (that would be over 60 if you attend the movies).
But, first, let me go back almost three years. My mom and I attended a talk at UCI, as part of a professional women’s weekend retreat. I had to attend a meeting during one of the talks. When I returned, my mom told me that she had decided to donate her brain to UCI MIND, when she passes. (Both my parents had decided many years ago to donate their bodies to science after their passing, in hopes they could provide insight into aging, etc.)
I have to admit that I teetered between feeling a bit surprised and not being surprised at all, as my mom has always been philanthropic and community-minded, with a lot of foresight. What she learned at that presentation was that UCI MIND was one of only 30 facilities in the country doing research to find a cure for Alzheimer’s.
In addition to looking for funding, UCI MIND was looking for volunteers for a longitudinal study. The team planned to study the brains and capabilities of people who were still alive, track them over time, then study their brains after they died. At that time my mom was 92 years old and in fine shape (both physically, and more important, mentally), so she would be a rare and special candidate for this study.
So, the team from UCI MIND came to our offices in Los Alamitos and disclosed to Mom, with Jackie and me in the room, what was involved. She would have to go in for a battery of tests every year. In addition to the normal cholesterol, blood pressure, EKG, and other tests, she would take a multi-hour test of her cognitive abilities. “Sign me up!” Mom said.
After that initial round of tests, Jackie and I accompanied Mom to UCI to hear the results. Frankly, Jackie and I both looked at each other, questioning how we would do on some of the memory tests. That’s when I learned the importance of getting at least seven and a half to eight hours of sleep a night. The tests explained for Mom what causes her, on occasion, to have trouble remembering names. We also learned that, for people her age, she performed above average in the professional decision-making arena.
Turns out our mom is in excellent health overall. Jackie is her testing buddy, so goes with her for the annual tests. Jackie is also interviewed to share her observations.
At one joint session with the UCI MIND team, I asked if they had done a video or commercial on the program. I mentioned that Mom was excellent on camera and very experienced. I thought her story would be compelling.
A few months ago, they contacted us because they wanted to interview and tape Mom as she explained why she decided to participate in the study for a video presentation. They did the taping the week Mom turned 95.
That’s where we went on Monday—to watch the screening of this testimonial video, which will be part of a call to action for the community.
Source: youtu.be; UCI MIND Website: mind.uci.edu UCI C2C Registry: c2c.uci.edu
In addition to seeing the video for the first time, we heard from Joshua D. Grill, Ph.D., the director of UCI MIND. Dr. Grill was so compelling! When asked how far along they were in finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, he compared the research being done to that for HIV/AIDS. He said the first few drugs that were discovered in trials decades ago did not make a significant improvement in the lives of HIV/AIDS patients. But over time, as more drugs were proven in trial, they were able to combine them into cocktails (multiple drugs used together). Now, in 2018, HIV/AIDS have gone from being a death sentence to being medically treatable conditions. Not curable, but people can survive for a long time.
Dr. Grill said Alzheimer’s treatment is moving in the same direction. That’s why they are looking for funding and people to participate in trials.
His expertise is in designing trials and the ethics of trials. He said if the trial’s design is flawed, the results will be flawed and useless.
I couldn’t help but think about how that applies to my business. How many times has someone had a “great idea” at my company and wanted to rush it through? The possible obstacles are not fully considered or we push through a project just to get it off our plate, rather than going through the details and having a cross-functional team to shoot holes in it. We all know how that ends.
So, back to UCI MIND. If anyone in your family has been affected by Alzheimer’s or dementia and they have an interest in possibly supporting or participating in the studies, I hope you will contact UCI MIND.
Our mom, Frieda, has always been a trailblazer in the produce industry. And now she is a trailblazer in finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. Pretty amazing, I would say!
Karen
Last week I wrote about my two-week vacation in Tuscany. What I didn’t mention was that a few days after returning, I left for a 10-day trip to Florida to attend two conferences.
My challenge was reengaging at work without causing frustration for me and my coworkers after almost a month’s absence.
If you work in an office or as part of a team, I’m guessing you have probably experienced this to some degree. You go on vacation and a lot of stuff happens while you’re gone. When you get back, you are either in the dark or feel out of touch and frustrated. And it is probably frustrating for your coworkers, too.
So I thought I would share what I did to make my reentry smoother:
I returned to work on a Monday. So the Friday morning before, I sent an email to all my direct reports and asked them to email me by the end of the day a topline recap of what happened while I was gone. I wasn’t looking for a play-by-play, but rather enough information such that when I went into a meeting, I would feel caught up. I read the emails over the weekend.
Sunday evening, I went through my emails (more than 600 of them), sorted by sender, then deleted all newsletters because many newsletters cover the same things from week to week. I deleted at least 50 percent of the rest because they were part of threads or I was copied on them. I’m still not caught up, but I know what’s in there. I got those 600 emails down to about 150 that need some action on my part.
I got two good nights of sleep over the weekend (7.5 to 8 hours a night). I find I feel so much better and am in a better mood when I have enough sleep.
When I got into the office, I made a point of checking in with everyone with whom I work with directly. The investment in a quick 5- to 10-minute conversation, asking, “Anything I need to know about?” and “Anything you need my help with?” brought most issues to the surface.
Spending that much time away from the office (only monitoring my emails, but not being obsessive about them) really cleared my head. I got a lot of sleep while I was gone and I feel as if I emptied all the “trash” from my brain.
Even though it is sometimes hard to disengage and take off time because you have so much work to do, I feel much more productive now that I’m back at work.
Maybe it’s time for you to start planning your next vacation.
Karen
Innovative, vegetable-driven party recipes can be a focus for the produce department
Los Alamitos, CA – (November 2018) – While preparing for the holidays, don’t forget about providing a delicious and inspired approach to New Year’s Eve entertaining for your shoppers.
A recent Wakefield Research poll shows that 85 percent of consumers plan to attend a holiday celebration this season, and New Year’s Eve parties and New Year’s Day brunches are great ways to celebrate. Furthermore, 97 percent of consumers plan to shop for produce to fuel their holiday celebrations, according to the same study.
“At Frieda’s, we have partnered with chefs Heather and Emily from Botanica Restaurant in Los Angeles, which was named one of the Top 10 new restaurants in 2017 by ‘LA Magazine,’” said Alex Jackson Berkley, assistant sales manager for Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “Their recipes fit in perfectly for New Year entertaining, while inspiring consumers to try new dishes.”
“We love working with the Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes from Frieda’s,” said Chef Heather Sperling. “They’re so versatile and have a place at every table—from morning though night! Purple Sweet Potato Fritters with Green Tahini is a dish that’s as ideal as a passed hors d’oeuvre as it is as a dinner party centerpiece. Garam Masala Purple Sweet Potatoes with Garlicky Yogurt is a vibrant, unexpected side dish that will definitely be on my holiday table. We love riffing on hummus, and one of our new favorites is Spiced Purple Sweet Potato Hummus, ideally served on a crudité platter with roasted purple asparagus, charred orange cauliflower, crunchy jicama, and mini sweet peppers.”
“We are all about inspiring new food experiences and that is something we share in common with Botanica,” said Berkley. “There is no better way to ring in the New Year than by introducing your friends and family to new, delicious foods.”
Frieda’s Specialty Produce has been inspiring new food experiences for friends, families, and food lovers everywhere since 1962. From kiwifruit to dragon fruit and from Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes to habanero peppers, Frieda’s has introduced more than 200 unique fruits and vegetables to the U.S. marketplace. Founded by produce industry trailblazer Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, subject of the 2015 documentary “Fear No Fruit,” the family company is owned and operated by Frieda’s daughters, Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins, in Orange County, California. Find Frieda’s on Facebook, @FriedasProduce, and Friedas.com. Inspire. Taste. Love.
