Anaheim, CA — Frieda’s Branded Produce is ready to celebrate the Year of the Dragon with you and your customers for the Lunar New Year, starting February 10. Along with an array of fresh items, they are excited to feature Honey Dragons® for their sweet flavor & golden color and Snow Dragons® for their texture and large size. Frieda’s looks forward to 2024 and a full year of dragon fruit success with a well-crafted and powerful program.

As shoppers around the world plan to celebrate this symbolic and food-filled holiday, Frieda’s is here to ensure retailers are well-prepared to meet shoppers’ demands while boosting promotional sales dollars.

To leverage the spirited Year of the Dragon, Frieda’s is fully committed to assisting retailers in showcasing their impressive dragon fruit collection, strategy, and marketing campaign. When you partner with Frieda’s, you’ll have access to a well-rounded menu of marketing support – think, consumer-friendly POS displays, approachable packaging, and a complete set of downloadable digital assets that will elevate your customer’s knowledge of this trending and growing category.

“Our dragon fruit collection is more than just colorful and delicious,” said Alex Jackson, Vice President of Sales and Procurement at Frieda’s Branded Produce. “It also has a proven track record of increasing sales in the tropical category while increasing margins.” From the refreshing Snow Dragons® to the sweet Honey Dragons®, Frieda’s takes pride in presenting retailers with a year-round multi-variety program from several countries that will keep customers satisfied and your stores stocked with dragon fruit throughout 2024, carrying on the dragon theme all year long.

Traditionally, dragons symbolize power, nobility, luck, and success, gifted with innate courage, tenacity, and intelligence – with these traits, Frieda’s is inspired to carry along these powerful meanings for 2024 alongside their partners and retailers for a prosperous new year.

“Dragon fruit won’t be the only star of our Lunar New Year offerings,” mentioned Alex. “Golden citrus takes its place in the spotlight during this auspicious season. Its round shapes and gold hues are believed to bring luck, fullness, and wealth. Stock up on other Lunar New Year favorites, such as our delightful Popjoys® kumquats, Buddha’s Hand, Mandarinquats, and an array of other lucky citrus.

Make this Lunar New Year one to remember! Reach out to the sales team at Frieda’s Branded Produce and ensure that you’re fully prepared to dazzle your shoppers with their extraordinary dragon fruit collection and a host of other delightful produce options.

Anaheim, CA (January 2023) – As connoisseurs of all things colorful, healthy, and delicious, we are delighted to see the purple sweet potato chosen as Vegetable of the Year 2024, handpicked by an expert panel in celebration of Veganuary—a movement that encourages people worldwide to try a vegan lifestyle during the month of January.

Veganuary developed its Vegetable of the Year concept in keeping with the global campaign theme “Vote for Veggies,” which aims to celebrate vegetables and highlight their relationship with sustainability, creativity, taste, trends, longevity, and other cultural indicators for the coming year.

“Stokes Purple® is having a moment, and we couldn’t be happier to see this extraordinary veggie getting the recognition it deserves,” says Alex Jackson, Vice President of Sales and Procurement at Frieda’s. “In fact, we know that 79% of shoppers are willing to pay more for purple sweet potatoes than they are for traditional varieties.”

A panel of nine food experts in grocery retail, nutrition, and sustainable spaces voted on five key criteria:

Growing popularity
Versatility
Sustainability
Health/Nutrition
Affordability/accessibility

The panelists, including acclaimed chef and cookbook author Daniela Lais and famous TikTok influencer Tabitha Brown, have chosen the first-ever Vegetable of the Year based on these criteria and taste.

“Not only is the purple sweet potato versatile and a visual upgrade to any dish you make, but they are also an upgrade in nutrition, high in fiber, vitamins A and B, and packed with antioxidants. Available fresh and frozen, and as an ingredient to amplify dishes, we will continue to see the vibrant purple sweet potato’s popularity grow,” said Holly Adrien, Natural and Organic Strategy & Innovation Manager at Kroger and a Veganuary Vegetable of the Year panelist.

The purple sweet potato’s recent rise to fame is also due to the recent Netflix documentary “Secrets of the Blue Zones,” where this deep violet veggie takes center stage and has created its reputation as a superfood associated with longevity in life.

Be prepared as your shoppers demand this award-winning vegetable. “To increase sales, add the fastest-selling purple sweet potato, Stokes Purple®, which is available exclusively from Frieda’s with a merchandising bin, shared Alex.” Contact your Frieda’s account manager today, and head into Veganuary stocked with our traffic-driving organic and conventional Stokes® Sweet Potatoes in your produce department.

October 21, 2023 Anaheim, CA – The booths are being broken down, the produce and floral is being gleaned for donation, and International Fresh Produce Association’s (IFPA) Global Produce & Floral Show has come to an end.

From the packed general sessions to the buzzing show floor, the general opinion is that this is the best show ever.

“Coming back to Anaheim for the first time as IFPA, I could not be more impressed and inspired by the support the global produce and industry gave us this week. From our incredible exhibitors displaying their latest innovations to our generous sponsors who see the value in raising their visibility, the Global Produce & Floral Show truly is THE force for connections and creativity for anyone involved in fruits, vegetables, flowers, and plants,” said IFPA, CEO Cathy Burns.

“On behalf of the IFPA Board and staff team, a heartfelt thank you to all who joined us, and I look forward to seeing so many of our guests again next year in Atlanta.”

The Global Produce & Floral Show brought together members from the entire supply chain from more than 60 countries, making it the greatest guestlist in produce and floral. With a buyer for every 6 attendees, the show not only delivered in energy but in quality connections for businesses making new and transformative partnerships.

“As the show grows and gets busier, the goal remains the same – we want to make sure that our members have the opportunity to make connections with the people can will transform their business,” said IFPA Vice President, Joe Watson. “We’re thrilled that the Show has been the trusted place for connections for both our buyers and exhibitors as they make their business plans each year.”

The EXPO floor opened on Friday morning after the keynote from Steve Wozniak.

The Expo, featured over 1160 companies exhibiting including 157 first timers. There was a special focus this year on the technology solutions on the floor including the Innovation Hub. The Hub included the Future Tech Pavilion, and the Fresh Field Catalyst Accelerator program participants who are concluding their year-long program exhibiting at the Show.

• Best Inline Booth in Produce: Frieda’s Branded Produce, booth 2339

Frieda’s Branded Produce will present unique and trending ﬂavors at this year’s IFPA Global Show. It invites you to join the fun at booth #2339 to experience its passion for produce and learn about the latest industry buzz.

This year’s show takes place in Frieda’s hometown of Anaheim, California, and the team is delighted to deliver top-featured products fresh to its booth, with a spotlight on dragon fruit.

“Dragon Fruit is making waves as the ﬂavor of the year and we will have it on full display in harmony with the Pantone color of the year,” said Alex Jackson, vice president of sales and procurement. Explore Frieda’s dragon fruit varieties including Fire Dragons®, Honey Dragons® and Snow Dragons™ fruit.

Frieda’s will also showcase other popular ﬂavors like Organic Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes, Popjoys® Kumquats, Quick Fires® Shishito Side Dish Kits and many more.

The company also has an unexpected feature in the new NETFLIX series, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. The series shines a light on Frieda’s Organic Stokes Purple sweet potatoes and the health benefits it delivers. The documentary explores how these vibrant purple sweet potatoes, originally from Okinawa, Japan, are rich in ﬁber and antioxidants, oﬀering vital sustenance for diets, making them a sought-after source to live a long, healthy life. Frieda’s is the exclusive Organic Stokes Purple sweet potatoes supplier.

“Whether you are a culinary expert, foodie or picky eater, our produce delights consumers in new, exciting and unexpected ways,” said Jackson. Visit Frieda’s booth during the IFPA Global show and chat with the team to ﬁnd out the latest trends and get personalized advice on how to stay ahead.

For more information:
Mary Coppola Heslep
Frieda’s Branded Produce
media@tenacremarketing.com
https://www.friedas.com/

Anaheim, CA (September 13, 2023) – Frieda’s Branded Produce is delighted to announce its innovative new Passion Fruit three-pack, offering consumers a convenient and affordable way to enjoy this trendy fruit. The packs are perfect for on-the-go snacking or adding to smoothies, yogurt, and other dishes.

Passion Fruit continues to gain popularity due to its tart, tropical flavor, and its status as a good source of vitamins A and C. With the introduction of their new three-pack design, Frieda’s ensures this exciting fruit is much more accessible for consumers.

“We believe that all good things come in threes,” said Alex Jackson, Vice President of Sales and Procurement for Frieda’s Branded Produce. “That’s why we’re thrilled to unveil our new three-pack Passion Fruit, offering a bold, satisfying experience for fruit enthusiasts everywhere.”

Passion fruit is a highly sought-after flavor known for its unique combination of sweet and tart tastes. While traditionally associated with summer, Frieda’s Branded Produce wants to remind retailers that this sweet trio is perfect for exotic fruit promotions during the fall season, spicing up traditional savory cocktails, breakfast staples, and desserts.

The new three-pack design is not only eye-catching but also durable and functional. The vibrant colors and bold design, signature traits of Frieda’s Branded Produce packaging, capture shoppers’ attention and convey the product’s freshness, and the packaging protects the delicate fruit during transportation, ensuring that it arrives at its destination in perfect condition.

Similarly, the display shippers make merchandising the three-pack design and bulk fruit quick and straightforward. The bins now include customizable buttons, inspiring and educating shoppers with recipes and grower spotlights.

“Fall is a time of transition, with consumers looking for new flavors and produce options,” shared Alex. “By promoting passion fruit as a year-round flavor, we aim to meet the demands of both retailers and consumers. Our new packaging is expected to generate increased interest and sales for retailers looking to capture the attention of shoppers during this festive time of year.”

Following the successful launch of their innovative passion fruit three-pack this summer, Frieda’s is now gearing up for the California season this fall and the Florida season this winter. Retailers can capture customer excitement for Passion Fruit this season, building buzz as trendsetters that consumers trust to deliver new and exciting flavors. It’s time to savor the sweetness of fall.

For more information about Frieda’s Branded Produce and their new three-pack of Passion Fruit, please visit www.friedas.com.

ANAHEIM, CA – I’m sure I speak for most consumers, but we eat with our eyes first. The shine on the fruit, the steam rising from the plate, or the curious colors and shapes on a piece of produce not on our radar, these attributes and more are what drive our stomachs—and wallets.

Social media has been a powerful tool in helping amplify fresh produce aisles, and Frieda’s Branded Produce has proved its strength in utilizing this platform to put out tasty creations. Choosing the company that represents the Best Social Media Culinary Artistry category was no easy feat, but this year’s winner goes to the company that embraces the uniqueness all around us—and puts it onto the plate.

“Our team is over the moon to have received the Bestie Award from our friends at AndNowUKnow. Being recognized in the Best Social Media Culinary Artistry category is a tremendous honor,” shared Lourdes Tuason, Creative Director. “This award isn’t just for us. It’s for every foodie friend who’s joined our culinary adventure, every grocer who’s displayed our products, and every fork that’s dug into the creations we’ve shared. We promise to keep cooking up creativity!”

Here at AndNowUKnow and The Snack Magazine, we take great pride in showcasing the diverse and flavorful world of fresh produce, but it’s companies like Frieda’s Branded Produce that really put them in the limelight. We in the industry can sing praises for the fruits and vegetables producers tirelessly grow, but one easy way to have shoppers believe is by tasting. The next best option is putting a dish together and snapping a pic for the world to see.

This year, we in the office have spotted—and drooled over—many delicious-looking creations put together by the Frieda’s team, and we’re honored to bestow the Besties Award for Best Social Media Culinary Artistry to these creative minds. The company has created a bridge between trade and consumers through social media, providing recipe possibilities and inspiration to drive purchase intent and trials. I, for one, can attest to pinning appetizing posts and pulling them up in the store.

Congratulations once more to the team!

Anaheim, CA (July 2023) – Spicing up summer menus and igniting shoppers’ taste buds, Frieda’s Branded Produce proudly presents the season’s hottest trend: Hatch Chile Peppers! With their zesty, buttery flavor, these limited-time peppers are the season’s annual best-seller.

Grown exclusively in Hatch, New Mexico, the “Chile Capital of the World,” these crowd-pleasing peppers boast a certified authentic pedigree that guarantees an exceptional culinary experience. Their bold flavor and smoky aroma make them the perfect complement to any dish that craves a kick of flavor.

“Hatch Chile season is always the most exciting summertime event everyone raves about! The pepper’s limited availability and popularity amongst ‘chile heads’ and ‘foodies’ alike bring a delightful sense of urgency that creates buzz all summer long,” shared Alex Jackson, Vice President of Sales & Procurement at Frieda’s. “They not only deliver unforgettable flavor experiences but also have the power to boost sales and foot traffic in-store, keeping consumers coming back for more. Hatch Chile promotions are truly a win-win for both retailers and consumers!”

One of the standout features of Hatch Chile Peppers is their incredible versatility. Whether grilling, sautéing, stuffing, or roasting, these peppers bring the heat and deliver an unforgettable bold, smoky taste. Hatch Chile Roasting events are widespread around the country as roasting the pepper brings out the smokiness- leveling up the flavor to create an eating experience that will leave you wanting more.

Frieda’s Hatch Chile Peppers come in a high-graphic 25-pound case, which may be used for side-stack displays, and in 1- and 2-pound retail pouches with consumer-friendly stickers guiding shoppers to choose between mild, medium, and hot heat levels. To further support retailer merchandising efforts, the team at Frieda’s created a vibrant, eye-catching display bin complete with a QR code, leading shoppers to tasty recipe inspiration.

Take advantage of the opportunity to add this seasonal, sales-boosting pepper to your produce category. Our team of experts can provide you with merchandising suggestions that will increase traffic to your produce department, lift sales, and help you turn up the heat this Hatch Chile season. Email us to find out more!

For more information about Frieda’s Branded Produce and their Hatch Chile Peppers, please visit www.friedas.com.

To our industry friends,

Today is a very exciting one for our company. Our 61-year-old family business has been acquired by another fantastic, thriving produce company and we will now be growing together.

After more than a year of discussions, Legacy Farms LLC, based in Anaheim, California has acquired the assets of Frieda’s, Inc. We will now be known as Frieda’s LLC and our new CEO is Dan Madsen. Dan has been a friend for many years and has been leading Legacy Farms since 2019.

We are so excited that his first order of business was to name my eldest daughter, Alex Jackson as Vice President, Sales & Procurement! As you know, Alex is the third generation of our family business, founded by our mother, Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan in 1962. Alex has been a significant part of our company’s success during the last 12 years and she is very excited about this new, expanded opportunity.

Legacy Farms really values Frieda’s strong culture and branding and is excited to be the new steward of the first and best-selling brand of specialty produce in the US. We can’t help but brag that Frieda’s brand has a 30% faster velocity than the next leading brand.

My sister, Jackie Caplan Wiggins and I will continue working in an advisory capacity to Dan and the Frieda’s team and are beyond thrilled at the opportunities for our company to expand. Our company color will still be purple, our branded packaging will continue to be eye-catching and our team members will continue to service you with our well known passion and attention to detail. For you it will be business as usual – please continue to work with our current sales and purchasing team as normal in the course of business.

We thank you for your many years of support and produce love and look forward to a bright and growing future. Please feel free to reach out to any of us with any questions you may have.

Karen Caplan, Karen.caplan@friedas.com

Jackie Wiggins, Jackie.wiggins@friedas.com

Alex Jackson, Alex.jackson@friedas.com

Dan Madsen, dan@legacyproduce.com

Los Alamitos, CA (December 2021) – This new year will, without a doubt, open up more doors (quite literally) as the world adjusts to the reality of COVID being a long-term reality. That said, food trends are more important than ever, as food is truly being used for comfort and as a way to explore the world. The tastemakers at Frieda’s—known since 1962 for creating and spotting trends—offer some interesting predictions for the New Year.

“Whether it’s more time for a leisurely breakfast while working from home, or embracing Korean culture, we are seeing people crave sensorial explorations and the desire to make every moment and bite count,” said Cindy Sherman, director of marketing, innovation and insights for Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “Consumers are seeking new experiences, starting with redefining their morning cup of joe, a rainbow of milk colors, and infusing health & wellness into every nook & cranny of their daily life.”

Frieda’s predicts these trends will make big waves this upcoming year:

Superhero Coffee

Move over coffee! Instead of “supersizing,” give yourself a “superpower”. Try infusing dried mushrooms and fresh turmeric into coffee to inject extra nutritional benefits and energy into your standard cup of joe.

Korea Worldwide

From K-Pop to K-dramas to fashion, beauty, and food, Korean culture and flavors remind us that our global world is united. Explore Korea from your kitchen by creating Musaengchae (spicy radish salad) with daikon radish.

Breakfast at Leisure

Working from home allows time to savor the first meal of the day. While your superhero coffee is brewing, cube Fire Dragons® dragon fruit into a smoothie bowl or put oomph into eggs with Stokes Purple sweet potatoes.

Bloom of the ‘Shroom

Mushrooms are starring in food, functional drinks, and fashion. Designers are even making fungi into fabric, and the culinary/beverage worlds are eating up the umami flavors and health benefits by adding dried shiitake or porcinis into sipping broths.

Milk Gets Tubular

Potatoes as milk? Yes! Low in sugar and saturated fat, this creamy liquid is ripe with possibilities. Make potato milk sweet by adding Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes and enjoy creamy, lavender deliciousness.

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 and dragon fruit to Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes and 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.

Research Reveals that as Consumers Emerge from the Pandemic, They Are Considering Up-Leveling Their Holiday Menus and Making Beautiful Desserts, Resulting in First-Ever Partnership to Help Supercharge Traditional Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving Menus

LOS ALAMITOS, California – Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving are right around the corner, and according to research from Frieda’s Specialty Produce, as consumers emerge from the pandemic, they are considering ways to put a new twist on their traditional recipes this holiday season, especially when it comes to dessert. To celebrate the start of the November holiday season and to help consumers supercharge their traditional menus and make them extraordinary, today Frieda’s announces its partnership with Lauren Ko, Instagram phenomenon, founder of @lokokitchen and New York Times Best-Selling Author of PIEOMETRY. For the first time ever, Ko is working with Frieda’s to help bakers of all abilities up-level their holiday celebrations with Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes. Her newest work-of-art is called the Stokes Purple ® Wave Pie.

“The holidays are evolving, and Thanksgiving is especially meaningful this year. People want to create. They want to bake. They want to experience something extraordinary after being so cautious for so long. Thanksgiving should be vibrant, healthy, colorful and delicious,” said Cindy Sherman, director of marketing, innovation and insights for Frieda’s. “From our research, we know that people are looking for ways to dial up the mood, add color to their meals and up-level their traditional recipes this Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving. Thus, we are so thrilled to be partnering with Lauren Ko to celebrate this incredible, vibrant pie artistry.”

With food at the center of Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving celebrations, Frieda’s research revealed that more than 30% of consumers know it can bring a sense of comfort. Dessert is a major consideration and men, surprisingly, skewed higher in many areas of the research:

More than 25% of consumers feel they need to get back the lost time with their family and friends. Surprisingly, this number skewed higher with men vs. women.
More than 60% of consumers ages 25-34 agreed that they would consider making a beautiful dessert that adds color to their Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving tables.
More than 50% of consumers would consider making beautiful desserts, especially those that are social-media worthy.
More than 30% of consumers, especially those ages 18-44, would consider a twist on the traditional sweet potato pie and making it with Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, with men showing stronger numbers vs. women.
More than 40% of consumers, especially those ages 18-44, would consider hand pies so that each person could have their own dessert, with men skewing higher than women in this category.

According to Sherman, dessert will be a major win with Ko’s Stokes Purple ® Wave Pie, which brings together a filling featuring the just-right purple sweet potatoes, condensed milk and coconut cream topped with a design of purple potato waves with orange accents (using traditional sweet potatoes).

“This partnership is a match made in produce heaven! With the art that I love to create, Frieda’s unique offerings of fruit and vegetables inspire me to bake and build designs differently—with colors, textures and flavors,” said Lauren Ko. “I’ve experimented with a variety of potatoes, making both sweet and savory recipes, and I wanted to create something extra special for this holiday season. When I landed on the Stokes Purple® Wave Pie, I was really excited because every level of pie maker can use this recipe to create something extraordinary and artful. This extra touch of beauty feels especially needed after all we’ve been through with the pandemic.”

To bring even more inspiration and taste to the holidays, Frieda’s created two more trend-worthy recipes—Stokes Purple ® Sweet Potato Mini Crostatas and Stokes Purple ® Sweet Potato Hand Pies. These single-serve gems will give each consumer their own individual treat, which is a popular trend this holiday. These recipes build upon Frieda’s wildly popular original Stokes Purple® Sweet Potato Pie with Maple Whipped Cream, a decadent dessert that was created in 2018 and continues to be one of the company’s most popular recipes.

This holiday season the company is offering inspiration through new recipes so that everyone, at every level of indulgence, can create truly extraordinary holiday meals, according to Sherman. Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are at the center of the holiday season because they are versatile and “just right”—not too sweet, too savory, too moist or too dry. Due to their deep purple color, they are full of anthocyanin antioxidants, just like blueberries, and are a good source of vitamin C and fiber, making them healthy, nutritious and delicious. Consumers can make healthy, colorful and delicious dishes that are both savory and sweet, from soups and fries to cakes and pies.

Frieda’s and Ko have created the following new holiday recipes. Find these recipes and more at Friedas.com.

Stokes Purple® Wave Pie By Lauren Ko

Serving size: 8-10 / Prep time: 4 hours 15 min / Cook time: 2 hours 30 min

All-Butter Pie Dough

Ingredients

1/2 cup ice

1/2 cup cold water

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Prep steps

Combine ice and water in small cup or bowl. Set aside.
Put flour, sugar and salt in large bowl and stir with spatula to combine. Sprinkle in butter cubes and toss until each cube is coated in flour mixture. Flatten each cube of butter with your pointer fingers and thumbs. Toss again to coat flattened butter pieces. Continue massaging butter into flour until remaining shards resemble cornflakes in a range of sizes.
Add 2 tablespoons cold water, taking care not to include any ice; fluff moisture through flour and butter with spatula. Continue adding cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, pressing dough with spatula after each addition until it begins to come together. Avoid heavy kneading as overworking dough will lead to tough crust.
If dough is still dry and doesn’t hold together when a handful is squeezed, add a little more water. Don’t add too much water (usually 3-5 tablespoons total is sufficient).
When dough begins to hold together, turn it out onto work surface and gently form it into rounded mound. Wrap dough tightly in plastic, then gently press into a round flat disk, about 1 inch in thickness.
Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before rolling.

Stokes Purple® Wave Pie Filling

Ingredients

1 pound Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, roasted, peeled and roughly chopped into 1-inch chunks

1/2 can (7 ounces) condensed milk

2 tablespoons coconut cream

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Place roasted sweet potatoes in blender container or food processor bowl, along with all other filling ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Final Ingredients

5 medium or 3 large Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes

1 orange sweet potato (optional)

Cooking Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
On floured surface, roll rested disk of dough into a 14-inch circle. Roll dough onto rolling pin and unfurl it over 9-inch pie pan. Taking edges of the dough, gently ease it into pie pan, nestling it into the inner elbows of pan. Trim excess dough with kitchen shears to create 1-inch overhang. Fold overhang back under, creating an elevated edge. Crimp dough all around pie edge. Freeze pie shell solid, about 15-20 minutes.
To blind-bake, line frozen pie shell tightly with foil. Fill to top with pie weights and place on rimmed baking sheet to catch any butter drips. Bake 35 minutes until foil no longer sticks to dough. Remove foil and pie weights, then bake another 10-15 minutes or until crust begins to brown.
Pour prepared filling into par-baked pie shell; smooth surface with spatula. Set aside.
Peel uncooked sweet potatoes. Use sharp chef’s knife or mandolin to slice potatoes thinly. The slices shouldn’t be too thick to bend, but neither should they be translucent. They will need to stand upright in sweet potato filling.
Gather six slices of purple potato and lay them in slightly overlapping line on cutting board. Carefully transfer line of potatoes as single unit and stand them up in sweet potato filling, curving line slightly and using filling to hold everything securely in place.
Gather six more slices of potato and repeat process, then transfer to pie, placing adjacent to first line and following curve. Continue process of fitting lines of potatoes—staggering lines and varying curves—until entire surface of pie is covered. Vary number of slices in each line depending on remaining space. If using orange sweet potatoes for color variance, intersperse occasional lines of orange sweet potatoes.
Using pastry brush, brush small amount of melted coconut oil over tops of potato slices and cover pie securely with aluminum foil. The foil will help steam potato slices during baking and prevent them from drying out. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Brush a little more coconut oil on potato slices and continue baking for another 30-45 minutes or until potato slices are tender.
Serve pie warm or at room temperature. Store well-sealed leftovers in refrigerator; consume within three days.

Stokes Purple® Sweet Potato Mini Crostatas

Makes: 16 / Prep time: 20 min / Cook time: 20-25 min

Ingredients

Pie Filling

1 cup cooked Stokes® Purple sweet potato (roughly 1 medium potato)

1/4 cup organic granulated sugar

1 large organic egg

1/2 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut milk

Crust

1 (14-ounce) box double-crust ready-made pie dough

Cooking Steps

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, 375 degrees for convection.
In food processor bowl, pulse all filling ingredients gently until smooth and well combined.
Gently unroll pie dough. Cut 4-inch circles using round cookie cutter or ring mold. Gather leftover dough, re-roll and cut more circles.
Transfer rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet potato filling to center of rounds, smoothing tops. Gently fold edges over to partially cover filling.
Bake 20-25 minutes depending on desired color.

Adapted from a recipe by Chef Brandon Hall, Owner of Thyme Well Spent

Stokes Purple® Sweet Potato Hand Pies

Makes: 16 / Prep time: 22 min / Cook time: 20-25 min

Ingredients

Pie Filling

1 cup cooked Stokes® Purple sweet potato (roughly 1 medium potato)

1/4 cup organic granulated sugar

1 large organic egg

1/2 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut milk

Crust

2 (14-ounce) boxes double-crust ready-made pie dough

Cooking steps

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, 375 degrees for convection.
In food processor bowl, pulse all filling ingredients gently until smooth and well combined.
Gently unroll pie dough. Cut 4-inch circles using round cookie cutter or ring mold. Gather leftover dough, re-roll and cut more circles.
Cut 2-inch circle, square, triangle, diamond or other shape from center of half the rounds; leave the other half uncut.
Transfer uncut rounds to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add 1½-2 tablespoons sweet potato filling to center of whole rounds, smoothing filling to within ½-inch of edges. Add more sweet potato pie filling if desired—depends how full you want your pies. Brush edges with water. Top with rounds with shapes of cut outs. Crimp edges with fingers or fork.
Bake 20-25 minutes depending on desired color. Keep oven light on. Halfway through baking, check to see if pies need rotating depending on how evenly they’re baking.

Adapted from a recipe by Chef Brandon Hall, Owner of Thyme Well Spent

For more recipes that inspire.taste.love. visit Friedas.com. For media materials, visit and download Frieda’s media kit.

Los Alamitos, CA (October 2021) – The Center for Growing Talent by the Produce Marketing Association, in partnership with Frieda’s Specialty Produce owners, Karen Caplan and Jackie Caplan Wiggins, awarded the winner of the Frieda Rapoport Caplan Women’s Fresh Perspectives Scholarship to Melanny Gomez Cruz of Four Seasons Produce, Inc. Cruz was selected by an independent panel of industry members and was one of more than 20 applicants.

Because the produce industry has been predominately male, this conference empowers women by hosting events and sessions focused on development in order to maximize their impact, personally and professionally. The added benefit of networking helps to build a sense of community and comradery.

The Frieda Rapoport Caplan Women’s Fresh Perspectives scholarship was awarded to Cruz for her impact within many parts of the organization Four Seasons Produce Inc., most recently as a recruiting specialist. The scholarship is granted to those who embody Frieda’s spirit of action, excellence, and dedication to personal and professional development. Each recipient receives an all-expenses-paid trip and admittance to this conference to provide them with the opportunity to further their development efforts.

“I don’t have words on how amazing this was for me,” Cruz said. “This conference has helped me see things from a different perspective. I met such amazing women at this conference. I loved seeing that the first-timers came in shy and had no glow to them. Then on the last day, I saw them interacting– so alive and glowing. I feel like this scholarship is an amazing opportunity for many women. It opens up delicate situations happening in the workplace and lets women know that they are not alone.”

The Frieda Rapaport Women’s Fresh Perspective Scholarship will start accepting applications for 2022 next spring. Recipients should meet a few criteria to be considered, including being a first-time attendee to the conference (once awarded) and employed in any segment of the produce or floral supply chain– both at the time of the application and the time of the conference. Be on the lookout for updates from PMA and the Fresh Perspective Conference team to find out when the application period starts for the 2022 scholarship.

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 and dragon fruit, to Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes and habanero peppers, Frieda’s has introduced more than 200 unique fruits and vegetables to the U.S. marketplace. Founded by the late 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.

Los Alamitos, CA (September 2021) – Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are back in season, and it’s the ideal time to showcase these colorful tubers. Frieda’s makes it easy with eye-catching, stand-alone shippers that help consumers realize they can easily add color and flair to their holiday meal.

Research shows that rich-hued purple vegetables are in demand, and pie is hotter than ever. A recent survey reveals that half of consumers plan to serve sweet potato pie this Thanksgiving, and more than one-third of consumers specifically said that they plan to make Stokes Purple® sweet potato pie with maple whipped cream. Surprisingly, men showed a bias for this versus women, and the purple pie over-indexes in popularity with consumers ages 18-44.¹

Why, you might ask? It might have something to do with the mixed sentiment of the holidays this year. Consumers want to celebrate but are still cautious to do so, so they’re looking for small ways to dial up the mood this Thanksgiving. In fact, 20% of consumers agreed that Thanksgiving would feel more festive if the food were more colorful (and this was as high as 25% amongst those with children). Additionally, 64% of consumers agreed that they wanted to make a beautiful dessert that adds color to the table, especially amongst consumers ages 25-34.¹

What better way to add display space for Stokes Purple sweet potatoes than an exclusive shipper, available only from Frieda’s? The eye-catching display showcases a camera phone-friendly ingredient list and QR code for the full recipe.

“Shopper interest in Stokes just keeps going up. Previously thought to be a specialty potato, our research shows that all demographics are buying Stokes year-round, and Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to gain trial in all stores,” says Alex Berkley, Frieda’s director of sales. “Our tastebud-tantalizing signage will leave your shoppers craving our signature Stokes Purple® sweet potato pie.”

Organic and conventional Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are available now through May in 15-lb. and 40-lb. cartons. Every potato is labeled to reduce front-end checker error. An organic 12/3-lb. bag option is also available.

Call your Frieda’s account manager today for help in planning your ads now and pre-booking supply.

¹ C+R 1,000 person study, August 2021

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 and dragon fruit, to Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes and 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.

Los Alamitos, CA (June 2021) – The highly coveted, always anticipated Angelcot^®season has begun, and this year we celebrate the labor of love that gives this unique varietal its rosy glow.

Angelcots^®are white-fleshed apricots known for having delicate skin and sweet flesh. They have the juiciness of the ripest nectarine with the delicate texture and aroma of an apricot. Angelcots^®have the perfect balance of acid and sugar with a buttery, perfume-like sweetness. The exterior of the fruit is characterized by blushing—the telltale sign that you are about to eat an Angelcot^® instead of a regular old apricot.

Alex Berkley, director of sales for Frieda’s Specialty Produce, was in the fields in Brentwood, CA, to get her eyes on the crop firsthand. “I had the pleasure of walking the fields with the grower and learned so much,” Berkley says. “The grower is a family-owned, 3^rd-generation business just like Frieda’s, and the passion for what they do shines through every single piece of fruit.”

Unique tarping and reflection of the sun helps to form the angelic blushing that makes this apricot so special. However, Frieda’s likes to think that three generations of family love has something to do with it too!

The sweeter flavor profile of this stone fruit makes Angelcot^®the perfect variety to introduce to younger shoppers who typically might not buy apricots. Promote them for snacking, baking, salads, or curate your own beautiful cheese board with other seasonal fruits and honey. The crop is limited and mostly pre-booked, so act now and call your Frieda’s account manager today to request samples for next year.

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA (May 2021) – With Memorial Day just around the corner and social restrictions opening up, shoppers are getting ready to relax and reunite. What better way to do that than by encouraging them to try something new, juicy and delicious at their next backyard BBQ or picnic-in-the park?

Enter, trendy tropicals! With 42% of shoppers saying they are more likely to buy unique produce to make summer gatherings more fun¹, and 2 in 5 looking to tropical fruits to brighten their summer², the time is ripe to inspire with summer’s most enticing options, like Frieda’s Honey & Snow Dragons™, lychees, and Rambas™ rambutan.

“I’m excited to be making up for lost time with my grandkids, and whether we’re lounging by the poolside, or picnicking in the backyard, you can be sure I’m always introducing them to new fruits,” says Allen DeMo, director of grower relations and business development at Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “…and this year I’m excited to introduce them to lychees and rambutan, by far the freshest and juiciest, I’ve ever seen!”

Exotic Tropicals are perfect for savory or sweet salads, fruit-forward mains, and even charred fruits, with a flourish. Encourage shoppers to serve these up in imaginative cocktails, such as this wildly popular rambutan & grapefruit aperol spritz, or simply thread lychees through skewers, roast over a flame, and drizzle with honey and lime juice, for a tropical twist on s’mores!

Make it easy for shoppers to discover new tropical favorites by merchandising them with what they already know- Honey Dragons™ next to pineapples and Rambas™ rambutan in the berry patch. Or cross merchandise coveted lychees with specialty cheeses and meats to help shoppers create a simple and delicious charcuterie board.

Call your Frieda’s account manager today to pre-book summer’s must-have tropicals and jumpstart your warm-weather holiday weekend sales.

Source:
¹ C+R 1000 Person Study, April 2019
² C+R 1000 Person Study, May 2020

LOS ALAMITOS, CA (April 2021) – After a year of distanced gatherings, Mom deserves the works this year! Since many shoppers skipped prepping for a traditional Sunday brunch with the entire family in 2020, give them something a little more festive this spring.

Make your store the crêpes destination this Mother’s Day. Add Frieda’s French-Style Crêpes to your berry case and merchandise the surrounding area with chocolate sauce, drizzles, preserves, nuts, and—of course—flowers! Or, inspire shoppers to take a savory spin and serve brunch-ready crêpes with a simple side of shaved watermelon radish, drizzled with a pink lemon vinaigrette. Tie it all in with a fresh Tikis™ drinking coconut, or a refreshing passion fruit mojito to wash it all down.

“As a (new) mother to a five-month-old, I think I’ve earned a day that’s all about me. I’m pretty excited to spend Mother’s Day being celebrated by my husband and, of course, eating something delicious,” says Alex Jackson Berkley, director of sales at Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “For special occasions like this, I love setting up a crêpe bar, complete with fruits, nuts, whipped cream, and all the fixings! This time I’ve got my eyes on these bright and festive vanilla cream-filled crêpes with blueberry sauce, berries & kumquats.”

This year, it’s all about embracing togetherness. Call your Frieda’s account manager today for easy crêpe and fresh fruit merchandising solutions to make your shoppers’ celebrations all the more meaningful!

Los Alamitos, CA (March 2021) – As Women’s History Month comes to a close, Frieda’s Specialty Produce looks forward to celebrating its 59th Anniversary on April 2 with the release of a new children’s book titled, “Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat.”

Authored by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Giselle Potter, the book celebrates the incredible life of Frieda Caplan—the produce pioneer who forever changed the way Americans eat by introducing a whole new world of delicious foods to the United States—from baby carrots to blood oranges and, of course, kiwis!

“TRY IT! is what Frieda Caplan did,” says Mara Rockliff, the book’s author. “When she started selling produce in the 1950s, there were no women doing what she did. She could have given up and gone home, or she could have followed the men’s lead and sold the same old apples and bananas and potatoes and tomatoes. Instead, she decided to try something new, and she changed the whole industry.”

Frieda was credited with differentiating her products and building her niche through the clever use of product naming, clear labeling, customer education, and interesting recipes, all of which remains deeply entrenched in the company’s ethos.

“My mother always believed in thinking outside the produce box,” says Karen Caplan, CEO and president of Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “In fact, my favorite story is how she was approached by a produce manager to locate what is now known as kiwifruit. She managed to get the first shipment on grocery store shelves, and, as they say, the rest is marketing history.”

The book has already received rave reviews and is the perfect way to inspire the little ones in your life. For more information, please visit: https://bit.ly/3clogc9 and TRY IT! for yourself!

Speaking of kiwis, April 2 is also Love Your Produce Manager® Day, the perfect opportunity to recognize the incredible work done by the unsung heroes of produce and honor their knowledge, hard work, and ability to go above and beyond even during the toughest times.

Without produce managers, there would be no calamondins, kumquats, lychees, dragon fruit, or other exotic produce. So, don’t forget to celebrate your produce teams this year and highlight all they do to help create that outstanding consumer experience that shoppers are looking for.

Call your Frieda’s account manager today for ways to celebrate these produce heroes.

Los Alamitos, CA (March 2021) – International Women’s Month, celebrated in March, is the perfect time to spotlight the incredible women who have paved the way for women all over the world. As a proud female and family founded, owned and led business, Frieda’s Specialty Produce wanted to do something innovative to recognize women pioneers.

A campaign unveiled across multiple social media platforms features our founder Frieda Rapoport Caplan, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and poet laureate Amanda Gorman. Their iconic styles and personalities were brought to life through produce like colored cauliflower, Stokes Purple® sweet potato, shishito peppers and Snow Dragon™ fruit.

“My mother would have gotten such a kick out of seeing her portrait recreated out of dragon fruit and colored cauliflower,” says Karen Caplan, president and CEO of Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “It brings such joy to honor her alongside the legendary RBG and the voice of the next generation, Amanda Gorman. We wanted to focus on women who have inspired us, but in true Frieda’s fashion do it in a way that makes people smile.”

This International Women’s month we salute all female trailblazers inside and outside the produce industry, from fearless frontline warriors to the female scientists working on the vaccines and all of the moms in between.
To all the women in our lives, thank you for everything you do!

To view the campaign, please visit our social media pages:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/friedasproduce
Facebook – www.facebook.com/friedasspecialtyproduce

Los Alamitos, CA (February 2021) – Whole Foods Market is celebrating “Women Makers Raising the Bar,” highlighting some of the women makers, career changers and industry leaders who inspire and motivate others; and for the second year in a row, Frieda’s will be a focal point in the produce department as a proudly female-founded, female-owned and female-led company.

“We’re happy to spotlight Frieda’s Specialty Produce, a woman-owned and operated produce company,” said Erik Brown, executive leader, procurement at Whole Foods Market. “Frieda’s is a supplier that is all heart, caring deeply about the companies they supply and the shoppers they inspire.”

Nationwide, Whole Foods Market will promote a large selection of Frieda’s specialty items, including Snow & Honey™ dragon fruit, jackfruit, mandarinquats, kumquats, pink lemons and much more.

“We are thrilled to be included in this promotion for the second year in a row! In a male-driven industry, our female-first heritage is what lies at the very heart of our company and sets us apart,” says Megan Klemz, account manager at Frieda’s. “It is truly amazing to work with an organization like Whole Foods Market who has shared values and seeks to inspire their shoppers every day with new food experiences.”

Los Alamitos, CA (February 2021) — The lull between the Super Bowl and Easter often leaves grocery stores and shoppers looking for a bit of retail excitement—making it the perfect time to leverage that treasure hunt mentality and introduce new tropical favorites like dragon fruit.

Dragon fruit is no longer just for summer, in fact, 42% of shoppers said they would like to buy dragon fruit year-round¹. With this in mind, Frieda’s has created attention-getting, limited-edition ElastiTags® that showcase the different varieties of dragon fruit, including Honey Dragon™ and Snow Dragon™. These tags make it easier for shoppers to know what the fruit will look and taste like on the inside and they give consumers a reason to try both varieties.

“Promoting multiple varieties through inviting, bountiful displays is key right now, as shoppers are visiting stores less but stocking up when they do shop,” says Cindy Sherman, director of marketing innovation & insights at Frieda’s. In fact, a recent survey from Deloitte Consulting found that 54% of shoppers said they are visiting stores less frequently than before, with most only going to the store once every two weeks².

Merchandise the two varieties together, alongside citrus favorites like sumo mandarins and pixie tangerines, to increase dollar ring. Or, add some excitement to your tropicals table with an eye-catching display of dragon fruit, jackfruit and pineapples for a vibrant and fun display.

Frieda’s has strong supply of these two dragon fruit varieties from Ecuador and they will be available until the end of April.

Contact your Frieda’s account representative today for merchandising suggestions, including our colorful 3-tier shipper, that maximize your sales per square foot.

Source:
¹C&R 1,000 person study, February 2020
²Deloitte Fresh Food Consumer Survey, 2020

Los Alamitos, CA (January 2021) – Lunar New Year, which begins on February 12, 2021, is the perfect time to help shoppers discover new food favorites, and Frieda’s customized Asian vegetable program makes it easy. 2021 is the Year of the Ox, symbolizing hard work and honesty; we think it’s quite fitting, wouldn’t you say?

Increased family time and at-home eating might be one of the pandemic’s most positive outcomes. However, shoppers are increasingly facing food fatigue. Celebrating Lunar New Year is a great way to keep shoppers inspired with new Asian vegetable favorites. A recent study shows that 50% of shoppers are interested in cooking Asian food at home¹ and 58% want to try new Asian vegetables when cooking Asian food².

“2021’s focus is on adventure and wellness, and our Asian vegetable assortment reflects that. Bestselling and in-demand items like bok choy, gai lan and Chinese eggplant bring much needed excitement to everyday eating while fresh ginger, turmeric and lemongrass, are perfect for promoting balance and wellness,” says Cindy Sherman, director of marketing and innovation at Frieda’s.

Frieda’s recommends creating displays that give shoppers fun and inspiring meal ideas like at-home noodle and spring roll bars. Display complementary items such as wonton and eggroll wrappers and kimchi, and tie them in with food items from other departments—like soy sauce, chopsticks and even red napkins—to be a one-stop destination for Lunar New Year cooking. Given the timing, these are perfect stay-in Valentine’s Day ideas, and nice alternatives to Italian food and pasta.

At Frieda’s, we take great pride in making your store the place for exciting seasonal shopping. Call your Frieda’s account manager today and make your produce department the ultimate Lunar New Year destination!

Source:
C+R 1000 Person Research, 2019

Los Alamitos, CA (January 2021) – Winter is here, and given the social restrictions necessitated by the global pandemic, some would say it is the winter of all winters. In fact, 63% of shoppers say they are unlikely to travel anytime soon¹. So how can retailers help? Give shoppers the winter escape they crave by carrying a variety of specialty tropicals this season.

“For many shoppers, the trip to the grocery store is their only escape right now,” says Cindy Sherman, director of insights, marketing & innovation at Frieda’s. “It makes sense that shoppers would splurge on a latte at the coffee kiosk, spend a little extra time lingering over the cheese case and look for something new and different to try in the produce department, especially something that feels warm, exotic and adventurous.”

Exotic items like dragon fruit, passion fruit, young coconut, turmeric, and jackfruit are the perfect way to give shoppers the excitement they crave in a natural and healthy way. In fact, 41% of shoppers say enjoying exotic tropicals would help to make their lives more fun and interesting². Frieda’s recommends using creative merchandising and a little flair to turn your tropicals table into a tiki-themed escape. Adorn displays with grass skirts, add tropical umbrellas to young coconuts, and merchandise red-skinned dragon fruit alongside for an inviting color break.

Make your produce department the escape that shoppers are looking for right now and give them a reason to spend a little more time exploring tropical fruit variety. Call your Frieda’s account manager today to help build the right tropical variety program for your stores, and for additional creative merchandising ideas.

Source:
¹Destination Analysts 1,200+ people survey, November 2020
²C&R 1,000 person study, May 2020

Los Alamitos, CA (October 2020) – Immunity will be top of mind this winter. In fact, according to a recent study by Hartman Research, 68% of consumers are either using functional foods or are interested in using functional foods for immunity benefit this year¹. Give shoppers easy, delicious ways to dose-up on vitamin C and add variety to their citrus rotation with Frieda’s new calamondin and limequat grab-n-go pouches.

Limequats are a hybrid of two favorites—limes and kumquats—characterized by a sweet rind and tart juice. Sweeter than lime and fully edible, this fruit can be used in cocktails and treats like limequat bars. Calamondin, also known as calamansi, are small hybrids of mandarins and kumquats that are perfectly poppable—skin and all! (Think teeny, tiny oranges that are sour & tart, making them ideal as an ingredient when creating a glaze for fish or poultry.) They are very popular throughout Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine for adding that tangy citrus flavor to dishes.

“Shoppers have become accustomed to discovering new citrus favorites every year,” says Alex Berkley, director of sales at Frieda’s. “First it was blood oranges, then came the Sumo mandarins. Last year shoppers fell in love with our mandarinquats, and this year they’ll be coming to the store to see what’s new & addictive in citrus.”

Frieda’s calamondins and limequats are available in 12/8-ounce pouches, with availability after Thanksgiving. Call your Frieda’s account manager today to request samples and pre-book. Supplies won’t last!

Source:
¹ Functional Food & Beverage Supplements, April 2020, The Hartman Group, total sample (n=2,637)

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 and dragon fruit to Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes and 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, Twitter, and Friedas.com. Inspire. Taste. Love.

Los Alamitos, CA (October 2020) – As the ghost of COVID continues to linger, Halloween is expected to look a little different this year, making now the perfect time to inspire shoppers and their families to try something new in the produce department!

According to a recent survey, 45% of shoppers are looking to find new and different things in the grocery store to make life a little more fun and interesting since the onset of the global pandemic.¹

“I look forward to our Spooky Foods promotion all year long because it’s a great way to get shoppers to try something they have never had before. This year, I’m especially excited about our super-sweet yellow dragon fruit from Ecuador with a Brix level as high as 23…so sweet your kids will think it’s candy!” says Allen Demo, director of business & grower development at Frieda’s.

Just because consumers are opting for small Halloween gatherings at home or letting kids trick-or-treat within their social pods, doesn’t mean that Halloween needs to be less fun. Remind them about the joys of Halloween by displaying carved faces on apples and kiwanos®, creating jackfruit jack-o-lanterns, and staging rambutans to show off the fruit’s fearsome spiky sweetness! Don’t forget to add festive decorations from other departments to help to create the full Halloween effect.

Make the produce department a destination this Halloween by stocking up on fruits and vegetables that will give your shoppers something to cackle about. Your Frieda’s account manager will help you create the perfect potion for a chilling Spooky Foods display to drive incremental sales this October.

Source:
¹ May 2020. C+R Research Omnibus Survey. Sample size of 1,000 people. Representative of total U.S. demographics.

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 and dragon fruit to Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes and 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.

Los Alamitos, CA (September 2020) – October 1 marks the 43rd annual World Vegetarian Day. World Vegetarian Day was started in 1977 and serves to kick off Vegetarian Awareness Month, a month-long celebration of plant-based foods.

More and more people are embracing a plant-based lifestyle, and the emergence of COVID-19 has only accelerated that movement. Healthy, plant-based eating is fast emerging as a way for shoppers to feel in control of their health, while also giving their bodies the best chance of fighting off disease. According to IRI, fresh produce sales are up over 10% compared to last year, versus flat growth at the start of the pandemic¹.

“The pandemic has resulted in what we like to call a ‘health trigger moment,” which is the point where consumers start to rethink their approach to diet and lifestyle. Right now consumers are making shifts in how they eat fueled by the quest for immunity, which is why World Vegetarian Month is the perfect opportunity to plug into the immunity-boosting benefits produce shoppers are looking for,” says Cindy Sherman, director of marketing & insights at Frieda’s.

How can your produce department capitalize on this movement and capture the shoppers’ attention? We suggest focusing on plant-based, immunity-boosting items, including the Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes (with almost 4 times the vitamin C of an orange sweet potato); Turmeric, known for its immunity-boosting, inflammation-fighting properties; and Ginger with its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties.

This World Vegetarian Day, be sure to have the fruit and vegetable variety shoppers are seeking for their health and wellness. Call your Frieda’s account manager today for ideas on how to make your store a vegetarian destination all month long!

Source:
¹IRI, 210 Analytics, Produce Marketing Association data 8/23/20

Los Alamitos, CA (September 2020) – Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are back in season and shoppers are ready for them now more than ever. So get ready for holiday demand with shippers only available from Frieda’s.

Research shows that rich-hued purple vegetables are hot sellers. In fact, retailers carrying Frieda’s exclusive Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are seeing as much as 20% increases in weekly dollar same-store sales on this item vs. prior years’ sales, according to Nielson data¹. These purple sweet potatoes are flying off the shelves!

Why you might ask? It’s the nation’s focus on functional foods, which is peaking now. According to the Mayo Clinic, functional foods are nutrient-dense items that promote optimal health while reducing the risk of disease. Examples include items like oatmeal, nuts, berries, and purple sweet potatoes. The Hartman Group research firm is predicting that functional foods will hit a high this year as COVID-concerned, health-oriented shoppers look to empower themselves and power up their diets with antioxidants.

Frieda’s suggests creating superfood displays that combine items like Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, fresh turmeric, ginger root, and citrus. Tout the nutrition benefits of these fruits & vegetables and turn your produce department into a fresh, functional foods destination.

“Stokes are in high demand this year as we anticipate that holiday cooking will have a functional spin,” says Alex Berkley, Frieda’s director of sales. “Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are ideal to promote for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and our display shipper is a great way to showcase them and add incremental shelf space. We recommend using signage to suggest that shoppers create healthy holiday favorites like Stokes Purple® sweet potato pie.”

Call your Frieda’s account manager today for help in planning your ads now and pre-booking supply.

Source:
¹Nielsen Data xAOC, regional retailer in the NE. 52 weeks ending 7/11/20

Los Alamitos, CA (April 2020) – We are in our seventh week of shelter-at-home orders in California amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and that has been a drastic change for Frieda’s Specialty Produce, where the culture is fueled by face-to-face communication and connection. Many office employees are working from home and the warehouse is abiding by new social distancing regulations that make it feel a little strange at work every day.

It has become increasingly clear that the joy of working from home is wearing off quickly for office workers. Small spaces and the reality of having kids and parents home together brings more pressure to the day, and we all know that people were already stressed out before COVID-19 came onto the scene.

Being in a warehouse environment is no picnic either. Standing 6 feet apart and having a masked conversation with a co-worker feels distant and lacks a human touch. Taking breaks alone feels, well, lonely.

The leadership team at Frieda’s was worried about the impact on employee engagement and decided to do something about it. “We have a new practice of meeting as leaders every morning on Zoom. We spend A LOT of time talking about how the employees are feeling, and we thought if only they could see us in action, just like before COVID-19 hit,” says Karen Caplan, president and CEO. “We wanted to ensure that they know how truly grateful we are for everything they are doing to make sure that our retailers are fully stocked with our fresh, delicious produce.”

So, the Frieda’s leadership team followed in the footsteps of “Saturday Night Live at Home” and the “One World: Together at Home” concert and used their Zoom meeting to record themselves working at home. They first rehearsed as a dry run but the first take was so sweet, simple and sincere that they decided to go with it. “If there is anything this crisis has taught us, it is that sometimes imperfect is absolutely perfect,” Caplan notes.

The video seems to have worked and brought similes to the faces of Frieda’s. “THAT. WAS. BRILLIANT!!! Really made my dayJ,” said Tricia Gil, executive assistant.

Enjoy the video here.

https://youtu.be/04CQHVRnpIU

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA – (March 2020) – In-store employees are working overtime to keep shelves stocked and shoppers fed, making them our local heroes. Love Your Produce Manager® Day (LYPM), April 2, is the perfect time to show gratitude for the produce department team and recognize all the hard work they are putting in today and every day.

Now more than ever before in-store produce teams need to remain motivated and inspired. The extra time and effort they are putting in is making a big difference and these teams deserve recognition for a job well done. This is why Frieda’s created the holiday in 2012 to recognize produce managers—highlighting the hard work they put into their departments to keep them fresh and stocked all year round

“The inspiration for LYPM came from when my mother Frieda introduced the kiwifruit to America in 1962. A shopper at a Safeway store asked their produce manager to locate what is now known as kiwifruit. The produce manager and produce buyer connected with Frieda, who was able to locate the first shipment of the fruit and, as they say, the rest is marketing history,” says Karen Caplan, CEO and president (and Frieda’s eldest daughter).

Here are a few easy ways to recognize your produce teams right now:

Buy them lunch (great way to support local eateries who have pivoted to takeout only).
Ask your produce vendors for extra support right now. If suppliers have employees with unused hours, ask them to spend some of that time helping to keep local produce shelves stocked, which will stretch the efforts of your produce teams and give them a much-needed break.
Ask your shoppers to use social media on April 2 to give shout-outs to well-stocked produce departments in their stores, using the hashtag #LYPM. Frieda’s will report back to you on which stores were mentioned so that you can share that social love with your produce teams. Need signage for this endeavor? Just call your Frieda’s account manager today.

On April 2, please take time to visit your stores to show appreciation for your produce teams and highlight their hard work.

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA – (March 2020) – Despite the news of COVID-19 on the rise in America, hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes continue to be top health conditions in the U.S.¹ To combat these threats, retail registered dieticians can play a key role in helping to educate shoppers so they can make the best food and lifestyle choices. March 11 is National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day, and Frieda’s will be celebrating these in-store superheroes.

“The store-level retail dietitians are really the healthy eating coaches of the grocery store,” says Alex Berkley, Frieda’s director of sales. “They are an accessible, approachable and affordable (or free) source of advice for shoppers to make the best decisions when it comes to healthy, delicious eating. And from our experience, store level RDs love to promote fresh produce!”

In fact, studies have shown that working with a retail registered dietitian can lead to healthier eating, better compliance with medication and improved health results. A 2019 study of hypertension patients, originally reported in ConsumerAffairs, revealed that 30 participants who received three counseling sessions from retail dietitians over the course of 12 weeks saw favorable results.²

Call your Frieda’s account manager for strategies on how to leverage your retail registered dietitians. We’ll help you create an impactful consumer experience that encourages shoppers to stay healthy every day.

Sources:

Dalli, Kristen, et al. “Grocery Store Nutrition Information Help Shoppers Make Healthier Choices.” ConsumerAffairs, www.consumeraffairs.com/news/grocery-store-nutrition-information-help-shoppers-make-healthier-choices-021219.html.
Morgan, Kate. “Story from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association: These Are the Top 10 Health Conditions Affecting Americans.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 6 Nov. 2018, www.usatoday.com/story/sponsor-story/blue-cross-blue-shield-association/2018/10/24/these-top-10-health-conditions-affecting-americans/1674894002/.

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA (March 2020) – March 8 marks International Women’s Day, and the month of March is celebrated as International Women’s month—all in an effort to promote the equality of women. This year the theme is #eachforequal, whereby an equal world is an enabled world.

In support of this, Whole Foods Market will be celebrating women with their Women Makers Raising the Bar campaign, a movement highlighting the accomplishments of notable women makers. This year, Frieda’s Specialty Produce will be a focal point in the produce department as a Female First for being a female-led trailblazing company that has introduced over 200 fresh produce items to the U.S. since 1962.

“We’re proud to feature Frieda’s products in our stores during our Women Makers Raising the Bar campaign this month,” said Erik Brown, Produce Executive Leader. “Frieda’s is a women-owned company that our customers have come to know and love, and we are excited to celebrate their high-quality produce.”

Nationwide, the chain will promote a large selection of both bulk and packaged specialty produce, including dragon fruit, kiwano, mandarinquats, jackfruit and much more. In total, 14 items will be showcased.

“We are thrilled to be celebrating our women-owned, women-led culture with one of our top clients,” says Alex Berkley, Frieda’s sales director. “It’s magical when our story and values are completely intertwined with the DNA of those that we service.”

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Los Alamitos, CA (February 2020) – Lent is a perfect time to help shoppers look beyond fish and move produce to the center of their plate by discovering a variety of plant-based foods, including new fruits and vegetables. Nearly 25 percent of Americans observe the holiday, making it a great time to feature an expanded assortment of fruits, vegetables and meat alternatives for meatless Fridays as a way to satisfy shoppers’ desires for something other than meat during this time.

According to a 2019 survey from C+R Research in partnership with Frieda’s, 68 percent of shoppers are planning to add more produce to the meals they serve this spring, and 73 percent say they choose grocery stores with a variety of fruits and vegetables over other stores. That means fresh variety will drive store traffic, giving shoppers new reasons to experiment with fresh flavors.

Creating meatless destinations for your shoppers is key to capitalizing on traditions and consumer trends this Lenten season. “Products like Frieda’s Jackfruit, Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes, Soyrizo™ and Colored Cauliflower become the new go-to staples for many homes that observe Lent and abstain from meat on Fridays,” says Alex Berkley, Frieda’s director of sales.

“Recipes like Beer-Braised Fresh Jackfruit Chili, made with fresh jackfruit, and Spiced Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas are a great way to promote variety,” Berkley says. Create displays with these items featuring enticing signage to showcase meal ideas. Eye-catching displays with all-in-one selections in the same place help demonstrate to shoppers that there is more to Lent than fish sticks or fish sandwiches—even shoppers not observing Lent will want to make vegetables the star of their plates this spring!

Call your Frieda’s account manager today to get merchandising support and ideas on how to make your store a Lent destination.

Sources:
Smietana 2017. Facts & Trends. Three-Quarters of Americans Give Up Lent for Lent.
2018. The Packer. Fresh Trends 2018.
2019. C+R Research Omnibus.

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Los Alamitos, CA (February 2019) – What do shoppers look for when buying sweet potatoes? Which types do they prefer? Versatility is key and shoppers want a sweet potato that can be used in a variety of dishes such as soups, pies, fries and more — just like Frieda’s Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes.

According to a 2020 survey from C + R Research, 56% of shoppers say that they want to be able to use a sweet potato in both sweet and savory dishes. Additionally, 37% of shoppers say they prefer a purple sweet potato over an orange variety for everyday cooking, likely due to the versatile texture of the potato, which bakes and fries well. Among those who are interested in purchasing a purple sweet potato, 69% believe they are worth paying more for versus orange sweet potatoes. It’s becoming clear that now, more than ever, shoppers want that versatility and are willing to pay more for it.

“Our test kitchen team cooked up our Stokes Purple® along with other purple sweet potato varieties, and the classic orange sweet potato to see how they all stacked up,” says Alex Berkley, Frieda’s sales director. “We found that Stokes Purple® really stood out as the only purple-fleshed sweet potato that has both a mild sweetness and the appropriate level of starchiness and moistness to make them ideal for everyday cooking. Shoppers love that they can buy our purple sweet potatoes and use them to make everything from muffins, chips and cheesecake bars, and they contain anthocyanins, just like blueberries. Stokes Purple® truly are a super sweet potato.”

Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are also the go-to sweet potato for influential chefs like Chef Chadwick Boyd, food and lifestyle expert, cookbook author and cooking show judge. “Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are exceptionally versatile. They’re ideal for plant-based main dishes and richer, denser pies, while being pleasantly less sweet — so on trend! Their vibrant purple color makes plates and platters unforgettable,” Boyd notes.

Drive your produce sales this spring by stocking up on Frieda’s Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, conventional and organic. Our exclusive, non-GMO supply is ready for shipping and stocking on your produce shelf, either in bulk or 3-pound bags. Call your Frieda’s account manager today for merchandising, signage and recipe solutions. Move over orange sweet potatoes, Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes are here to stay.

Source:
2020 C+R Research Omnibus Survey, sample size of 1,000 people, representative of total U.S. demographics.

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Los Alamitos, CA – (January 2020) – Frieda’s Specialty Produce, known for spotting trends like veggies for dessert and unicorn food, has updated its predictions for 2020 to help retailers make room for what’s hot.

Frieda’s trendologists are at it again. “We are in the fields with our growers and in the kitchens with our chefs,” says Cindy Sherman, director of marketing and innovation. “We dive deep into our consumer research to identify real changes in behavior versus the fads that are here today, gone tomorrow.” Find Frieda’s trend predictions below:

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Los Alamitos, CA (January 2020) – The Kiwi Queen, Mushroom Queen, Packer’s 1979 Produce “Man” of the Year, Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, passed away on January 18 at the age of 96. Frieda lived a very long and healthy life. In fact, she became a vegan at the age of 95, choosing a plant-based diet.

Frieda was an incredibly vibrant woman her entire life and most recently received the Center for Growing Talent Catalyst Award which she accepted in person October 2019 during the Produce Marketing Association Convention in Anaheim. Keynote speaker Queen Latifah saluted the Kiwi Queen when she took the stage.

Frieda began her career in produce by working for Giumarra Brothers on the 7^th street wholesale produce market (the company was managed by her husbands’ aunt and uncle). After a few years, the landlord of the produce market, the Southern Pacific Railroad, encouraged her to start her own business.

So on April 2, 1962, she opened Produce Specialties, Inc. on the L.A. Wholesale produce market with light lavender signs. She was the first woman to own and operate a wholesale produce company in the United States. That purple color turned into the company’s “trademarked” color, and to this day, most everyone in the produce industry associates “purple” with Frieda’s.

Frieda was eventually joined in the business by both her daughters: Karen Caplan in 1977 and Jackie Caplan Wiggins in 1983. Frieda’s greatest joy was that she got to work side by side with her daughters every day. Most recently, two of her grandchildren, Alex Berkley and Sophia Jackson joined the now third-generation family business.

Frieda was a political activist her entire life, starting with student body campaigns she ran while she was a student at UCLA. In 1945 Frieda was named “Miss UCLA” for being the best known person on campus.

She was active in many local organizations, which provide support to people regardless of age, gender, race, color, sexual orientation or financial status. Some of her favorites were: Dramatic Results, Trust Women, and Women Against Gun Violence. She also supported the ACLU, Anti-Defamation League and Planned Parenthood.

She was part of a longitudinal study being conducted at UCI Mind Institute in Irvine, CA to help find the cause and cure for Alzheimer’s. After her passing, her brain was donated to UCI Mind so it could be studied to help solve this terrible disease.

A Celebration of Life will be held on February 22; the location and time to be announced. The family suggests anyone wanting to make a donation in her memory, to choose one of the organizations which were important to Frieda: Dramatic Results (Long Beach) www.dramaticresults.org, UCI Mind http://www.mind.uci.edu , Trust Women (Kansas) www.trustwomen.org , Women Against Gun Violence (Los Angeles) www.wagv.org , American Civil Liberties Union – ACLU (Los Angeles) www.aclusocal.org , Anti-Defamation League (Los Angeles) https://www.adl.org, Planned Parenthood (Orange and San Bernardino Counties) www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-orange-san-bernardino.

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Los Alamitos, CA (January 2020) – Friendsgiving is so 2019. What’s 2020 you ask? Galentine’s Day.

Galentine’s Day takes place on or around Valentine’s Day and is a celebration of friendship. With no significant other needed, it’s a way to celebrate your gal pals—or any pals for that matter.

“We love the notion of Galentine’s Day here at Frieda’s, where we have always celebrated female empowerment. It gives our retailers a way to double the number of Valentine’s Day celebrations and help fill in the gap in between January healthy eating and March St. Patrick’s Day fun,” said Alex Berkley, Frieda’s director of sales. “I plan to invite my girlfriends over on February 13 for champagne and a make-your-own crêpe bar with berries, Nutella and freshly made Frieda’s young coconut cream.”

Frieda’s offers single cases of ready-to-eat, shelf-stable French-style crêpes with 12 packages per display-ready case. The display and packaging feature a bright, fun design that attracts impulse shoppers, especially Galentine’s Day celebrating millennials, and includes how to prepare crêpes in three easy steps.

To make your crêpe display a dessert destination in the produce aisle, place it by the berry patch, along with chilled young coconuts. Don’t just stop there—merchandise whipped cream, chocolate sauce and glaze in the surrounding space for maximum impact.

Call a Frieda’s account manager today for sweet deals on crêpes and other Valentine’s Day/Galentine’s Day promotion ideas.

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA (January 2020) – Did you know that 73% of shoppers will choose a grocery store because it has more variety in its fresh produce offerings than other retailers¹? Make room for the assortment your customers are looking for with Frieda’s new three-tiered display shipper and bin display shipper.

“We are kicking off the New Year with two newly designed shippers,” says Alex Berkley, director of sales at Frieda’s. “The three-tiered shipper lets produce managers display a range of items at once, while our beautiful bin display was made for merchandising one or two items. Both shippers were designed with the retailer in mind, helping them to have flexibility and to allow stores to maximize sales per square foot all year long, while also providing cooking inspiration for shoppers.”

Fill your display shippers with items like Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, Frieda’s branded grab-in-go citrus pouches and eye-catching tropical items like dragon fruit and passion fruit.

To add incremental shelf space to your stores, contact Frieda’s today! Shippers will be offered free of charge with minimum purchases.

Source:

C+R Research, 2019.

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA (December 2019) – Winter is around the corner, which means that shoppers will be looking to discover new seasonal citrus favorites for an extra boost of vitamin C. This year, Frieda’s will be offering new grab-n-go citrus pouches for two new items: mandarinquats and lemonade lemons.

“Our data shows that the Frieda’s brand means something to shoppers and helps to get them over the hump of trying a something new,” says Cindy Sherman, director of marketing and innovation at Frieda’s. “Because some of these items can be intimidating, we like to help them get ideas on how to enjoy our products. Using our packaging to educate makes it easy and convenient for shoppers!”

For instance, mandarinquats are a hybrid of two favorites—mandarins and kumquats—and Frieda’s encourages shoppers to use these small fruits to add a punch of citrus flavor to any dish. Frieda’s lemonade lemons are delightfully sweet, so we recommend eating them as is, peel and all, or adding them to your favorite drinks.

All this information—and more—can be found on Frieda’s branded citrus packaging, which has always been a retailer favorite because of its convenience, ease of merchandising and low shrink. With a third of all consumers making their purchasing decisions based on packaging¹, Frieda’s wants to ensure that retailers have the best opportunity to grow their incremental winter citrus sales.

All new items will be available in January. Call your Frieda’s account manager today for more information about our winter citrus line-up!

References:

What Consumers Look for in Packaging. (2018, September 21). Retrieved from https://www.klbdkosher.org/news-and-articles/what-consumers-look-for-in-packaging/.

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Los Alamitos, CA (December 2019) – Shoppers are more interested in cooking Asian food at home now than ever before (61% of them, to be exact¹), which is why Frieda’s developed a customized Asian vegetable program just in time for Lunar New Year (LNY), which begins on January 25^th, 2020. This is a great way to help shoppers try something new in the comfort of their preferred retailers.

“Some of our most popular items for this time of the year are Shanghai bok choy, fresh ginger and Chinese eggplant, which fall right in line with the findings of our consumer research,” says Alex Berkley, director of sales at Frieda’s. “We did the work for our retailers by finding out what consumers are looking for and where, thus giving us the items to create the perfect sets!”

Pairing the unfamiliar with the familiar is the first step in bridging the gap for shoppers, especially because 34% of shoppers are intimidated by Asian vegetables¹. This coupled with utilizing Frieda’s in-store signage and educational packaging is a recipe for success, given that 56% of shoppers say that they want to be able to shop for Asian produce in their regular grocery store¹.

“We, at Frieda’s, take pride in knowing that our brand really resonates with shoppers,” says Berkley. “They trust us provide high-quality product, consistent supply and inspiring recipe ideas, and that extends into our Asian vegetable line up, too.”

Call your Frieda’s account manager today to learn more about how to create a custom Asian produce set for your stores.

Reference:

C+R Research, 2019.

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA – (December 2019) – Frieda’s Specialty Produce, known for spotting trends like veggies for dessert and unicorn food, has released its predictions for 2020 to help retailers make room for what’s hot.

About Frieda’s Inc.

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Los Alamitos, CA (November 2019) – In August 2018, Frieda’s Specialty Produce and foodservice powerhouse Sysco joined forces with the goal of helping chefs get the best quality and variety of produce through their innovative e-commerce platform, Supplies on the Fly. On October 24, 2019, Sysco recognized their best vendor partners in a special award ceremony and, out of 2,300 vendors, Frieda’s was awarded a Bronze award for their valued partnership.

Other produce vendors who received awards included Taylor Farms, Church Brothers Farms, Driscoll’s, EarthFresh Farms and Bonduelle. We give a hearty congratulations to Frieda’s and everyone else who received awards this year!

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Los Alamitos, CA (November 2019) – Frieda’s Specialty Produce partnered with Keany Produce & Gourmet to sponsor the secret ingredient at DC Central Kitchen’s Capital Food Fight on November 6^th.

Held at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., the event mobilized more than 2,000 attendees who roamed throughout 80 DC-area restaurant stations. Chef Jose Andres, named the 2018 Humanitarian of the Year by the James Beard Foundation, hosted the event. He’s known for his work to end hunger and poverty by using the power of food to empower communities and strengthen economies.

The secret ingredient for one of the battles was Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, exclusively distributed by Frieda’s. Chef Marcelle Afram of Bluejacket created a Stokes Purple® sweet potato spiced funnel cake with a chocolate walnut tahini spread, the winning dish of the battle (pictured above). “I’m making dessert for breakfast”, said Chef Afram of her inspiration behind the dish. Chef Afram battled Chef Kyoo Eom of Dirty Habit who made a spicy crab salad “sushi roll” with the Stokes Purple® sweet potato, garnished with aioli, potato chip and crispy lime.

Other competing chefs included, Adam Greenberg of Coconut Club and Johanna Hellrigl of Doi Moi.

Now celebrating its 16^th year, Capital Food Fight was the brainchild of celebrity chef Jose Andres; 100% of the $815,000 raised benefits DC Central Kitchen (DCCK), a nonprofit enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. DCCK’s social ventures include serving scratch-cooked, farm-to-school meals in DC schools, delivering fresh, affordable produce to corner stores in neighborhoods without supermarkets and operating a fast-casual cafe.

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Los Alamitos, CA (October 2019) – The holidays are right around the corner and soon shoppers will be thinking about what to serve their holiday guests.

With the growth of plant-based eating, many of today’s shoppers are looking for more meatless main dishes to include on their holiday table. One-third of Americans consider themselves to be “flexitarians”—someone who fluctuates between enjoying a plant-based and a meat-based diet¹. In fact, 60% of people are more likely to include at least one plant-based main dish on their holiday table than in the past². This means shoppers will be stocking up on a variety of fruits and vegetables for the center of the plate this year, so be sure to offer options that will delight their senses.

“As more shoppers are looking for meatless main dish alternatives, it’s important for retailers to make plant-based foods a focus in their stores,” says Alex Berkley, director of sales for Frieda’s. “Frieda’s Colored Cauliflower is a great option for holiday main dishes such as whole roasted colored cauliflower with salsa verde. Cauliflower continues to explode in popularity, and adding colored cauliflower to your produce set will keep you on trend with consumers,” Berkley says. Just as versatile as white cauliflower, colored cauliflower—which comes in purple, orange and green—will add a colorful splash to the holiday table.

Veggie-based mains are perfect for “Friendsgiving” celebrations that continue to grow in popularity – particularly among millennials who are looking to try something new and “show off” their skills with innovative dishes. This gathering among friends means the Thanksgiving holiday has transformed into multiple meals. Sixty-five percent of people plan to attend multiple holiday celebrations,³ so shoppers will have more opportunities to buy and cook and will seek out veg variety when they shop.

Add signage and recipe cards to round out a full-scale display of plant-based main dish ideas in your produce department—it’s a sure way to inspire shoppers.

Contact your Frieda’s sales manager for more ways to maximize your plant-based opportunities in stores this holiday season!

Gervis, Zoya. “One Third of Americans Consider Themselves ‘Flexitarian’.” New York Post, 26 Oct. 2018, https://nypost.com/2018/10/26/one-third-of-americans-consider-themselves-flexitarian/.
C+R research, 2019
Wakefield research, Sept. 2018

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Los Alamitos, CA (October 2019) – PMA Fresh Summit 2019 is here, which means making connections, spotting innovation and having fun. But it can also mean the onset of hangovers, headaches and foot blisters. While you’re out walking the convention floor, look for your friends in purple. Frieda’s team will be in and around the convention center at the ready with aids to help you “survive” the nation’s largest produce convention.

“Part of our culture is going above and beyond, and we want to bring that to PMA with us this year,” says Alex Berkley, Frieda’s director of sales. For years we have been saying, “What if we can equip our clients with a trade show survival kit, to help them get the most out of the show?”

Well this year, it’s happening! Frieda’s on-site teams will be armed to address survival needs for PMA attendees. Have a headache from that extra cocktail last night? Got some heartburn from the guacamole you just sampled? Is a blister from those new shoes holding you back? Just look for the folks in purple. “It will be easy to spot our teams,” Berkley says. “We’ll be the ones in purple shirts that say ‘Got your back’ because Frieda’s always has your back.” We’ll see you at the show.

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Los Alamitos, CA (October 2019) – Across the store, shoppers are looking for ways to add more festive cheer into their everyday items during the holiday season—from peppermint-flavored drinks to snowman-themed tissue boxes. It’s time for the produce department to join in on the festive fun!

For the first time, Frieda’s is offering a collection of limited-time offer (LTO) holiday alliums, including pearl onions, cipolline onions and a special edition of 6-ounce shallots, all featuring festive labels and packaging in easy-to-open clamshells that showcase the product. The holiday labels are decked out with red and gold ornaments that are sure to grab your shoppers’ attention and drive Q4 sales for your store.

Research shows that shoppers are more willing than ever to spend additional money on the best ingredients. In fact, 69% of shoppers agree that it is worth splurging on better ingredients during the holidays¹, according to research done in partnership with C+R in 2019. Surveys reveal that 63% of consumers say they are likely to trade up to shallots and 48% of consumers are likely to trade up to cipollines¹ from traditional onions.

Use Frieda’s eye-catching LTO holiday packaging to sway shoppers to switch!

“We know that the fourth quarter is a great time to inspire shoppers and make the most of the holidays,” says Cindy Sherman, director of marketing and innovation at Frieda’s. “Consumers are more likely to leave these décor-worthy items out on their countertops, leading them to use these up faster and come back to your store to repurchase.”

Call your account manager today for helping making your produce department a holiday destination!

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Los Alamitos, CA (September 2019) – Today’s shopper craves more plant-based meals than ever before (hello meatless Monday!). Be sure your produce section has everything your shoppers need to make produce the center of the plate this October 1—World Vegetarian Day.

Consumers want options, like meatless main dishes. In fact, a third of Americans consider themselves to be “flexitarians”—someone who fluctuates between enjoying a plant-based and a nonplant-based diet¹.

“Shoppers are becoming more aware of their health and the positive impacts of having a more plant-centric diet,” says Karen Caplan, CEO of Frieda’s. “I have been vegan for about 9 months now and have experienced more energy, lower cholesterol and a lower overall body mass index (BMI). One of my favorite guilty pleasures is using Frieda’s jackfruit as a meat substitute for an amazing meatless stew, which is perfect for fall!”

Jackfruit, a.k.a. the world’s largest tree fruit, is a staple in plant-based cooking because of its ability to absorb flavor when cooked. Plus, it shreds like pulled pork! Shoppers also love Frieda’s Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, a complete plant-based meal option that works well in curries, power bowls and vegetarian enchiladas!

Add signage to round out a full-scale display of plant-based meal ideas in your produce department—it’s a sure way to inspire shoppers. Visit www.www.friedas.com/recipes for ideas on ways to celebrate World Vegetarian Day and beyond!

Gervis, Zoya. “One Third of Americans Consider Themselves ‘Flexitarian’.” New York Post, 26 Oct. 2018, https://nypost.com/2018/10/26/one-third-of-americans-consider-themselves-flexitarian/.

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Los Alamitos, CA (September 2019) – Excite shoppers throughout October with Frieda’s Spooky Foods promotion! There is no better time than Halloween All Hallows Eve’ to display some of Frieda’s most unique items to inspire shoppers and their kids to try something new in the produce department.

Build a display highlighting spooky foods such as Frieda’s jackfruit, Kiwano®, rambutan, blood oranges and red dragon fruit together. Dial up the fun by carving spooky faces into apples, Kiwanos® or blood oranges and giving shoppers a healthy way of celebrating the holiday. Don’t forget to add festive decorations from other departments to help to create the full Halloween effect.

“Our clients love this promotion, so every year we are dedicated to finding the best-quality items to help create a Halloween produce set,” says Frieda’s Director of Procurement Allen DeMo. “Take, for example, our jackfruit. This year we have partnered with an amazing grower who is supplying us with the highest-quality, GLOBALG.A.P.-certified and best-tasting jackfruit.”

Make the produce department a destination this Halloween by ordering up on fruits and vegetables that will give your shoppers something to howl about. Your Frieda’s account manager will help you curate the perfect Spooky Foods display to drive incremental sales this October.

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Los Alamitos, CA (August 2019) – To help create additional display space and make merchandising easy for grocers and shoppers, Frieda’s will be offering new, easy-to-assemble shippers just in time for the holiday season.

Starting in October, Frieda’s will offer two holiday shippers: a 3-tiered unit to display multiple holiday items and a high-graphic display-bin for merchandising Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes. The 3-tiered display creates a one-stop, trade-up center for consumers. The high-graphic bin highlights Frieda’s seasonal favorite Stokes Purple® sweet potato pie with maple whipped cream, prompting shoppers to stop and take a picture of the ingredient list, thus eliminating the need for tear pads. Both shippers will be offered free of charge with clients’ holiday orders.

Popular products that display well with the shippers and are trending with consumers include destination items like Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, colored cauliflower and Sunchokes®, as well as flavorful cooking essentials such as Meyer lemons, Cipollini onions and shallots.

To increase your stores’ sales, contact Frieda’s now to pre-book your orders for the new holiday shippers, with shipments starting in early October.

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Los Alamitos, CA (August 2019) – This holiday season consumers are looking to elevate their cooking by using the best, highest quality ingredients, especially when entertaining. And, they are willing to spend more to get it. In fact, 69 percent of consumers think it is worth to splurge on better ingredients during the holidays, especially when it comes to produce*.

“Based on our research, we have found that people are willing to trade up to new, on-trend produce, especially when they are entertaining” says Alex Berkley, director of sales for Frieda’s. “And what better time than the holidays to give shoppers the in-season products they crave like Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes , cipollini onions, shallots and Meyer lemons,” says Berkley. According to the study, 59 percent of shoppers are likely to trade-up to Meyer Lemons instead of regular lemons and 52 percent of shoppers are likely to trade-up to Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes versus regular sweet potatoes*.

Merchandising on-trend, higher value produce next to their every-day counterparts is a great way to give shoppers the variety they seek. This is also a great way to gain incremental sales in categories where low margin traffic-driving produce items can impact the bottom line during the holiday season.

To help create incremental display space and make merchandising easy for grocers and shoppers, Frieda’s will be offering new, easy-to-set-up shippers just in time for holiday. Starting in October, we will have our new 3-tier and display-bin shippers available. The 3-tier display is great way to create a one-stop, trade-up center for consumers that will surely cause them to stop and shop. The display-bin shipper will highlight Frieda’s seasonal favorite Stokes Purple® sweet potato pie with maple whipped cream, prompting shoppers to stop and take a picture of the recipe, thus eliminating the need for tear pads.

The Holidays are on our minds too so call your Frieda’s account manager today to pre-book.

**C+R research, 2019

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 and dragon fruit to Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes and 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.

Los Alamitos, CA (August 2019) – With the new school season fast approaching, parents are stocking up on notebooks and school supplies. While they’re at the grocery store, encourage them to stop in the produce department for tasty, healthy lunch box items.

“Frieda’s Chilean kumquats are the perfect school snack because they are bite-sized, delicious and ready to eat,” says Alex Berkley, director of sales at Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “With their convenient packaging, it is easy to merchandise them with other common snacking produce like apples or oranges for a back-to-school destination set.” Retailers can also add Frieda’s cape gooseberries, jicama and watermelon radishes to their display as shoppers are always looking for new, healthy and delicious treats to add to their kids’ lunch.

“This year, we are trying something new with our two young kids,” says Cindy Sherman, director of marketing at Frieda’s. “I picked up bento boxes that make packing lunches a breeze! It’s easy to fill the compartments with kumquats, jicama sticks, cheese and whole grain pretzels.”

To help inspire parents, Frieda’s will host a social media campaign on Instagram and Facebook dedicated to sharing what parents are putting in their kids’ lunch as they head back to school. It’s all about #WhatsForLunch. This campaign is a perfect way for parents to share and receive lunch box inspiration. Look for the campaign kicking off in August and don’t forget to share #WhatsForLunch.

To fill your back-to-school destination display, call your Frieda’s account manager today.

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 and dragon fruit, to Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes and 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.

Los Alamitos, CA – (July 2019) – Many people associate working in produce with being healthy, but the folks at Frieda’s Specialty Produce know that health is much more than eating fruits and vegetables. During July, Frieda’s launched a well-being program by holding Frieda’s Wellness Week to help educate and empower all employees to stay healthy.

“I know that Frieda’s cares about me as a person, and giving me the chance to learn more about wellness as a whole helps me to be the best version of myself,” says Megan Klemz, an account manager at Frieda’s. “When I feel my best, I can provide the best possible service to my clients, who can, in turn, provide the best service to their shoppers.”

Frieda’s Wellness Week included two days of stretching and nutrition workshops, a full day of massages from Corporate Kneads and a healthy, yet delicious, taco bar for all employees on the final day. During the workshop, employees learned some tips on warm-ups, stretches and different ways to take productive breaks throughout the day. “The folks at Frieda’s were so much fun to work with,” said Cooper, an exercise and nutrition coach based in southern California. “They were engaged and committed to taking small steps toward improving their health.”

The lessons from Wellness Week have already made a difference at Frieda’s. Teams are stretching each morning in the office, as well as holding “walking meetings” throughout the week. “Wellness Week was just the kick start I needed to begin incorporating more active time into my home and work life,” Klemz says.

Frieda’s looks forward to improving employee well-being throughout the year, setting a new standard for the produce industry as a whole.

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Los Alamitos, CA (June 2019) – Staying true to its mission of ‘inspiring new food experiences’ Frieda’s has relaunched its website to make it easy for shoppers to know what is in season, get inspired with kitchen-tested recipes and make it easier for shoppers to find them in store.

Perhaps the most innovative feature is the new product locator tool that helps shoppers easily find where to buy Frieda’s products anywhere in the US. “We are thrilled to partner with Frieda’s. As one of the leading purveyors of specialty produce, Frieda’s has cultivated a devoted following of consumers eager to find their must-have products”, says David Navama, CEO of Destini. “With Destini’s Product Locator technology, consumers can now discover the exact location of their favorite Frieda’s products with a single click, and Frieda’s internal team can capture important insights on regional product demand. The Destini team is proud to be part of Frieda’s continued dedication to inspiring new food experiences.”

The new website curates a selection of seasonally relevant items in the “trending now” section, to help inspire shoppers to try the best of the season and a refreshed collection of recipes. “Recipes are the pride and joy of our site, including our new video series that makes innovative new dishes super easy for consumers”, says Cindy Sherman, Director of Marketing & Innovation. “Our carefully selected recipes featuring specific Frieda’s products are a great way to bring next-level excitement and enjoyment to any table.” With eye-catching photos and easy to follow instructions, these recipes can be easily printed or shared on social media directly from the website.

One-click navigation lets consumers easily find our top 20 items or they can explore to discover almost 300 top specialty fruit, vegetables and packaged products with relevant information from how to use, to where they are grown, and to how to select.

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Los Alamitos, CA (May 2019) – Grown on the lush and sunny volcanic hills of Nicaragua, Frieda’s red dragon fruit is about to be hand-picked!

According to a recent survey by C+R Research in partnership with Frieda’s, 38% of shoppers say they are more likely to shop at YOUR store if you carry red dragon fruit and 62% of shoppers say they are worth paying more for, compared to traditional white-fleshed dragon fruit. With this in mind, Frieda’s has created a limited-edition ElastiTag® to help buyers and shoppers identify this red-fleshed dragon fruit.

Its beautiful appearance and attractive deep red-magenta flesh make this unique fruit a must for attention-grabbing displays. “We are recommending retailers to merchandise red dragon fruit alongside young coconuts (on ice) and blueberries to increase dollar ring for the July 4^th holiday,” says Alex Berkley, sales manager at Frieda’s specialty produce.

This beautiful and refreshing tropical fruit can be simply peeled and enjoyed alone, or added to summer classics like salsa, fruit salads, and smoothies. Frieda’s red dragon fruit is not only one of the sweetest dragon fruits with a Brix of 17, but its mild flavor also complements summer classics like pineapples and strawberries. It can also be used as a garnish or ingredient for cocktails or as festive table decoration.

Available in 6, 9, 12 and 18 count “and a baby “snackable” size, we expect it to be available all summer through October. Contact your Frieda’s account representative today for merchandising suggestions that drive higher traffic to your produce department and increase dollar ring and overall sales.

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA (May 2019) – The beginning of summer means – Frieda’s white-flesh Angelcots® are coming! Though the season is short and sweet, consumers nationwide know they are coming and demand always exceeds supply.

“Angelcots® and other high-flavor tree fruits are trending every year because they’re something familiar with a slight twist,” says Alex Berkley, sales manager at Frieda’s. “The flavor of these are mild and sweet, and shoppers are already waiting to get their hands on them, which is why we do pre-orders before the season even kicks off.”

The unique and irresistible juicy and floral flavor of Angelcots® makes them a crowd favorite. The crop has been grown exclusively for Frieda’s in California for almost a decade, and the first harvest usually starts mid-June.

If you want to have the amazing Angelcot® experience in your stores, better call your Frieda’s account manager today – before they are all sold out.

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Los Alamitos, CA (May 2019) – The super-hot pepper season has arrived early this year. Peppers like ghost, carolina reaper and trinidad scorpion are coloring up on plants and getting ready to land in your produce department, just in time for Memorial Day displays.

“Super-hot peppers have become a cult favorite in recent years” says Alex Berkley, sales manager at Frieda’s specialty produce. “We are seeing their arrival from Holland earlier than last year, which is perfect timing to add them to ‘chill & grill’ displays and merchandise with summer favorites like watermelon and refreshing young coconuts, on ice. In fact, according to a recent study by C + R Research in partnership with Frieda’s, 35% of shoppers say they are more likely to shop at YOUR store if you sell young coconuts.”

Don’t just stop there. Entice shoppers to celebrate Memorial Day (and the whole summer) by adding to your summer displays. “With Memorial Day serving as the kickoff to the summer grilling season, we encourage retailers to add new grilling favorites to their summer sets, including Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, colored cauliflower, shishito peppers and graffiti eggplant,” says Berkley.

Call your Frieda’s account manager today for merchandising solutions that inspire your shoppers’ summer holiday celebrations.

Source:

C+R Research Omnibus Survey. Sample size of 1,000 people. Representative of total U.S. demographics.

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Los Alamitos, CA (April 2019) – Entice shoppers to celebrate Mother’s Day more memorably this year by adding Frieda’s French Style Crêpes to your berry case.

“Shoppers are looking for new and easy ways to enjoy holidays like Mother’s Day without breaking the bank,” said Alex Jackson Berkley, sales manager at Frieda’s Specialty Produce. “Showing your customers that they can elevate their celebration with items like our crêpes is a sure-fire way to boost your berry sales this season!”

Providing recipe inspiration is another way to drive customer purchases. With berries being a popular complement to crêpes, we recommend sharing a recipe like our Blueberry Lemon Mousse Crêpes and cross-merchandising with the berries to have a one-stop pop-up display. Frieda’s offers a shelf-stable display box that holds 12/5 oz. packages of Frieda’s French Style Crêpes, which makes creating these types of displays easy.

Call your Frieda’s account manager today for merchandising solutions that inspire your shoppers’ celebrations this May!

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA (April 2019) – This year the Passover holiday will be celebrated from April 19 at sundown on April 27. The highlight of Passover is the Seder, observed on the first two nights of the holiday. The Seder is a fifteen-step family-oriented tradition and ritual-packed feast.

“Those of us in the fresh produce business know that Passover has some very distinctive foods that are used at the Seder.” says Alex Berkley, sales manager at Frieda’s.

The traditional celebration usually includes specific essentials like horseradish, but that doesn’t mean your meal has to be completely conventional. Newer generations are celebrating Passover by incorporating other produce in their modern versions of Passover Seder plates.

“We know that shoppers will be looking for exciting Passover items at their local markets so we want to make it easier for them to find these holiday must-haves through merchandising. Try cross-merchandising horseradish and Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes as a way to increase the basket ring during this springtime Jewish holiday.” says Alex Berkley, sales manager at Frieda’s.

Furthermore, a recent article by reformjudaism.org explained how and why new additions are showing up on modern Seder plates. Such is the case for tubers, including potatoes and sweet potatoes. “In 1991, Israel launched Operation Solomon, a covert plan to bring Ethiopian Jews to the Holy Land. When these famished, downtrodden Jews arrived in Israel, many were so hungry and ill that they were unable to digest substantial food. Israeli doctors fed these new immigrants simple boiled potatoes and rice until their systems could take more food.”

Therefore, to commemorate this at their Seder, consumers are incorporating sweet potato alongside the karpas (green spring vegetable). This addition honors a wondrous exodus in our own time, from Ethiopia to Israel. We especially like the inclusion of Stokes Purple® sweet potatoes, and then highlighting it during the dinner portion of the meal, in dishes like organic Stokes Purple ®sweet potato fritters with green tahini. This recipe was created especially for Frieda’s by chefs Heather Sperling and Emily Fiffer of Botanica. Located in Silverlake, CA. Botanica was named one of the Top 10 Best New Restaurants in 2017 by LA Magazine.

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Los Alamitos, CA (March 2019) – Love Your Produce Manager® Day (LYPM) is our favorite day of the year to recognize supermarket heroes across the country – produce managers and their teams. LYPM Day grabs attention every year, with many different organizations engaging online to celebrate their produce teams. We all know execution in the produce department depends on a motivated and inspired in-store produce team, which is why Frieda’s created the holiday in 2012 to recognize produce managers and the hard work they put into their departments to stay fresh, educate shoppers and increase sales.

“Making people feel valued individually can truly motivate your employees, and it’s even better when the entire store team feels like they are in it together,” says Karen Caplan, CEO and president of Frieda’s. “This helps to build comradery and strengthens performance across the entire team.”

“That is why this year, for the first time ever, we are celebrating the whole produce team for LYPM Day!” says Caplan. Frieda’s partnered with produce district specialists nationwide to nominate the outstanding produce teams that go above and beyond in their department. “We used a panel of produce merchandising experts to select winners based on customer interactions, sales growth and upkeep of their department,” says Caplan.

Frieda’s is excited to announce the winners for LYPM Day 2019: Schnucks #188 in Ladue, St. Louis, MO, Kroger #533 in Shreveport, LA, Kroger #302 in Galveston, TX, Lowes Foods #224 in Raleigh, NC and Ralphs #611 in Palm Springs, CA. Congratulations to the winners! The entire team at Frieda’s appreciates everything that you do.

We encourage you to go on social media to share what you love about your favorite produce teams using the hashtag #LoveYourProduceManager. Call your account manager today if you’d like to send a special recognition to your favorite produce team and tell your produce manager and their team how much you appreciate what they do every day!

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Los Alamitos, CA – (March 2019) – Go above and beyond this spring and help Frieda’s celebrate Registered Dietitian Nutritionist day (3/13/19) and Love Your Produce Manager® Day (4/2/19). Both holidays are opportunities to show appreciation for everything these two teams do throughout the year to make healthy eating easy and delicious for shoppers.

“Recognition of your produce and dietitian teams is always important, but having a day that truly acknowledges the value they bring every day builds loyalty,” says Alex Berkley, sales manager at Frieda’s. “These teams help create an in-store experience that brings shoppers into YOUR store and keeps them coming back.”

Data shows that freshness and associate friendliness are key drivers of the shopper experience, scoring a 4.4 and 4.3 respectively, on a 5-point scale according to The Retail Feedback Group’s U.S. Supermarket Experience 2019 report. “Going that extra mile for these teams is a great way to ensure that your store becomes THE destination for fresh and healthy eating,” says Berkley.

So don’t forget to celebrate your produce and dietitian teams this year and all they do to help create that outstanding consumer experience that shoppers are looking for. Call your Frieda’s account manager today for ways to celebrate these produce heroes.

Source:

U.S. Supermarket Experience Study.

About Frieda’s Inc.

Los Alamitos, CA – (February 2019) – Over the years, Easter has evolved from the full-spread dinner where ham is the center of the table to a brunch focus with lighter fare and more produce. And this trend isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

According to a recent study by C + R Research in partnership with Frieda’s, 68 percent of shoppers plan to serve more vegetable-forward dishes this spring. Furthermore, the same study revealed, 66 percent of shoppers are looking to try new varieties like Colored Cauliflower and Rainbow Carrots over classic items such as kale and artichokes. “Here at Frieda’s, we were surprised to learn how interested shoppers are in trying new vegetables in spring, primarily driven by millennials,” says Alex Berkley, sales manager at Frieda’s. “This is suggestive of everything we have been learning about millennials’ tastes, but the survey really drives it home.”

The interest in variety is good news for retailers because the same study revealed that variety drives in-store traffic. In fact, 73 percent of shoppers will choose one grocery store over another, if one offers better variety (C + R Research, 2019). “Frieda’s is working hard to make sure all retailers are able to fulfill their shoppers’ desires for variety, especially when thinking about celebrating Easter and Passover. So stock up on items like Fennel, Purple Asparagus, Sunchokes®, Pink Lemons and Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes to help shoppers plan their menus as they serve up dishes like Stokes Purple® Sweet Potato Frittata, Hearty Sunchoke® and Wild Mushroom Salad and Granola-Crusted Pink Lemon Tartlets,” says Berkley.

Additionally, supply is shaping up nicely for spring items. “Although weather has kept us on our toes in California, we are excited about the outlook of our supplies on the best spring sellers,” says Allen Demo, director of procurement and sourcing at Frieda’s. “Along with our western vegetables and California citrus supplies, our Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes remain high in quality and rich in flavor, especially over other varieties on the market.”

Drive your produce sales this spring by taking advantage of the variety and great supply of Frieda’s spring products. Call your Frieda’s account manager today for merchandising, signage and recipe solutions that will make shoppers say, “Move over ham, I’m ready for more vegetables.”

Source:

C+R Research Omnibus Survey. Sample size of 1,000 people. Representative of total U.S. demographics.

About Frieda’s Inc.