Value-Added Produce
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
Ask any consumer, and convenience is likely a top priority on their list of “wants” from food products. Seeing that, Ocean Mist Farms began investing in value-added produce that could fit the needs of their customers. Senior director of marketing, Mark Munger said, the biggest barrier to entry in this space was finding the right people and capital to achieve their goals.
Munger… “ We started doing value-added produce packing. So, washed, trimmed, whole brussel sprouts, halved brussel sprouts, shaved brussel sprouts, in form and fill bags like you see in the supermarket, broccoli and cauliflower florets. Our company was very late entering into that value added segment and when that value added segment came out, that really was the big innovation for the industry. Consumers were able to go buy broccoli florets that were already cut and ready to cook and steam rather than a whole head of broccoli. When we got into it, obviously a lot of other players were already there, but we had to first invest in equipment, invest in space in our facility, invest in a whole new food safety tactics and parameters. We had to beef up our food safety expertise. We had to bring people in that knew how to run production rooms. We had to change the way we harvested. Instead of packing into corrugated boxes, ready for the marketplace, it was more reusable, rewashable totes. And so those are a lot of the barriers; it's, you know, it's money and people.”
Ocean Mist recently added more value-added products, known as “Roastables” to their product line. Learn more at oceanmist.com.
