WITH the help of Apeel Sciences, Westmoreland Topline Farms will begin shipping greenhouse grown cucumbers without the plastic covering to retailers in the U.S. and Canada starting in June 2022.
Apeel and Westmoreland joined forces in 2021 and haven’t looked back, announcing that they are ready to launch commercial volumes of English cucumbers free from single-use plastics for the first time in 35 years.
Using materials that exist in peels, seeds, and pulp of all fruit and vegetables, Apeel creates a protective seal that keeps moisture in and oxygen out. This delays rot and maintains the cucumber’s color and firmness – eliminating the need for single-use plastics.
Dino Di Laudo, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Westmoreland-Topline, explains why this is so important.
“With us shipping out our Apeel-Protected English Cucumbers to Canadian and American retailers in June, consumers will have a unique opportunity to bring home the refreshing flavour of English cucumbers without the need for single-use plastic, which would end up in a landfill, or even the oceans.
Our retail partners are continually challenging us to develop more sustainable packaging for our fresh, greenhouse grown English cucumber, Apeel Sciences has the solution that will allow consumers to move away from single-use plastic covered English Cucumbers without loss of flavour, quality, or shelf life.”
Working closely with Bandall Canada, Westmoreland developed a 100% recyclable paper replacement for the triple wrapped English cucumber value pack. This will negate the need for a second plastic over-wrap and allow the retailer to preserve their value pack items.
Apeel’s Vice President of New Products, Ravi Jolly weighed in on the buzz surrounding the new products.
“We’re excited to bring Apeel-protected English cucumbers to more consumers through our partnership with Westmoreland-Topline. With consumers looking for simple ways to shop more sustainably, removing single-use plastics in the produce department just makes sense. Apeel’s unique plant-based protection keeps cucumbers just as fresh as plastic wrap, resulting in less food waste and less plastic pollution.”
