MONTEREY, Calif. (Feb. 22, 2011) – Dole is introducing two new, vinaigrette-based All Natural DOLE® Salad Kits and a tangy new DOLE Salad blend in 2011 as part of its ongoing mission to inspire packaged salad lovers toward greater in-kitchen creativity, personal expression and new-product trial.
The two new kits – Endless Summer™ and Spinach Cherry Almond Bleu™ – and a robust new 5-ounce Arugula salad blend join bold new packaging designs and promotions in 2011 designed to stimulate greater culinary imagination and make it easier for Americans to get their recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Shipping in April 2011, these three new products bring even more variety to what is already the industry’s largest variety of bagged salad blends and all-natural kits.
"In addition to taking the next step in our salad packaging evolution, we’re using 2011 to launch three delicious, wholesome new salad varieties offering consumer-approved, market-tested taste and sensory profiles," said Ronda Reed, vice president of marketing for Dole Fresh Vegetables. "The result is an even broader array of everyday and unique salad choices for today’s increasingly sophisticated bagged salad consumer."
Market-tested New Kits and Blends
As variations of products that have already proven popular with Dole customers, Dole’s two new All Natural Salad Kits scored the highest among a number of kit varieties tested by salad users. Both are also part of Dole’s commitment to all-natural salad kits, the industry’s first widely distributed salad kit line to combine farm-fresh lettuces and vegetables with all-natural toppings and salad dressings.
"While Dole has always been committed to providing only all-natural lettuces and vegetables in its packaged kits, last year’s expansion of this all-natural commitment to all other kit ingredients — including nuts, croutons, cheeses, seasonings and dressings — represents the industry’s largest commitment to all-natural salad kits," said Michelle Gonsalves, director of marketing, new products for Dole Fresh Vegetables.
The reformulated line is a direct response to years of consumer research showing that many salad consumers, while recognizing the healthy, flavorful appeal of packaged salads, have reservations about the wholesomeness of certain salad kit ingredients, especially the dressings and toppings. To qualify as all natural, the ingredients in All Natural DOLE® Salad Kits contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
Dole’s new Spinach Cherry Almond Bleu all-natural kit combines tender, robust baby spinach leaves with blue cheese crumbles, dried whole cherries, sliced almonds and Dole’s own White Balsamic Vinaigrette. This selection offers a sweet-and-savory taste profile and leverages the increasingly strong consumer preference for spinach- and baby spinach-based salad offerings.
"Our new Spinach Cherry Almond Bleu kit is a deliciously easy way for our consumers to incorporate the many health benefits of spinach into their diets," added Gonsalves. "From a marketing standpoint, spinach-based blends and kits are among the fastest-growing salad varieties thanks to their superior taste, texture and nutrient profiles. They’re also a highly exclusive growth segment – meaning that we’re seeing an increasing number of spinach-only salad consumers."
Dole’s Endless Summer all-natural kit grew out of the company’s success with the Selections of the Season Summer salad. Starting with crispy romaine lettuce blended with shredded carrots and red cabbage, this wholesome everyday kit adds shredded Swiss and gruyere cheeses, roasted sunflower kernels, artisan-style croutons and herb seasoning, and tops it with Dole’s own Endless Summer Vinaigrette, a white, balsamic-based dressing.
"This bright, sunny selection pairs with a wide variety of entrees and other dishes to offer wide family appeal," added Gonsalves. "Early research and sales suggest that it has the potential to become one of our most popular romaine-based offerings."
Both the Spinach Cherry Almond Bleu and Endless Summer kits also reflect the growing consumer preference for vinaigrette-based salads, which have emerged as the top salad dressing choice in restaurants across the U.S.
On the blend side, Dole’s new Arugula blend caters to salad lovers looking for a tangier, bolder taste experience. Like spinach, it satisfies a unique consumer niche, performs equally well as an entrée or side salad and is growing in popularity at both the retail and restaurants levels. It also performs well as a substitute for spinach.
According to Gonsalves, the move to a 5-ounce bag is intentionally designed to encourage wider arugula consumer trial and adoption. "We see arugula on the verge of becoming the next mainstream blend, so making it more accessible to an increasingly sophisticated salad consumer is an important step."
The Next Chapter of Bagged Salad Evolution
2009’s DOLE® Salads line featured a series of product and packaging firsts developed from research to reshape the way America shops, prepares for and consumes prepackaged salads. The highlight of those innovations was the DOLE® Salad Guide, one of the first on-pack ratings of salad taste and texture, and a salad-specific “Pairs well with” section and salad dressing recipe created specifically by Dole chefs.
This year, the world’s largest provider of fresh fruits and vegetables has taken its on-pack DOLE Salad Guide a step further by updating the numerically based taste and texture scales with a word-based system in keeping with the way salad lovers say they shop for salads. Working with its team of chefs, Dole combined the latest taste and sensory research to develop a scale of consumer-friendly taste and texture descriptors that give users a more intuitive way to locate their favorite DOLE Salad blend.
Dole’s taste scale now ranges from "Sweet & Subtle" to "Zesty & Bold" to "Complex & Robust," while the texture scale includes "Tender," Crisp" and "Crunchy" designations.
Supporting the newly designed taste and texture scales is new, blend-specific romance copy that describes not only the specific ingredients, but also the taste and sensory profile of every DOLE Salad blend. A comprehensive new on-pack color-coding system – blue and green for the sweet/subtle blends; yellow and orange for the zestier/bold blends; and pink and purple for more complex/robust varieties – empowers users to locate the right blend among Dole’s 26 varieties, encourages them to experiment with other varieties they may like, and helps retailers create a more attractive salad section that is easier for consumers to shop.
New Integrated Marketing Campaign
Dole’s new packaging will be supported by a fresh new integrated marketing campaign highlighted by an aggressive schedule of interactive online ads and mobile marketing elements. The multi-faceted program is designed to reach salad buyers as they prepare their meals, shop for salads, and use them. The program will link salad shoppers directly to new product recipes, pairings, nutrition and other information. Quick Response (QR) and Short codes on Dole POS materials will give users unprecedented new access to product information to create new levels of awareness and trial.
Other elements of the program include heavy in-store merchandising, a PR program and a bold new DOLE Salads-specific website featuring an exhaustive recipe library, recipe sharing, store locator, email newsletter and loyalty program registration and integration with social and mobile media programs.
Dole will also expand upon its popular social media programs. Now 170,000 fans strong, the DOLE Salad Facebook page has emerged as the digital destination for salad enthusiasts looking to share salad recipes, serving and pairing ideas and in-kitchen inspiration.
For more information on DOLE Salads, including recipes, serving suggestions and nutritional information from Dole and the Dole Nutrition Institute, go to www.dole.com/salads. In March 2011, Dole Fresh Vegetables will introduce a compelling new DOLE Salads newsletter featuring unique new salad recipes, seasonal serving suggestions and other information designed to encourage wider salad appreciation, culinary inspiration and in-kitchen creativity.
High-resolution photography of DOLE Salads blends, recipes, serving suggestions, the Dole Salad Guide spokesperson and marketing campaign elements also are available.
Source: Dole Foods
