Church Brothers Introduces Four Lettuce Blends For Foodservice

Salinas, CA-based Church Brothers advances its “taste sensitive” mission by creating four new lettuce blends exclusively for its foodservice clients. Power Mix, Wild Rocket, Treviso, and Cascade Mix blends incorporate well rounded taste profiles in addition to attractive colors.

As part of the Church Brothers’ signature Tuscan brand, the Power Mix is a line extension of its popular kale offerings. It provides a nourishing blend of baby kales, yellow chard, spinach, and lolla rosa. “The taste is balanced with a hearty yet sweet flavor,” reveals Ernst Van Eeghen, vice president of marketing and product development. Van Eeghen says the demand for kale continues to be very high, and the company has increased its kale production six times more than its original acreage.

Wild Rocket, also part of the Tuscan brand, contains a combination of wild arugula and lolla rosa. The peppery flavor of wild arugula is balanced by the mellow nutty essence of the lolla rosa.

Treviso Blend marries the Italian red lettuce variety, which is a softer-tasting radicchio, with the sweetness of romaine. The triple-washed product contains 80 percent chopped romaine and 20 percent Treviso.

Cascade Mix is unique because it is not chopped or cut, so the smaller green leaf and the romaine heart leaves of the plant maintain their flavor integrity. “This mix has lots of crunch and texture,” says Van Eeghen. “It has a very upscale look with a blend of green leaf, romaine heart leaves and a little radicchio for color and flavor.”

Church Brothers has relationships with national foodservices chains as well as smaller operations. The vertically integrated company takes pride in its customization services and meeting demands of the produce industry. “Since some customers are stepping away from cookie-cutter salad offerings, we create unique varietals that individually suits each customer,” says Van Eeghen.

“We also adhere to the highest food safety standards in the country and maintain control over all our products from the farm to shipping, which creates transparency throughout the entire supply chain,” adds Van Eeghen.

Church Brothers offers the Power Mix and Wild Rocket product in cartons with three 1-pound bags for clients. The Treviso Blend and Cascade Mix come in cartons with four 2-pound bags.

Source: PerishableNews.com