ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 15, 2010) – Dole Fresh Vegetable’s ongoing reinvention of bagged salads, unveiled for the first time at PMA 2009, has been so successful that the company is accelerating its evolution of the category by introducing several consumer-driven advances that build upon 2009 successes to stimulate even greater consumer purchase frequency and new product trial.
Beyond packaged salads, the company is also extending its consumer-focused new packaging to fresh vegetables and berries to strengthen the DOLE brand across the produce department, and entice shoppers to buy more produce.
And, like last year, Dole will be debuting its latest thinking – including new packaging, on-pack features for 2011 and the industry’s first mobile phone application dedicated to salad shopping and menu development – exclusively at PMA’s “Fresh Summit,” Oct. 15-18, 2010, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
“Our 2009-10 initiatives to reshape the bagged salad category were immediately popular with consumers and the industry alike,” remarked Ronda Reed, vice president of marketing for Dole Fresh Vegetables. “In fact, since many of the most passionate salad users we talked to wanted us to go even further to enhance their salad-shopping experience, we took our program to the next level and are proud to allow PMA attendees to be the first to experience our latest research-backed initiatives.”
Last year’s revamped DOLE® Salads line featured a series of product, packaging and marketing firsts developed from in-store and in-home consumer research to reshape the way America shops, prepares for and consumes prepackaged salads. Chief among those innovations was the DOLE® Salad Guide, one of the industry’s 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.
Starting in February 2011, Dole will be replacing the numerically based taste and texture scales as part of its on-pack DOLE Salad Guide with a word-based system in keeping with the way customers 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 and Subtle” to “Zesty & Bold” to “Complex & Robust,” while the texture scale includes “Tender,” Crisp” and “Crunchy” designations.
Supporting the qualitative 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 consumers to locate the right blend among Dole’s 26 varieties, and helps retailers merchandise their packaged salads section through a more attractive salad set that is easier to shop and stock.
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. To have the latest in diet, nutrition, fitness, Superfood recipes and wellness advice delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for the free Dole Nutrition News at www.dole.com.
High-resolution photography of DOLE Salads blends, recipes, serving suggestions, the Dole Salad Guide spokesperson and marketing campaign elements also are available.
Source: Dole Fresh Vegetables
