GUADALUPE, CA — Eat Smart is bringing something new to the salad kit category in North America. Apio, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Landec Corporation (LNDC) and a leading national producer of fresh-cut vegetable products, has launched two new Eat Smart® Gourmet Vegetable Salad Kits as part of their superfood product line. The Beets & Greens Salad and Roasted Yam Salad offer a gourmet taste with a complex and unique blend of nutrient-rich ingredients in a convenient format. All ingredients are pre-cut, pre-washed and pre-measured, so consumers just need to mix and serve.
“It’s no secret that consumers are interested in fresh and healthy eating, but they often don’t have the time to prepare gourmet dishes from scratch,” said Anne Byerly, Apio’s VP of Marketing. “The Beets & Greens and the Roasted Yam salad kits include everything required to prepare and serve an appealing, restaurant-caliber salad that is highly nutritious. Both are gluten free, and both can be served either warm or cold. To serve warm, consumers simply snip the corner of the packet to vent the bag, heat the beets or yams briefly in the microwave and add to the salad.
Containing six superfoods, the Beets & Greens Vegetable Salad Kit is a delicious and nutritious blend of kale, beet greens, red chard, red cabbage and broccoli, plus perfectly cooked beets, golden raisins, and feta cheese that create a rich flavored salad with naturally occurring sweetness. A proprietary white wine vinaigrette provides a light and refreshing pairing to allow the flavors of the vegetables to come to life.
Beet lovers are well aware of the how difficult and time consuming it is to roast beets in the home. Cutting and cleaning the beets is a messy chore and the cooking takes quite a long time. Many consumers restrict their enjoyment of beets to dining out opportunities rather than enduring the inconvenience of home preparation. Eat Smart has made it convenient for consumers to enjoy a beet salad in the comfort of their home with pre-cooked, pre-cut beets that are packaged for freshness.
The Roasted Yam Salad contains eight superfoods, combining Apio’s special roasted yam recipe with bright dried currants and cranberries, kale, red and green cabbage, Brussels sprouts and a crunchy blend of dried sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. All the ingredients are accented with a preservative free, classic vinaigrette developed exclusively for Eat Smart to add just the right balance for a delicious year-round salad.
Available now, each salad innovation delivers a unique taste experience that consumers can create in a snap. Leading-edge packaging technology plays a role, too. In their respective kits, the cooked beets and yams are packed with no preservatives and sealed in individual pouches to preserve their freshness and natural flavor. “Preparing beets and yams from scratch takes 30 to 45 minutes for washing, peeling, cutting, and cooking, so these salads—featuring ingredients that are ready to eat right out of the pouch—are real time-savers,” said Byerly.
Beets have become a familiar item on menus, up nearly 80% in recent years1, and 26% of consumers report eating them multiple times per month2. A Menshealth.com article advises consumers to “think of beets as red spinach. Just like Popeye’s powerfood, this crimson vegetable is one of the best sources of both folate and betaine”. Yams, which are increasingly popular year-round, are making the news, too. One writer observed that “yams/sweet potatoes are breaking out from their marshmallow prison” and “popping up in gourmet dishes at restaurants across the country.”5
“The Beets & Greens and Roasted Yam Vegetable Salad Kits bring even more variety and on trend ingredients to our Gourmet Selections line,” said Byerly. “Their nutrient-dense appeal and rich flavors provide delicious and distinctive salads that complement lunch or dinner. Add their convenience and value, and they’re sure to spur consumers to come back for more.”
Both salads are available in 10- and 21-ounce bags at selected retailers in the U.S. and Canada.
About Apio, Inc.
Apio, Inc., was founded in 1979 by five growers of celery in the Santa Maria Valley on the central coast of California, and named “Apio” for “celery” in Spanish. Today the company is the leader in processing and marketing fresh-cut specialty vegetables in the United States and Canada. Headquartered in Guadalupe, California, Apio sells its specialty vegetables and party tray products under its Eat Smart® and GreenLine® brands. Apio’s fresh-cut vegetables are unique in that most of its products utilize the Landec Corporation BreatheWay® proprietary breathable packaging technology to extend the shelf life of produce. Landec Corporation (NASDAQ: LNDC), a polymer science and specialty materials company based in Menlo Park, California, acquired Apio in 1999. For more information about the company and our products, visit Apio’s website at www.apioinc.com and www.eatsmart.net.
Sources
1. “Redefining Fresh” Report, Technomic, December 2013.
2. “Redefining Fresh” Report, Technomic, September 2013.
3. “The 10 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating,” Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., Menshealth.com.
4. “Sweet Potato Consumption on the Rise,” Doug Ohlemeier, thepacker.com, October 16, 2013.
5. “Sa-weet! The Sweet Potato Trend,” Kirsten Hudson, organicauthority.com, February 28, 2012.
Source: Apio, Inc.
