Chicago – Hazel Technologies Inc., a company developing new, USDA-funded post-harvest technologies to extend shelf-life in fresh produce, announces a partnership with WP Produce, the largest grower and distributor of tropical avocados from the Dominican Republic. As part of the partnership, WP Produce Desbry brand tropical avocados in U.S. markets will now be shipped with Hazel™ packaging for avocado.
Prior to commercial rollout, over one year of research was conducted in the WP Produce supply chain, with fruit originating from Florida as well as the Dominican Republic. The conclusion of the studies showed that in all test scenarios, Hazel™ packaging for avocado maintained the quality and shelf life of Desbry tropical avocados, and helped reduce shrink and food waste.
“WP Produce has been an industry leader in the tropical avocado market for decades, and we are continuously searching for new ways to further improve the supply chain for our premium-quality tropical avocados,” commented Chris Gonzalez, Vice President of Sales at WP Produce. “Tropical avocados have become increasingly popular with consumers, who enjoy the fresh flavor, firmer texture and addition to the avocado category that these varieties provide. So, as we sought to expand our distribution throughout the U.S. and Canada, we knew a partnership with Hazel Technologies would help us ensure all our customers from the East to West Coasts would receive high-quality fruit with longer shelf life at retail.”
“The feedback from our commercial trials has been phenomenal,” Gonzalez continued. “Our retail partners saw an additional 4-5 days of shelf life, an improvement of up to 40%, and were thrilled by the reduced shrink this provided. In addition to the performance, what really sold us was the ease of use; our packers simply need to include one Hazel™ packet in each carton, without needing to invest in additional setup, equipment or training.”
“Our partnership with WP Produce, a premier tropical avocado grower and packer for over 35 years, is further evidence of how many different types of avocados can enjoy longer shelf life and maintain quality with our technology,” commented Aidan Mouat, CEO and Co-Founder at Hazel Technologies, Inc. “The data-driven validation from the customers of WP Produce shows that using Hazel Tech can have a real impact increasing sales and reducing food waste for retailers handling avocados.”
To learn more about this partnership, visit www.hazeltechnologies.com, or visit the companies at PMA Fresh Summit in Anaheim, CA from October 17-19; Hazel Technologies can be found at booth #4806, where trade show attendees will have the opportunity to win a free trip to Hawaii.
WP Produce can be seen at the Dominican Republic booth #4471 as well as sampling tropical avocados at the Freshtival event at the tradeshow, located outdoors near the conference center between the Hilton and Marriott.
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About Hazel Technologies, Inc.:
Hazel Technologies is a USDA-funded startup company that develops new technologies to extend the quality shelf life of fresh produce. Founded in 2015, Hazel Tech® works with over 100 of the largest fresh produce packers, shippers, and retailers in the US and Latin America to reduce food waste, reduce inventory shrink, and increase sales. For more information, visit us at www.hazeltechnologies.com today!
About WP Produce:
Founded in 1984, WP Produce is a family-owned, multi-regional grower, packer and shipper of tropical, exotic produce. WP Produce has been a pioneer in the tropical avocado market since 1992 and are now the largest importer and distributor of Dominican tropical avocados worldwide. With farms and partnerships with growers in Florida and the Dominican Republic, WP Produce offers a wide variety of tropical produce and root vegetables under the Desbry brand. To learn more, visit www.wpproduce.com.
