Lef Farms
US (NH): New clamshell packaging to meet customer demand
“There’s no doubt that everyone loves our baby greens that, up until now, were available in distinctive black bags. Consumers expressed to us they were having difficulty finding our products in a consistent location within their local stores, as produce managers often placed them away from the traditional salad wall,” begins lef Sales & Marketing Manager, Donald Grandmaison.
With the improved clamshell packaging, retailers are now able to consistently incorporate lēf products into their store planograms in a location where consumers are more apt to look for tasty local greens. Switching over to clams also helps reduce the amount of food waste by protecting greens during transit, as well as during the stocking and restocking of product dispensers at store level.
“Within the baby greens space,” Grandmaison continues, “our retailer partners indicated they were much more in favor of clamshells because they were easier to attractively stack, load, and restock product as compared to bags. So, to us, putting our greens into clamshells made perfect sense.”
Like the original bags, lef’s new clamshells carry a clean and simple design, accented by a color band to differentiate each of the unique blends offered. So, lef’s Smooth greens, which are a buttery blend of baby romaine, oakleaf lettuce, pak choi, and mizuna, will continue to have a blue band. Its Spice mix, a mix of baby arugula, red mustard, leaf lettuce, mizuna, and cress, will still carry a red band. And lef Balance, a blend of red and green baby kale with a subtle, sweet flavor, will still have the same tan color band as before.
lef’s new design also takes advantage of unique clear labeling, allowing consumers to see more of its baby greens before they buy.
“This was another important area for us to address in our repackaging efforts,” states Grandmaison. “Consumers are passionate about their produce. And they want to see as much of what’s inside the packages before they buy. This knowledge helped shape our approach to the graphic design of our new clams. The more open our design, the more customers can see how much our locally grown greens visually outperform any product out there,” smiles Grandmaison. “Our new clamshells offer nearly 95% product visibility, which literally speaks about our commitment to transparency in everything we do.”
As with all of lef’s business decisions, the move to clamshells also needed to take into consideration environmental implications. Although its initial bags were recyclable, lef’s new clamshells are made of a much more commonly recycled material, food-grade PETE 1 (polyethylene terephthalate) – making them more easily recovered by most community programs.
For more information:
lēf Farms
PO Box 7840
662 Route 106 North
Loudon, NH 03307 USA
P: 603.435.4500
F: 603.783.0250
www.lef-farms.com