US: Ready Pac introduces new fresh cut selections
“To my knowledge, Ready Pac is the only company that processes fresh-cut pears (not packed in juice or syrup). We successfully introduced fresh pears into one fruit blend in the fall of 2011 and, based on very positive results, Ready Pac has introduced three new items featuring them.” said Tristan Simpson, director of marketing and corporate communications at Ready Pac. “Ready Pac’s motto is ‘Real. Fresh. Innovation’, so we continually explore ways to push the boundaries of fresh-cut processing. For example, we were the first fresh-cut processor to incorporate fresh-cut fruit into bagged salad kits”.
Ready Pac’s new fresh-cut pear items include a 10.5-ounce and 32-ounce size Pear Orange Fruit Mix, a colorful autumn medley that also includes cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, red grapes and apples. The third item to feature pears is a Pear & Apple Harvest Platter. Perfect for holiday entertaining and football season parties, the large round platter presents green pear slices on one side and red apple slices on the other, along with grapes and seasonally-available kumquats, caramel dip, cheddar and pepper jack cheeses and two whole wheat cracker packs. Ready Pac has also included kumquats, which provide an appetizing pop of orange color on a bed of red grapes, when they are available during the fall/winter season.
In addition to the new pear-based items, Ready Pac introduced a 10.5-ounce and 32-ounce size Pineapple Grape Orange fresh-cut fruit medley. The tasty blends help retailers provide their shoppers with a variety of seasonally-available fresh-cut fruit items during the fall and winter. For consumers, the medleys are an excellent source of vitamin C and a convenient way to enjoy fresh fruit at home or on-the-go.
It has been said that the ideal fruit for fresh-cut processing is “square-shaped and with an edible peel”. Since Mother Nature didn’t design square fruit, fresh-cut processors have mainly worked with round or cylindrical fruits that are easy to peel or don’t need to be peeled. The new items Ready Pac launched for fall don’t fall into that “easy” category. Pears present a challenge because of their asymmetrical shapes, as do oranges, which can be tricky to peel without yield loss. Like grapes, Ready Pac washes kumquats using their proprietary fresh-cut processing techniques, and places them whole into the platters. The challenge with kumquats is sourcing adequate supply, so Ready Pac designed the new platters to be able to modify them when kumquats are not available. “Working with challenging components and introducing exotic fruit into our fruit trays keeps Ready Pac on the cutting edge and helps our retail customers provide exciting fresh selections for their shoppers,” Simpson said.
For more information:
Tristan Simpson
Ready Pac
Tel: +1 626 678 2055
Mob: +1 310 293 2184
tristan.simpson@readypac.com
www.readypac.com