Fresh Blenders appeal to juice and smoothie fanatics

A recent study carried out by The Food Marketing Institute has emphasized the significance of promoting fresh fruits as ingredients for juice and smoothie blends to appeal to shoppers who juice at home. Stemilt's Fresh Blenders™ are 5-pound-grab-and-go pouch bags of apples which promote the use of apples as a natural start to any homemade juice or smoothie.

The FMI study of 1,458 U.S consumers discovered that over the past two years, 27% of consumers are buying more produce for juicing at home. Consumers with children are stimulating the juicing and smoothie trend to ensure the entire family gets more serving of fruit each day. Women in their 30s and specialty/organic shoppers are also participating in making juice/smoothies at home. The FMI study also found that 1 in 3 consumers use fruits and vegetables for juicing and making smoothies.

Roger Pepperl, Stemilt marketing director has said that apples are a natural starter ingredient for juice and smoothies as they add frothiness, valuable nutrients such as fiber and vitamin C and natural sugars to sweeten the drink. The Fresh Blenders™ package is a 5 pound bag of value-grade apples which come in either sweet or tart flavours and multiple varieties for each. The value-grade fruit inside each bag is ideal for blends as the colour and shape of the fruit do not matter when making a juice or smoothie.

The varieties available for the sweet apples are Gala, Fuji, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious. The varieties for the tart apples are Braeburn, Granny Smith and Pink Lady. On the back of every bag is a Stemilt recipe that fits the flavour profile of the fruit inside.

Please visit www.stemilt.com for more information.