With childhood obesity becoming an growing concern for many parents, many in the produce industry have tried to make eating healthy an easier option for kids. At this year's PMA Fresh Summit, EuroFresh Farms displayed their snacking tomato line and the expansion of that line into new tomato varieties.
“We see the snacking category as the fastest growing segment of the tomato market,” said Mark Cassius, executive vice president of sales for EuroFresh. With 318 acres of greenhouse facilities in Arizona, they already grow a lot of tomatoes and have a robust line. With their Redi Bites line of snacking tomatoes, they hope to make it more convenient to eat healthy.
“People are time-starved, so we came up with a great-tasting tomato that is kid-friendly,” said Cassius. “I have kids at home, and we're constantly trying to get them to eat something other than candy or carbs.” With a resealable package that allows consumers to easily rinse and eat bite-sized tomatoes, Cassius says that both consumers and retailers will take to Redi Bites.
“So far, we've gotten really good feedback on Redi Bites, so we have more production coming up soon,” he said. “And it's a fun little container, so you can stack them on the retail shelf.”
The red grape Redi Bites were introduced three months ago in several markets in California, and Cassius noted that response has been so good that they're planning on expanding into more varieties in the coming months.
“This has been such a popular move that we're going to launch more varieties,” he said. He added that the new varieties should come out sometime in January of next year.
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Mark Cassius
EuroFresh Farms