Duda takes celery to a new level
Duda takes celery to a new level
One of the larger U.S. celery producer has taken fresh-cut celery to new levels of sophistication.
"Anyone can buy celery and cut it with a knife, put it in a bag and put it on a shelf," said Bill Munger, manager of foodservice and fresh-cut sales for Duda Farm Fresh Foods Inc., based in Oviedo, FL.
Duda's state-of-the-art processing plant in Oxnard, CA, where Mr. Munger is based, is one of the larger celery processors in the country. "The consumer is looking for a variety of choices," Mr. Munger said. In celery, this involves "a certain flavor profile that is milder and a little sweeter than we all remember as kids." Duda has "gone back to the seed variety to develop varieties that are specifically designed for our fresh-cut operations. These are narrower in width, darker in color, and sweeter- tasting, crunchier varieties. The great thing about Duda is most of the varieties we grow to use in the processing plant are patented so that no one else has them. These varieties are specific for us."
Accordingly, Mr. Munger said that Duda has placed "a lot of time, energy and resources into consumer research. We've done focus groups, taste tests and used Internet hits -- all kinds of ways to get in touch with consumers. Getting that information back is very useful in developing these varieties and in presenting what the end user wants. No one has done this in the past. That is why people say celery is boring. No one has taken the time and effort to work backward [from the consumer]. This has given us an edge in the marketplace."
While Mr. Munger wouldn't disclose sales figures for Duda precut celery, he said, "It is sizable. I'm not sure anyone in the country is putting out the volume of cut celery items that we're doing. I don't know total market, but we're one of the largest in the country."
Are there limits on the market for precut celery?
"I don't know if it is boundless," he said. Such was the word on bagged salads "and now those total sales are going backward a little." For precut celery, "it is untapped and no one spent the time and effort to put high-quality, good- tasting celery items on the fresh-cut side. There have been sticks and diced celery forever. We are going back to the seed and variety development to create a difference."
Duda precut celery offerings, which the company ships nationwide, include the standard foodservice five-pound bags and retail-size eight-ounce packs. Furthermore, "we have developed some small packaging. Bundle packs are more what the consumer is looking for." Bundle packs involve four bags of three-ounce sticks bundled together.
Duda also offers "a celery branch off the plant that is packaged into a bag so there is very little waste for the consumer. It is still a long piece they can chop as they need, but they don't have to worry about wasting celery. Consumers say, 'I won't use whole thing,' so this really helps."
It's not only production expertise that Duda applies to make better precut celery. In its Oxnard plant, the firm cuts celery with a water jet under an incredible 40,000 pounds per square inch instead of mechanical knives. "Without this, we couldn't have distributed off the West Coast," Mr. Munger said. The water jet "offers more precision, smoother, cleaner cuts and allows us to use antibacterial materials on the cut end. It extended product life and we have better-looking, longer-lasting celery."
Mr. Munger reiterated, "We know we do what we do better than anyone else." Still, he said, "In the future, we're looking at other items. We have the processing plant and a lot of consumer research and technology we can use for other items." He said that "within a year," Duda will be looking not only at "a product line expansion on celery but at products to complement celery."
The Duda company was first involved in processing vegetables from a Belle Glade, FL, plant more than 20 years ago. The firm sells precut vegetables as an ingredient to soup companies and other processors. A newer operation in Thomasville, GA, produces quick-frozen vegetables.
In the 1990s, Duda built an industrial vegetable processing plant in Oxnard, which Mr. Munger said has been "retooled two or three times - and now we handle a lot of foodservice and retail products to go along with industrial, giving a wide array of products that are available to everyone. The operations are all-encompassing. We're fully integrated from developing our own seed varieties specifically for processing, all the way through to planting, growing and processing out of our own facility."
"Anyone can buy celery and cut it with a knife, put it in a bag and put it on a shelf," said Bill Munger, manager of foodservice and fresh-cut sales for Duda Farm Fresh Foods Inc., based in Oviedo, FL.
Duda's state-of-the-art processing plant in Oxnard, CA, where Mr. Munger is based, is one of the larger celery processors in the country. "The consumer is looking for a variety of choices," Mr. Munger said. In celery, this involves "a certain flavor profile that is milder and a little sweeter than we all remember as kids." Duda has "gone back to the seed variety to develop varieties that are specifically designed for our fresh-cut operations. These are narrower in width, darker in color, and sweeter- tasting, crunchier varieties. The great thing about Duda is most of the varieties we grow to use in the processing plant are patented so that no one else has them. These varieties are specific for us."
Accordingly, Mr. Munger said that Duda has placed "a lot of time, energy and resources into consumer research. We've done focus groups, taste tests and used Internet hits -- all kinds of ways to get in touch with consumers. Getting that information back is very useful in developing these varieties and in presenting what the end user wants. No one has done this in the past. That is why people say celery is boring. No one has taken the time and effort to work backward [from the consumer]. This has given us an edge in the marketplace."
While Mr. Munger wouldn't disclose sales figures for Duda precut celery, he said, "It is sizable. I'm not sure anyone in the country is putting out the volume of cut celery items that we're doing. I don't know total market, but we're one of the largest in the country."
Are there limits on the market for precut celery?
"I don't know if it is boundless," he said. Such was the word on bagged salads "and now those total sales are going backward a little." For precut celery, "it is untapped and no one spent the time and effort to put high-quality, good- tasting celery items on the fresh-cut side. There have been sticks and diced celery forever. We are going back to the seed and variety development to create a difference."
Duda precut celery offerings, which the company ships nationwide, include the standard foodservice five-pound bags and retail-size eight-ounce packs. Furthermore, "we have developed some small packaging. Bundle packs are more what the consumer is looking for." Bundle packs involve four bags of three-ounce sticks bundled together.
Duda also offers "a celery branch off the plant that is packaged into a bag so there is very little waste for the consumer. It is still a long piece they can chop as they need, but they don't have to worry about wasting celery. Consumers say, 'I won't use whole thing,' so this really helps."
It's not only production expertise that Duda applies to make better precut celery. In its Oxnard plant, the firm cuts celery with a water jet under an incredible 40,000 pounds per square inch instead of mechanical knives. "Without this, we couldn't have distributed off the West Coast," Mr. Munger said. The water jet "offers more precision, smoother, cleaner cuts and allows us to use antibacterial materials on the cut end. It extended product life and we have better-looking, longer-lasting celery."
Mr. Munger reiterated, "We know we do what we do better than anyone else." Still, he said, "In the future, we're looking at other items. We have the processing plant and a lot of consumer research and technology we can use for other items." He said that "within a year," Duda will be looking not only at "a product line expansion on celery but at products to complement celery."
The Duda company was first involved in processing vegetables from a Belle Glade, FL, plant more than 20 years ago. The firm sells precut vegetables as an ingredient to soup companies and other processors. A newer operation in Thomasville, GA, produces quick-frozen vegetables.
In the 1990s, Duda built an industrial vegetable processing plant in Oxnard, which Mr. Munger said has been "retooled two or three times - and now we handle a lot of foodservice and retail products to go along with industrial, giving a wide array of products that are available to everyone. The operations are all-encompassing. We're fully integrated from developing our own seed varieties specifically for processing, all the way through to planting, growing and processing out of our own facility."
