At the end of a long workday it can be a challenge to come up with ideas for dinner and then make something that’s both healthy and tastes good. Thankfully there are forward-thinking companies like Ocean Mist Farms looking to give consumers a head start on nutritious, flavorful meals. 

“There’s no shame in a shortcut,” Chris Drew, president and CEO of Ocean Mist, said in an interview during the IFPA Global Show. “That’s our brand angle — giving people time back. We found through our research that people are time starved; they want good, nutritious meal options.” Ocean Mist is offering that in its award-winning Roastables line.

Roastables launched with three Brussels sprouts products at last year’s IFPA show. The company added four more items — two with broccoli florets and two with cauliflower florets — earlier this year and is far from done. “We have some other products in our pipeline that we're excited about that will be coming out in the first quarter next year,” said Drew. “We're going to keep the innovation going.” 

“We're a 100-year-old business,” said Drew. “We’ve always been innovative. We focused on service and quality, but we really want to focus on what the consumer wants. If the consumer evolves, you want to evolve as well.”

In addition to the actual product, the company is looking to catch consumers’ eyes with new packaging that offers a clear view of the produce and a way to speak directly to shoppers. Drew said, “We've adjusted our packaging with catchphrases on them like ‘Get to yum faster,’ ‘Skip the fuss, keep the flavor’ and ‘Cut the prep, keep the credit.’” 

The Roastables line offers quick, easy meal prep kits with different chef-crafted flavor profiles. The company has worked closely with chefs at culinary institutes to develop the composition of each product’s flavor profile. “It was a huge process to get to this point, but the flavors for each of the respective items really complements — not overtakes — the respective vegetable,” said Communications Manager Lori Bigras.  

The feedback from consumers has been outstanding. “People are loving vegetables, and in 15 to 20 minutes you have a really flavorful, beautiful nutritious side dish — or if you add your own protein you have it complete entrée,” said Bigras. “It's very versatile, very quick and very convenient — simple steps, big flavor.”

Feedback at the IFPA Global Show was just as good: “We cannot cook these fast enough,” Bigras said on the second day of the show. “It's just been crazy. People are loving them and keep coming back.”