D'Arrigo Bros. rolls out new broccoli rabe product
D'Arrigo Bros. rolls out new broccoli rabe product
Salinas, CA-based D'Arrigo Bros. of California has introduced a new product: premium cut tops broccoli rabe, packaged under its "Andy Boy" label.
Margaret D'Arrigo-Martin, executive vice president of sales and marketing for D'Arrigo Bros. of California, told The Produce News July 10 that the broccoli rabe product would be introduced at the Produce Marketing Association's Foodservice conference in Monterey.
"Four or five years ago, broccoli rabe was a 15-pound loose product," Ms. D'Arrigo-Martin said. "Now it's a smaller cut using the tips - not the whole plant."
The product is iceless, which offers savings in labor and costs, and 100 percent usable product. The trimmed tips are pre-cut and washed. The product is best designed for a steamer or boiling water.
The extended shelf life -- 16 days or more -- is enabled by a modified atmosphere package with a micro-perforated film that allows for a high rate of respiration.
Packs include 10 four-ounce servings per 2.5-pound bag and six 2.5-pound bags.
Case weight is 15 pounds and the amount of cases per pallet is 56.
Ms. D'Arrigo-Martin said that she expects the product to begin shipping the week following the PMA Foodservice conference in Monterey. The rollout will encompass customers who want the product -- wherever they are located -- and will not be exclusive to any region.
In conjunction with the PMA show, D'Arrigo Bros. is giving tours of its operation to interested customers from July 11 through July 17. The broccoli rabe product has been one of the main attractions drawing customers, she said.
D'Arrigo Bros. will serve a broccoli rabe ravioli - called "rabeioli" - on the floor of the exhibition room. Chef Lou DeAngelis, who hosts a television cooking show in central Florida, came up with the recipe that will be served. He also has created a dehydrated "rabe flake" that can be sprinkled on top of the rabeioli. The dehydrated flakes enable a concentrated flavor, Ms. D'Arrigo-Martin said, noting that the flakes will on hand at PMA, as well.
"It's (rabeioli) out of our core area -- we've never been in frozen foods," she said.
The company has the exclusive rights to market the product and is gauging interest to see if it wants to venture down that path.
The company expects to start shipping product out of its new 100,000-square-foot cooler in Spreckels, CA, around Aug. 15. The cooler is part of a 219,000-square-foot facility that also will allow the company to consolidate operations by housing cooling, shipping, business and administrative operations all under one roof.
The company anticipates opening offices on the property by next spring.
Margaret D'Arrigo-Martin, executive vice president of sales and marketing for D'Arrigo Bros. of California, told The Produce News July 10 that the broccoli rabe product would be introduced at the Produce Marketing Association's Foodservice conference in Monterey.
"Four or five years ago, broccoli rabe was a 15-pound loose product," Ms. D'Arrigo-Martin said. "Now it's a smaller cut using the tips - not the whole plant."
The product is iceless, which offers savings in labor and costs, and 100 percent usable product. The trimmed tips are pre-cut and washed. The product is best designed for a steamer or boiling water.
The extended shelf life -- 16 days or more -- is enabled by a modified atmosphere package with a micro-perforated film that allows for a high rate of respiration.
Packs include 10 four-ounce servings per 2.5-pound bag and six 2.5-pound bags.
Case weight is 15 pounds and the amount of cases per pallet is 56.
Ms. D'Arrigo-Martin said that she expects the product to begin shipping the week following the PMA Foodservice conference in Monterey. The rollout will encompass customers who want the product -- wherever they are located -- and will not be exclusive to any region.
In conjunction with the PMA show, D'Arrigo Bros. is giving tours of its operation to interested customers from July 11 through July 17. The broccoli rabe product has been one of the main attractions drawing customers, she said.
D'Arrigo Bros. will serve a broccoli rabe ravioli - called "rabeioli" - on the floor of the exhibition room. Chef Lou DeAngelis, who hosts a television cooking show in central Florida, came up with the recipe that will be served. He also has created a dehydrated "rabe flake" that can be sprinkled on top of the rabeioli. The dehydrated flakes enable a concentrated flavor, Ms. D'Arrigo-Martin said, noting that the flakes will on hand at PMA, as well.
"It's (rabeioli) out of our core area -- we've never been in frozen foods," she said.
The company has the exclusive rights to market the product and is gauging interest to see if it wants to venture down that path.
The company expects to start shipping product out of its new 100,000-square-foot cooler in Spreckels, CA, around Aug. 15. The cooler is part of a 219,000-square-foot facility that also will allow the company to consolidate operations by housing cooling, shipping, business and administrative operations all under one roof.
The company anticipates opening offices on the property by next spring.
