Armed with specific research about what foodservice customers are looking for in their salads, Mann Packing Co., based in Salinas, CA, is expanding its whole leaf lettuce line to include four proprietary items that offer a different take on the traditional foodservice lettuce offerings.

Rick Russo, who is director of foodservice sales, said the company introduced its Mann’s Arcadian Harvest Classic in early 2011 and followed that up with Mann’s Better Burger Leaf last year. About to be introduced at the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference in Monterey this month are Mann’s Arcadian Harvest Emerald and Mann’s Arcadian Harvest Ruby Blend.

“We commissioned a study through Technomics, which is an independent research company that specializes in foodservice,” said Russo. “We wanted to know what the restaurant consumer is looking for in their salads. What we found supports this trend. Consumers definitely have a desire for new types of lettuce that are darker in color, have a better texture and more flavor.”

Though it has been an evolutionary process over the past decade, Russo said this explosion of new products from Mann — with more on the way — is definitely a revolution in the lettuce category. The original Arcadian Harvest Classic targeted foodservice operation that were looking for an upscale look with a good flavor profile that was different than the traditional spring mixes. Like the other items, it is sold as a one-cut product, washed and ready to plate. It is a whole leaf look that is significantly different looking than chopped lettuce.

This introduction was followed up by the Better Burger Leaf, which is self-explanatory in terms of its target. “There has been an explosion in gourmet burgers and we wanted to develop a whole leaf that works well with an upscale burger. This variety is a mix between green leaf and iceberg,” Russo said. “It has a bright green color but the crunch of an iceberg leaf near the spine.”

Both of the newer introductions — Arcadian Harvest Emerald and Arcadian Harvest Ruby Blend — are again targeting the upscale salad in a nice restaurant. Each brings a little different look and flavor profile, but both allow chefs to use whole leaves to build a great looking salad. The Harvest Emerald is an all-green lettuce for chefs trying to create “a different looking Caesar salad.” The Harvest Ruby is a multicolored blend that includes a butter lettuce type whole leaf.

Russo said: “For some of these items, your average consumer might not perceive much of a difference, but in the hands of a chef they are very different.”

In addition, Russo said Mann Packing will soon be introducing two new gourmet whole head lettuces. He said some foodservice operators want to do their own cutting in the backroom so they want a whole head that produces the whole leaves as opposed to the bag of whole leaves as Mann has been marketing them. He indicated these new products will be introduced at the PMA conference and then subject of a soft launch in August.

Russo said that, for the lack of a better word, all of these new lettuces are “forkable,” which speaks to the significant size of the whole leaf and the nice plate presentation they make for a gourmet salad. He said Mann has been working with seed companies for the past decade to develop these new varieties, which, he said, are quite different than the typical varieties offered in packaged lettuce blends at either retail or foodservice.

He added that the whole leaf concept is a definite trend gaining traction throughout the foodservice trade. He added that the company is researching efforts to bring these same type of items to the retail space but right now it is concentrating on growing the foodservice business.