It's a FACT: The Produce Exchange fine tunes taste
It's a FACT: The Produce Exchange fine tunes taste
Livermore, CA-based The Produce Exchange has implemented the FACT system, a proprietary taste-profiling process meant to ensure consistently superior-tasting produce, for its "Victory Garden? brand fresh produce.
?We decided that taste was a consumer proposition that people liked to talk about," said Martin Mazzanti, owner of The Produce Exchange, a distribution and marketing company that specializes in tomatoes, melons and dry vegetables such as peppers, chilis and cucumbers. "We wanted to get [taste] out there " to create a consumer brand based on taste."
When purchasing fresh produce, consumers identify taste as the most important factor, Mr. Mazzanti said. Addressing this consumer need at a scientifically verifiable level, The Produce Exchange now taste tests every "Victory Garden? item using a proprietary taste profiling system called FACT, which stands for flavor, appearance and consistency testing. The purpose of the FACT system is to objectively measure the taste attributes of produce to assure an optimum taste experience to the consumer, Mr. Mazzanti said.
?We started out by bringing in six to eight tomatoes and identifying positive and negative attributes," Mr. Mazzanti said.
The FACT system measures and tracks multiple sensory attributes that have been identified by a panel of produce experts, Mr. Mazzanti said. This set of attributes " known as the taste profile " is unique for every "Victory Garden? item. Once the taste profile is established, a team of quality experts monitors the performance of each item throughout the product life cycle, from field to retail store. These performance data, which are collected and analyzed on a real-time basis, are constantly measured against the taste profile standards. The produce must meet these exacting standards at every stage to be packed as "Victory Garden," Mr. Mazzanti said.
The company developed the FACT system in conjunction with Tragon Inc., a global leader in consumer product optimization research. The taste-profile parameters and data collection methodology have been developed over the past three years. More than 18 months of live data have been collected to support the taste profiles.
Recently, Scientific Certification Systems " a leading third-party evaluation and certification organization " scientifically validated the FACT system methodology, Mr. Mazzanti said.
The Produce Exchange is especially proud of its exclusive Romanitas, a new tomato Mr. Mazzanti discovered in seed trials in Mexico, he said.
?We decided that taste was a consumer proposition that people liked to talk about," said Martin Mazzanti, owner of The Produce Exchange, a distribution and marketing company that specializes in tomatoes, melons and dry vegetables such as peppers, chilis and cucumbers. "We wanted to get [taste] out there " to create a consumer brand based on taste."
When purchasing fresh produce, consumers identify taste as the most important factor, Mr. Mazzanti said. Addressing this consumer need at a scientifically verifiable level, The Produce Exchange now taste tests every "Victory Garden? item using a proprietary taste profiling system called FACT, which stands for flavor, appearance and consistency testing. The purpose of the FACT system is to objectively measure the taste attributes of produce to assure an optimum taste experience to the consumer, Mr. Mazzanti said.
?We started out by bringing in six to eight tomatoes and identifying positive and negative attributes," Mr. Mazzanti said.
The FACT system measures and tracks multiple sensory attributes that have been identified by a panel of produce experts, Mr. Mazzanti said. This set of attributes " known as the taste profile " is unique for every "Victory Garden? item. Once the taste profile is established, a team of quality experts monitors the performance of each item throughout the product life cycle, from field to retail store. These performance data, which are collected and analyzed on a real-time basis, are constantly measured against the taste profile standards. The produce must meet these exacting standards at every stage to be packed as "Victory Garden," Mr. Mazzanti said.
The company developed the FACT system in conjunction with Tragon Inc., a global leader in consumer product optimization research. The taste-profile parameters and data collection methodology have been developed over the past three years. More than 18 months of live data have been collected to support the taste profiles.
Recently, Scientific Certification Systems " a leading third-party evaluation and certification organization " scientifically validated the FACT system methodology, Mr. Mazzanti said.
The Produce Exchange is especially proud of its exclusive Romanitas, a new tomato Mr. Mazzanti discovered in seed trials in Mexico, he said.
