Asian items big business for many suppliers
Asian items big business for many suppliers
Gilroy, CA-based Christopher Ranch enjoys strong sales of its garlic and ginger items and promotes its "California Grown" brand garlic.
Both garlic and ginger are often associated with the Asian palate. Patsy Ross of Christopher's marketing department said that ginger is closer to a specialty item and is not as common as garlic. The firm offers a four-and-a-quarter-ounce bottle of ginger-garlic stir fry mix and a nine-ounce bottle of ginger for retail.
"Most ginger comes from our main source in Hawaii," Ms. Ross said. "It's the best quality - its hands are nice and thick." Christopher Ranch also sources ginger from Brazil, and the market for ginger was strong in early January.
The firm also offers dried chilis as a "good side item," Ms. Ross said. The company offers shallots and pearl onions and works with a specialty seed company that allows Christopher Ranch to "grow the right product," Ms. Ross said.
Christopher Ranch grows less garlic than in the past, yet more customers want California garlic, Ms. Ross said.
"We have to take care of our customers first," Ms. Ross told The Produce News in mid- December. "We can get you garlic, but you have to wait 'til next season for California garlic." Christopher Ranch likely will bring in South American garlic in January and Mexican garlic in March. California garlic will be back in June, Ms. Ross said. The firm offers retailers point-of-purchase materials for the Chinese New Year, she said.
Los Angeles-based Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc. sponsors the Public Broadcasting System television spots of chefs Martin Yan and Ming Tsai, both of whom use ample Asian-oriented produce items in their cooking.
Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa's, said that Melissa's has one of the larger varieties of Asian produce in the United States with more than 100 items. Melissa's carries selections such as bok choy, baby bok choy, Chinese eggplant, napa, gai lan (Chinese kale), gai choy (mustard cabbage), ginger root, galanga root and Asian pears. The company's top sellers in the category include ginger, daikon, baby bok choy, lemon grass, sno peas, sugar snap peas, napa and bok choy.
Melissa's supplies retail, wholesale and foodservice purveyors, and its retail customers benefit from its Chinese New Year merchandising kit, which offers advice on advertising, merchandising and pricing. The point-of-sale materials include tearoff pads as well as shelf danglers and shelf talkers.
Additionally, Melissa's carries value-added items such as won-ton wrappers, egg roll wrappers and organic tofu.
"We do over 35 different varieties of Asian greens alone," Mr. Schueller said. Those items primarily cater to Asian and Asian-American consumers, he said. Melissa's offers Yakisoba noodles and edamame - both shelled and in the shell. Edamame is an example of a product for which Melissa's uses the modified-atmosphere packaging it developed, which can give the edamame a 21-day shelf life.
Melissa's offers its customers innovative recipe suggestions that stray from recipes that are more standard. The firm offers a variety of citrus and other items such as kumquats, pomelos, Oro Blancos, guava, sweet young coconut, starfruit and Korean pears.
The company sources its ginger from multiple locations including Hawaii, Brazil and China, and its Chinese ginger is third-party tested before it is distributed, Mr. Schueller said.
Jeff Schwartz, vice president of South Hackensack, NJ-based Maurice A. Auerbach Inc., said that tofu has caught on in its "nice, neat sanitary pouch." Bruce Klein leads the company's tofu line.
"We're a full-service outlet," Mr. Schwartz said. The company carries items such as fortune cookies and fried noodles. Ginger and shallots are popular with Auerbach's customers and the company carries a wide variety of chili peppers.
Mr. Schwartz said that it is "going to be very tough to fill our ginger needs." The ginger harvest in Brazil ended prematurely as a result of strong downward pressure from cheaper product from China, he said. Yields were expected to be down in Hawaii, too, which does not produce enough ginger to fill the strong demand, he said. Ginger has been a mainstay at Auerbach since the mid-1970s.
Garlic is always a primary item for the company, Mr. Schwartz said, and despite competitive pressure from China, the company still has garlic from California. Auerbach carries items such as bok choy and napa, and daikon has come on in popularity, Mr. Schwartz said. "We are direct receivers of [daikon]," he said. "It fits into our line."
West Grove, PA-based I Love Produce will be among the first companies in the United States with new-crop Chinese ginger, well in time for the Chinese New Year. It will be certified pesticide-free by the Chinese government and tested independently by a private, third-party lab prior to entry into the United States.
"Our team in China has been working extensively with the Chinese government food- safety officials," said Jim Provost, president of I Love Produce. "Together, a protocol was developed that addressed all concerns to allow imports of fresh ginger from China."
Not only will China's government be testing the ginger for pesticide residue, I Love Produce will also have additional testing conducted by a third-party independent lab. In all, 65 pesticides and chemicals will be screened, including Aldicarb, which was the pesticide implicated in the one incident of residue found in fresh ginger sold in California, Mr Provost said.
I Love Produce has an office in China in Jinan, the capital of Shandong, the largest agricultural state in China. By visiting the farmers and producers regularly, best agricultural practices and Western quality standards -- such as the British Retail Consortium and GlobalGAP -- are ensured, Mr. Provost said.
"The ginger market is in short supply and it is going to be tighter in coming weeks," he said in mid-December. "China has to be -- and will continue to be -- an important part of the supply."
Every box of ginger from China should have the government seal and lot number for traceability.
I Love Produce sources ginger and garlic from all growing areas, including the United States and China. The company offers a full garlic and ginger category -- fresh bulk, packaged, peeled, jarred, roasted and pureed -- in organic as well as conventional options. Customers can buy organic products packed to their specifications.
I Love Produce also has year-round availability of sugar snap and sno peas.
The company's organic garlic and ginger are growing in popularity, and the company sources organic ginger from Hawaii, China and Peru; the company sources garlic from China and California.
"Ginger is 20 percent of what we do," Mr. Provost said. "We sell to Asian wholesalers." I Love Produce offers Argentine garlic in addition to Chinese garlic. Argentine garlic should be available as of mid-January.
"Because demand for garlic is strong, prices are higher than they've been in five years," Mr. Provost told The Produce News in mid-December.
I Love Produce anticipated having Yali pears from China by the first week of January. "There's good demand in Asian markets [for Yali pears]," Mr. Provost said. "The Chinese government has to approve of every shipper. Every facility and every shipment is inspected."
Karin Gardner, communications manager for The Oppenheimer Group, said that the company's two signature Asian items are Tottori 20th Century pears and Mandarin oranges from Japan. Japanese mandarins played an important role in the early days of the company and sparked a trend that has gone mainstream in the past decade or so: boxes of seedless, easy-to-peel oranges have become a staple in the produce department.
Oppenheimer has marketed these oranges since they were first exported to Canada in the early 1890s. This coincides roughly with the official beginning of Japanese immigration to Canada in 1887. David Oppenheimer -- one of the company's founders and the mayor of Vancouver, BC, from 1888 to 1891 -- was influential in the designation of Vancouver as a port of call, and he helped foster trade with Japan. He established the relationship with the Japanese fruit growers that the company still enjoys today. The Oppenheimer Group is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2008.
"We receive more e-mails to our web site about Japanese mandarins than any other item we carry, as people write to share memories of the fruit during their childhood holidays," Ms. Gardner said. The Japanese oranges are available throughout Canada in November and December and are also popular in pockets of the United States such as the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
Tottori 20th Century pears are of the green-to-yellow skinned Nijiseiki variety and are grown, harvested and packed with meticulous care in Japan. Available from October through February, Tottori 20th Century pears are ideal for Chinese New Year promotions.
Oppenheimer also is promoting Washington Jazz apples and Pacific Rose apples for Chinese New Year promotions. These are fresh apples with intense flavor and are rosy in color. Red is the featured color of the Chinese New Year because it symbolizes good luck.
"We are encouraging retailers to promote these apples alongside Tottori 20th Century pears," Ms. Gardner said.
Oppenheimer offers Asian pears 12 months a year, sourcing not only from Japan but also from New Zealand, Chile and China (for Canada only).
Both garlic and ginger are often associated with the Asian palate. Patsy Ross of Christopher's marketing department said that ginger is closer to a specialty item and is not as common as garlic. The firm offers a four-and-a-quarter-ounce bottle of ginger-garlic stir fry mix and a nine-ounce bottle of ginger for retail.
"Most ginger comes from our main source in Hawaii," Ms. Ross said. "It's the best quality - its hands are nice and thick." Christopher Ranch also sources ginger from Brazil, and the market for ginger was strong in early January.
The firm also offers dried chilis as a "good side item," Ms. Ross said. The company offers shallots and pearl onions and works with a specialty seed company that allows Christopher Ranch to "grow the right product," Ms. Ross said.
Christopher Ranch grows less garlic than in the past, yet more customers want California garlic, Ms. Ross said.
"We have to take care of our customers first," Ms. Ross told The Produce News in mid- December. "We can get you garlic, but you have to wait 'til next season for California garlic." Christopher Ranch likely will bring in South American garlic in January and Mexican garlic in March. California garlic will be back in June, Ms. Ross said. The firm offers retailers point-of-purchase materials for the Chinese New Year, she said.
Los Angeles-based Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc. sponsors the Public Broadcasting System television spots of chefs Martin Yan and Ming Tsai, both of whom use ample Asian-oriented produce items in their cooking.
Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa's, said that Melissa's has one of the larger varieties of Asian produce in the United States with more than 100 items. Melissa's carries selections such as bok choy, baby bok choy, Chinese eggplant, napa, gai lan (Chinese kale), gai choy (mustard cabbage), ginger root, galanga root and Asian pears. The company's top sellers in the category include ginger, daikon, baby bok choy, lemon grass, sno peas, sugar snap peas, napa and bok choy.
Melissa's supplies retail, wholesale and foodservice purveyors, and its retail customers benefit from its Chinese New Year merchandising kit, which offers advice on advertising, merchandising and pricing. The point-of-sale materials include tearoff pads as well as shelf danglers and shelf talkers.
Additionally, Melissa's carries value-added items such as won-ton wrappers, egg roll wrappers and organic tofu.
"We do over 35 different varieties of Asian greens alone," Mr. Schueller said. Those items primarily cater to Asian and Asian-American consumers, he said. Melissa's offers Yakisoba noodles and edamame - both shelled and in the shell. Edamame is an example of a product for which Melissa's uses the modified-atmosphere packaging it developed, which can give the edamame a 21-day shelf life.
Melissa's offers its customers innovative recipe suggestions that stray from recipes that are more standard. The firm offers a variety of citrus and other items such as kumquats, pomelos, Oro Blancos, guava, sweet young coconut, starfruit and Korean pears.
The company sources its ginger from multiple locations including Hawaii, Brazil and China, and its Chinese ginger is third-party tested before it is distributed, Mr. Schueller said.
Jeff Schwartz, vice president of South Hackensack, NJ-based Maurice A. Auerbach Inc., said that tofu has caught on in its "nice, neat sanitary pouch." Bruce Klein leads the company's tofu line.
"We're a full-service outlet," Mr. Schwartz said. The company carries items such as fortune cookies and fried noodles. Ginger and shallots are popular with Auerbach's customers and the company carries a wide variety of chili peppers.
Mr. Schwartz said that it is "going to be very tough to fill our ginger needs." The ginger harvest in Brazil ended prematurely as a result of strong downward pressure from cheaper product from China, he said. Yields were expected to be down in Hawaii, too, which does not produce enough ginger to fill the strong demand, he said. Ginger has been a mainstay at Auerbach since the mid-1970s.
Garlic is always a primary item for the company, Mr. Schwartz said, and despite competitive pressure from China, the company still has garlic from California. Auerbach carries items such as bok choy and napa, and daikon has come on in popularity, Mr. Schwartz said. "We are direct receivers of [daikon]," he said. "It fits into our line."
West Grove, PA-based I Love Produce will be among the first companies in the United States with new-crop Chinese ginger, well in time for the Chinese New Year. It will be certified pesticide-free by the Chinese government and tested independently by a private, third-party lab prior to entry into the United States.
"Our team in China has been working extensively with the Chinese government food- safety officials," said Jim Provost, president of I Love Produce. "Together, a protocol was developed that addressed all concerns to allow imports of fresh ginger from China."
Not only will China's government be testing the ginger for pesticide residue, I Love Produce will also have additional testing conducted by a third-party independent lab. In all, 65 pesticides and chemicals will be screened, including Aldicarb, which was the pesticide implicated in the one incident of residue found in fresh ginger sold in California, Mr Provost said.
I Love Produce has an office in China in Jinan, the capital of Shandong, the largest agricultural state in China. By visiting the farmers and producers regularly, best agricultural practices and Western quality standards -- such as the British Retail Consortium and GlobalGAP -- are ensured, Mr. Provost said.
"The ginger market is in short supply and it is going to be tighter in coming weeks," he said in mid-December. "China has to be -- and will continue to be -- an important part of the supply."
Every box of ginger from China should have the government seal and lot number for traceability.
I Love Produce sources ginger and garlic from all growing areas, including the United States and China. The company offers a full garlic and ginger category -- fresh bulk, packaged, peeled, jarred, roasted and pureed -- in organic as well as conventional options. Customers can buy organic products packed to their specifications.
I Love Produce also has year-round availability of sugar snap and sno peas.
The company's organic garlic and ginger are growing in popularity, and the company sources organic ginger from Hawaii, China and Peru; the company sources garlic from China and California.
"Ginger is 20 percent of what we do," Mr. Provost said. "We sell to Asian wholesalers." I Love Produce offers Argentine garlic in addition to Chinese garlic. Argentine garlic should be available as of mid-January.
"Because demand for garlic is strong, prices are higher than they've been in five years," Mr. Provost told The Produce News in mid-December.
I Love Produce anticipated having Yali pears from China by the first week of January. "There's good demand in Asian markets [for Yali pears]," Mr. Provost said. "The Chinese government has to approve of every shipper. Every facility and every shipment is inspected."
Karin Gardner, communications manager for The Oppenheimer Group, said that the company's two signature Asian items are Tottori 20th Century pears and Mandarin oranges from Japan. Japanese mandarins played an important role in the early days of the company and sparked a trend that has gone mainstream in the past decade or so: boxes of seedless, easy-to-peel oranges have become a staple in the produce department.
Oppenheimer has marketed these oranges since they were first exported to Canada in the early 1890s. This coincides roughly with the official beginning of Japanese immigration to Canada in 1887. David Oppenheimer -- one of the company's founders and the mayor of Vancouver, BC, from 1888 to 1891 -- was influential in the designation of Vancouver as a port of call, and he helped foster trade with Japan. He established the relationship with the Japanese fruit growers that the company still enjoys today. The Oppenheimer Group is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2008.
"We receive more e-mails to our web site about Japanese mandarins than any other item we carry, as people write to share memories of the fruit during their childhood holidays," Ms. Gardner said. The Japanese oranges are available throughout Canada in November and December and are also popular in pockets of the United States such as the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
Tottori 20th Century pears are of the green-to-yellow skinned Nijiseiki variety and are grown, harvested and packed with meticulous care in Japan. Available from October through February, Tottori 20th Century pears are ideal for Chinese New Year promotions.
Oppenheimer also is promoting Washington Jazz apples and Pacific Rose apples for Chinese New Year promotions. These are fresh apples with intense flavor and are rosy in color. Red is the featured color of the Chinese New Year because it symbolizes good luck.
"We are encouraging retailers to promote these apples alongside Tottori 20th Century pears," Ms. Gardner said.
Oppenheimer offers Asian pears 12 months a year, sourcing not only from Japan but also from New Zealand, Chile and China (for Canada only).
