Fructofresh: Hand-cut fruit in high-tech packaging
Careful processing and optimum packaging are the hallmarks of the fresh cut fruit products from the Fructofresh company based in Poland. Some 120 employees cut all products by hand before the fruit is rushed to two new packaging lines to be split into portions in large packages and small cups. The company's own refrigerated vehicles ensure an uninterrupted cold chain to the point of sale. Fructofresh is on the right path with this concept. 'In spite of the weak economy, we managed to grow by nearly 20% last year', reports Pawel Stobba, Fructofresh Sales Manager. The most important markets are France and Germany. Fructofresh supplies products to gourmet restaurants and increasingly to food retailers.
Fresh and ready-to-eat: Hessing vegetable soups
The Dutch vegetable specialist Hessing is well-known for its unique convenience food concepts. This year, Hessing is serving up four new products at FRESHCONEX, including fresh soups, complete ready-to-cook meals, eight new vegetable salads and a user-friendly vegetable pie set. 'With these convenience products, we have set our sights on consumers who don't have much time to cook, but still want to eat healthy, fresh food', explains Hessing Sales Manager Martin van Lier. All products are guaranteed preservative and gluten-free. The Dutch company is well-prepared for the food industry's rapidly growing convenience segment. A trend that is becoming increasingly visible in the German food markets.
Agricoat: Surface processing of cut apples
There are more sensitive fruit than apples at the fruit counter. But when it comes to processing, this robust and tasty fruit is extremely fragile. Fresh apple slices turn an unappetising brown within 10 minutes. This is a real problem for the fresh cut and convenience sector, because the apple is increasingly being promoted by the retail trade as a packaged snack. The solution is “NatureSeal”, a specially developed surface treatment sold by the English company Agricoat. The NatureSeal process not only protects sliced fruit and vegetables from discolouration, it also maintains the fresh appearance and extends shelf life. According to Agricoat Marketing Manager Karen Murphy, NatureSeal apples have a shelf life of at least two weeks. Sliced avocados and other sensitive fruit can be kept fresh for a week with NatureSeal.
Tacken: From agricultural retailer to gourmet food and fresh cut produce business
Tradition is a key attribute at the Tacken company based in North-Rhine Westphalia. Founded in 1946 as an agricultural retailer, Tacken has been a family-run company for 60 years. Back in the early 1980s, the company supplied the food service industry with gourmet and fresh convenience products including a variety of potato and pasta salads. Later, the product range was expanded with ready-to-serve salads packed in bags and bowls along with salad dressings for the food retail sector. Fresh cut fruit products were added to the Tacken standard range in 2003. Pineapple, melons and coconuts are cut and freshly packaged for the retail trade. 'Freshness from start to finish is our top priority', explains Matthias Knoll, Purchasing and Sales Manager, describing the Tacken concept. 'With this in mind, we very carefully select our raw materials and ensure they are free from all preservatives'.
Walking Fruit tastes good sitting down
Many of the innovative ideas in the food sector come from Holland. This year, Fruity-Line, specialists for fruit salads and fruit juices, are surprising FRESHCONEX visitors with a very special snack. Walking Fruit is the name of the fresh snack to satisfy between-meal hunger pangs. The handy, cut pineapple stick in whimsical packaging whets the consumer's appetite for fruit. This has given birth to a marketing idea to introduce snack portions of freshly cut and peeled fruit and vegetables. Fruity-Line Walking products currently include coconut, pears, mini tomatoes, apples & grapes, green apples, red apples and mini carrots. These healthy snacks taste good on the go or sitting down.
From field to store: Kellermann convenience from a single source
Thoroughness is a Swiss virtue. This is especially true for the Kellermann Group based in Thurtal, Switzerland. The company gets its ingredients for fresh convenience products directly from the fields of its own joint-stock companies Purnatur and Thurtalergemüse. Along with a wide range of lettuces, mixed salads and salad vegetables for the retail trade, the company offers the food service industry a variety of vegetables and salads that are mostly available in two, three or more different cuts. Kellermann's key expertise lies in high-quality produce fresh from the field to the consumer's table.
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