LOS ALAMITOS, CA - The holidays are a time of giving, and that is exactly what Frieda’s Branded Produce is doing as the company gifts retailers and consumers with exciting opportunities. Through its newly announced partnership with Lauren Ko, New York Times Best-Selling author and influencer, the specialty supplier will be rolling out a series of recipes featuring the company’s signature Stokes Purple^® sweet potatoes to take shoppers’ holiday menus to the next level while giving buyers the perfect cross-merchandising options.

“The holidays are evolving, and Thanksgiving is especially meaningful this year. People want to create. They want to bake. They want to experience something extraordinary after being so cautious for so long. Thanksgiving should be vibrant, healthy, colorful, and delicious,” said Cindy Sherman, Director of Marketing, Innovation, and Insights. “From our research, we know that people are looking for ways to dial up the mood, add color to their meals, and up-level their traditional recipes this Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving. Thus, we are so thrilled to be partnering with Lauren Ko to celebrate this incredible, vibrant pie artistry.”

Research from Frieda’s shows that, as consumers are starting to emerge from the pandemic, they are looking to put a new twist on traditional holiday recipes, especially when it comes to desserts. Enter Lauren Ko, who is the Founder of @lokokitchen and author of PIEOMETRY, knows a thing or two about crafting delicious, unique treats. According to a press release, her latest creation is called Stokes Purple Wave Pie, and it will have shoppers storming the produce aisle to stock up on ingredients to make this dessert a reality on their Thanksgiving tables.

With Ko’s Stokes Purple Wave Pie, which brings together a filling featuring the just-right purple sweet potatoes, condensed milk, and coconut cream topped with a design of purple potato waves with orange accents—using traditional sweet potatoes— consumers will receive a round of applause from their holiday guests.

“This partnership is a match made in produce heaven! With the art that I love to create, Frieda’s unique offerings of fruit and vegetables inspire me to bake and build designs differently—with colors, textures, and flavors,” said Ko. “I’ve experimented with a variety of potatoes, making both sweet and savory recipes, and I wanted to create something extra special for this holiday season. When I landed on the Stokes Purple Wave Pie, I was really excited because every level of pie maker can use this recipe to create something extraordinary and artful. This extra touch of beauty feels especially needed after all we’ve been through with the pandemic.”

In addition to shoppers’ desire for a unique twist on classic dishes, Frieda’s research also found that 30 percent of consumers know that food can bring a sense of comfort during the uncertain times of the past year and a half. Other points of interest include:

• More than 60 percent of consumers ages 25-34 agreed that they would consider making a beautiful dessert that adds color to their Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving tables
• More than 50 percent of consumers would consider making beautiful desserts, especially those that are social-media worthy
• More than 30 percent of consumers, especially those ages 18-44, would consider a twist on the traditional sweet potato pie and making it with Stokes Purple sweet potatoes, with men showing stronger numbers vs. women
• More than 40 percent of consumers, especially those ages 18-44, would consider hand pies so that each person could have their own dessert, with men skewing higher than women in this category

What does this mean for retailers? It is the perfect time to make sure the produce aisle is filled with colorful fruits and vegetables for a plethora of eye-catching holiday dishes. It also means that cross-merchandising is key, and by adding recipe ingredients like pie crusts, condensed milk, and other baking essentials to their displays they can rack up extra register rings.

Other recipes that could catch consumers’ eyes this season and provide inspiration for cross-merchandising ideas can be found on Frieda’s website.

For more holiday merchandising ideas, keep clicking on AndNowUKnow.

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