Ocean Mist Farms' Diana McClean Teases an All-Star Artichoke Season
COACHELLA VALLEY, CA - As a kid, I always loved when my mom would boil artichokes as a side dish—not only because they are delicious, but because they provide a fun and simple eating experience unlike any other. Now that Ocean Mist Farms’ artichoke season is in full gear, retailers can tap into the convenience of fresh artichokes that will appeal to their consumers. To get a better sense of the current artichoke market, I spoke with Diana McClean, Senior Director of Marketing.
“We are in our winter artichoke season with the majority of production and harvest in the Coachella Valley with some in Baja California,” Diana explained. “Our artichoke production is year-round, seasonally, in four locations: Castroville, Baja, Coachella, and Oxnard.”
Ocean Mist Farms has perfected its proprietary seed varieties that grow in each location, and customers flock to the long-awaited return of its unmatched quality. The company’s superstar during this season is the Desert Globe Artichoke, according to Diana.
“We have promotional volumes through about mid March,” she said. “As the season progresses, our mid-sized artichoke volume will increase and those are perfect in the retail-ready packs. Quality has been excellent with a great crop of jumbo and large-sized artichokes (size 12 and 18). At this time of year, we are prepared for frost-kissed artichokes.”
The company has also started shipping the newest items in its Organic Artichoke product line. Each of the new packages contain two size 24 artichokes in either a handle bag or a recyclable corrugated clamshell. To highlight the kickoff of a successful season, Ocean Mist has launched a six week consumer sweepstakes to drive home artichoke consumption.
“Our Get Up and Groove Consumer sweepstakes has started off with a bang! With less than one week in, we have over 4,000 new consumer contacts,” Diana concluded. “This means we will gain much more consumer preference data to share with our customers about artichoke shoppers. Plus, we are driving a lot of traffic to our Destini locator page to ensure that consumers can find our products in a store near them.”
Retailers, be sure to stock up on Ocean Mist Farms’ premium supply of artichokes while they’re hot! For more categorical updates in the fresh produce sector, keep checking in with us at AndNowUKnow.
