SOLEDAD, CA - The organic sector is taking off, and with it, new innovations in the flavor-forward, value-added category. Taking these trends by the horns is Braga Fresh, debuting its new Organic Chopped Salads under the Josie’s Organics brand. Recently I spoke with President of Braga Fresh Foods and salad industry innovator, Nicholas DaCosta, as well as Todd Linsky, who shared the latest on the company’s evolving portfolio and the new Josie’s Organics Sweet Kale Chopped Salad and Asian Chopped Salad. 

“The two main sales drivers of the retail salad category over the last couple years have been organics and conventional chopped salads,” Nicholas tells me. “The retail conventional chopped salad business is now a $400,000,000 business and there is a need for an organic offering that appeals to both convenience and the changing consumer palate. This is our point of entry–where organics and chopped salads converge.”

Braga Fresh’s goal was four fold: Make them organic, make them “cravable,” make them flavorful, and create value.

To address this vision, the company’s Organic Sweet Kale Chopped Salad (10 oz.) comes complete with dried cranberries, roasted pumpkin seeds, and poppy seed dressing, combined with kale, broccoli, green cabbage, and radicchio to truly round out the highly-demanded flavor profile.

In addition, the Organic Asian Chopped Salad (12 oz.) brings together wonton strips, sliced almonds, and sesame dressing along with green onions, cilantro, celery, carrots, and green cabbage.

Available in the Josie’s Organics signature blue polka dot, high-graphic bags, this bright color palate and friendly packaging have garnered excited feedback from retailers, consumers and the media. The packaging is also award-winning and a consumer favorite that stands out on shelf. 

“We are hitting the ground running,” Todd Linsky, with Braga Fresh, tells me. “Value-added options are really fueling the growth in the produce department and we believe the launch this month addresses the consumer’s desire for convenience, healthy meal preparations, flavor, and value.”

So, what went into the decision-making process when it came down to choosing the product combinations? Braga Fresh looked at what was happening in the marketplace in terms of flavor, and these ingredient combinations were a hit across taste panels and consumer test groups for the company. 

The new Organic Chopped Salad line is packed in the company’s new state-of-the-art facility in Salinas, California, assuring that the quality and value Braga Fresh is known for, can be traced from farm to fork. 

“Braga Fresh is committed to value and innovation from field-to-fork, and this new facility is no exception,” Nicholas says. “With a pioneering eye for food safety design, our vision was to build a facility with the latest equipment, most innovative technologies, and the right employees at the helm in order to assure that our customers and consumers receive the quality they have come to expect from us since 1928.” 

Looking to the future, Braga Fresh will continue to develop additional Organic Chopped Salad blends under the Josie’s Organics brand while creating custom blends for retail partners. The company will also be launching seven new additional Josie’s products separate from the Organic Chopped Salad line, so stay tuned!

With the same passion and commitment that has helped elevate the Josie’s Organic brand to what it is today, Braga Fresh is bringing retailers a one-stop-shop for all-things organic and all things “cravable.”

Braga Fresh