ANAHEIM, CA - The specialty produce sector is growing, and Frieda’s Branded Produce is fueling that growth with items like its Stokes Purple® sweet potato and its recent Year of the Dragon Lunar New Year dragon fruit campaign. As we head to the Southeast Produce Council’s Southern Exposure conference and trade show next weekend, March 7–9, these items will be proudly displayed at booth #639.

“We are eager to reconnect with the Southeast produce community this week in Tampa,” shared Alex Jackson, Vice President of Sales and Procurement at Frieda’s. "We've had an exciting start to the year coming off the momentum of Frieda's national expansion in 2023. Our distribution capabilities continue to grow, as well as our brand popularity among consumers and brand performance through the register compared to our closest competitor."

During the show, the team is prepared to share how the trending Stokes Purple® sweet potato has capitalized on the popularity of the Blue Zone diet, which boasts the varieties’ antioxidant and anti-aging properties, a press release explained. The domestically grown purple sweet potato was also selected as the 2024 “Vegetable of the Year” by a panel of food experts with Veganuary.

Frieda’s is also embarking on a year-long celebration of the Year of the Dragon, bringing a unique opportunity to promote its collection of dragon fruit varieties. Frieda’s offers yellow and sweet Honey Dragons®, white flesh Snow Dragons®, and vibrant red Fire Dragons®, as well as organic dragon fruit.

“Our branded Dragon Fruit varieties are outpacing category growth by over 50 percent,” shared Jackson. “As the dragon fruit category has nearly doubled in volume annually, we are leading the charge with our colorful and healthy assortment of dragon fruit varieties while further growing the category with new varieties such as our Pink Dragons.”

Read more about this enticing lineup in our exclusive feature here, and don’t forget to stop by the Frieda’s booth for some insight into its specialty lineup and marketing genius.