Ippolito International Debuts New Salad Blends for Foodservice
SALINAS, CA - As consumers energize their efforts toward healthful eating, growers are helping restaurants expand their menu offerings by debuting innovative salad blends. Ippolito International is one such grower who recently introduced a couple of new leafy green blends to inspire more high-quality eating experiences for consumers.
I chatted with Dan Canales, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Processing, to find out more about the Legacy and Sweet Legacy blends and how both can help foodservice operators diversify their leafy green selections.
“At Ippolito International, we are on the farm daily, and we continually trial new seed innovations. As we evaluated different varieties and considered what products to develop, it seemed clear to us that there are incredible leafy lettuce varieties available that are under-used in today’s processed salad offerings,” Dan shared with me when I asked him what led Ippolito to introduce new blends. “At first glance, these blends may appear like a traditional spring mix, but the varieties of leaves we’ve blended together have more vigor, loft, and strong texture.”
The Ippolito team particularly saw an opportunity to capitalize on these varieties with foodservice establishments. The Legacy Blend, which is more of a traditional blend with chards mixed in, is currently only offered to the foodservice sector in 1/3-, 2/3-, and 4/3-pound cartons.
“With the lettuces that make up the Legacy Blend, we saw that the varieties’ unique leaf structure held its shape throughout processing. Notably, these blends didn’t lose their tender texture, and they retain that mildly bitter yet traditional leafy salad flavor,” Dan noted. “Because the flavors blend very well together and are unique in the market, we thought this was an innovation worth commercializing.”
The Sweet Legacy Blend, on the other hand, is as mild of a salad as one can ask for because the blend only contains sweet leafy green varieties.
“Both the Legacy and Sweet Legacy Blend showcase just how Ippolito International is staying ahead of the best varieties,” Dan concluded.
For more of the latest product innovations coming down the fresh produce pipeline, keep reading AndNowUKnow.
