MIAMI, FL - We all love a one-stop shop, and Crystal Valley Foods works to be just that for buyers’ fresh Thanksgiving supply, offering a holiday spread’s worth of categories.

“Crystal Valley French beans, green and white asparagus, baby carrots, and baby broccoli are great items to promote for Thanksgiving and for the holiday season. These items are in season and plentiful but also make great sides for Thanksgiving meals and other holiday get-togethers,” Katiana Valdes, Marketing Director, recently shared with me. “Whether your customers are having a big group of family and friends over for dinner or if the plans are for a more intimate gathering, we have a variety of sizes for every occasion, including 2 lb French beans and asparagus club-style packs.”

Staples like French beans can offer customers a more unique and tender bean for sides during the holidays. As is typical during this season, Crystal Valley always expects good volume but high demand during the holidays, especially for Thanksgiving. Then there are the categories with a twist like white asparagus.

“White asparagus is a unique and special item to supply and highlight during the holidays. It offers a little excitement to your asparagus lineup, and it is also a delicious side. White asparagus for the U.S. market is produced in Peru,” Katiana shared. “Historically, white asparagus has been predominantly consumed in the European market, however there is a good opportunity for retail to educate consumers on this delicious item. White asparagus is a bit more tender than green asparagus and its flavor is a little milder. It is best peeled though, before preparing or eating.”

When it comes to merchandising strategies as the big-eating day approaches, Katiana shined a light on the power retailers have when creating holiday-themed POS and offering recipe cards near the product display.

“In-store demos are also a great vehicle for increasing retail movement and offer customers a chance to try the product—perhaps in a unique way that they might not have thought of before,” she said.

Crystal Valley’s orange and rainbow baby carrots, for example, are hand-peeled and shipped with tops from Guatemala. They offer customers a unique, colorful, upscale item for plates and crudites during the holiday season. Ready to eat or cook in retail friendly bags that extend shelf-life, as well as bulk, these offer a launchpad from the familiar to the fun and experimental for Thanksgiving.

“We work closely with our customers to offer special promotional pricing and volume during the holidays. In addition, since these items are all plentiful during this time of year, buyers can focus their merchandising on making big, colorful, fresh displays in prominent areas of the produce section to help increase impulse purchases. Retailers can create fun holiday-themed areas and cross-merchandise items with other seasonal staples. For example, French beans with crispy onions and cream-of-mushroom soup, for a casserole idea, asparagus with meats, lemon, bacon, or hollandaise sauce, and our baby carrots with dips like hummus and ranch dressing or honey and herbs for roasting,” Katiana concluded.

With some tasty inspiration, we just might see a healthy spike in fresh sales for Thanksgiving and beyond!