Monterey Calif.- Using color
to attract customers isn’t just a tactic that works for the
5 a Day.
Doug Ranno, chief operating officer and general manager of Colorful
Harvest LLC, said touting colorful and unique fruits and vegetables
is helping the young company grow faster than expected.
Since Ranno left Boulder, Colo.- based Wild Oats Market to take the
helm of Colorful harvest in June 2003, he’s overseen a rapid
expasion that has put first-year sales at nearly twice projections.
Colorful Harvest has added five sales positions this year and is looking
to add a sixth. He declined to specify the projections or give details
about how many cartons the company ships.
Ranno attributes much of the success to building excitement based
on unusual and unusually colorful produce.
“We’re having a good run,” he said. “The color
theme is white hot. We think we’re capitalizing on it at the
right time.”
New Products: The company
which has garnished attentions with its orange cauliflower and red
corn, is launching several new products. One is a consumer bag of
its Rainbow Crunch carrots. The bag contains red, yellow and orange
heirloom carrots and began shipping earlier this summer.
Anticipating continued success of the Rainbow Crunch carrots, colorful
harvest is testing Rainbow Crunch carrot chips.
“We’re looking at different sizes, “ Ranno said.
“We know it’s a good item but we want to find the right
pack. We’re looking at single serving packages for children.”
A third new product the company is focused on is supersweet grape
tomatoes.
Colorful Harvest ships them in dry-pint medleys of red and gold, and
the firm is getting positive feedback, Ranno Said.
Color: Produce suppliers
and buyers alike should pay attention to the different colors of produce.
Color, which has always been a critical factor for chefs who want
to make an attractive plate, is becoming more important at retail,
too, Ranno said.
Not only is the produce for Better Health Foundation encouraging consumers
to eat a variety of colors of fruits and vegetables each day, but
food vendors are beginning to use colors to appeal to children, Ranno
said.
The question is, are the colors ending up at home on the plate on
the dinner table?
