Fresh Cut Magazine

Premium Salads, Apple Dippers Are Good News for Quick Service Giant

With the introduction of Premium Salads, Apple Juice, new milk options and Apple Dippers in more than 13,500, McDonald's restaurants in the US, the fast food giant is widening its clientele from the burger-and-fry crowd to those in search of leaner and healthier cuisine. Since launching its new Premium Salad line last year, McDonald's has sold more than 200 million of the new Premium Salads in the U.S. alone, according to William Whitman, a company spokesman. With more than 15 varieties of mixed greens in each Premium Salad and two servings of vegetables-grape tomatoes and carrot shavings-added to each premium offering, that means 400 million servings of vegetables have been marketed and consumed through the fast food giant's revamped menu. In early 2004, McDonald's also introduced Apple Dippers, fresh sliced and peeled apples served with a low-fat caramel dip, jump starting the fast food chain…  » Read more

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Adapting to Changing Needs

By Peter Hildebrandt Perhaps one of the main reasons for the success of Walter P. Rawl and Sons Inc. is the company's ability to adapt to changing needs. The Pelion, S.C., company started out in the early 1920s with a mission to serve the local community and now supplies fresh-cut, packaged greens to customers all over the eastern United States. The company's own fleet of trucks ships fresh-cut and packaged greens all over the South and now in many other locations east of the Mississippi River. They currently deliver as far north as Rochester, N.Y. Walter P. Rawl and his wife, Ernestine, began their produce business by growing and selling peaches. "In the early days we did a lot of canning," says Ashley Rawl, director of sales and marketing and a grandson of Walter and Ernestine Rawl. "This started right in the backyard. At that…  » Read more

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Bringing Value-added to Specialty Produce

By D. Brent Clement Editor/Publisher With its creative salads, diced onions, baby beets and other offerings, Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc. is bringing value-added to specialty produce. The Los Angeles-based company-the largest distributor of specialty produce in the United States-has come a long way since its humble beginning almost 21 years ago. Today, Melissa's imports and distributes exotic fresh fruits and vegetables from around the globe. Melissa's main niche is unique fruits and vegetables but not necessarily whole. The company is aggressive in the marketplace with a growing list of value-added products. Among them are Stir-Fry Vegetables, Microwaveable Asian Veggies, Edamame, two options of chopped onions and a baby red beet product that helps eliminate the mess. Stir-Fry Vegetables Popular Melissa's Stir-Fry Vegetables include a fresh blend of napa cabbage, bok choy, broccoli hearts, celery, carrots and snow peas. The content is packaged for stir-frying in…  » Read more

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