Randsland Farm of Delhaven has launched a new product, one-pound “Super Salad” kits ready to toss and serve. The bags contain kale, broccoli, green and red cabbage, red onion, pumpkin seeds, cranberries and dressing packets.
The mix can also be used for a stir-fry or juicing blend. Randsland is also selling 340-gram bags of kale blend.
Randsland Farm operations manager Andrew Rand said they’ve invested in their Pereau processing facility as their business continues to transition into the realm of ready-to-eat packaged food items.
“Our goal is to be a processor and a grower at the same time,” Rand said.
Demand for convenience-based offerings in the produce section is growing. Randsland hopes to capitalize on this trend. Perhaps the biggest feather in their cap is that they currently have the only local offering for a packaged, ready-to-eat salad.
The salad mix is available at several Valley farm markets and grocery stores. Major grocery retailers are beginning to carry the product. Rand said it’s important to have their “production ducks in a row” as they increase the scale and pennies count.
“We understand the pricing game but when you’re dealing with the large retailers, you’re not looking at farm market-like profit margins,” Rand said.
He said you really have to be aware of your costs and run as efficiently as possible when working with small profit margins. He said they’re seeing a comfortable level of growth as they improve production and establish their brand.
Rand said the power of social media is not to be underestimated as they market “Super Salad”. His wife Lise has been doing a great job infusing enthusiasm and excitement into their messaging as they promote the new product over Facebook.
“You really get a very quick idea about what people like about it,” Rand said. It’s like a virtual focus group providing insight that could be useful when establishing companion products in the future.
He said the fact that their product can be shipped to local stores much faster than a similar product from the west coast of the United States, for example, would add a lot of shelf life. This is one benefit for local consumers but Rand said they hope to engage the export market as well.
Rand said at least two years of legwork went into launching the new product. There’s a long, complex procedure involved when looking to place a new product with the major retailers.
He and his father, owner Bruce Rand, went on a fact-finding mission to the United States. They noticed that a lot of packaged salad products are branded with words like “power” and “super”.
Branding their product as “Super Salad”, Randsland hopes to capitalize on consumers looking to make healthy food choices while enjoying the convenience of ready-to-serve products.
