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dried fruits & nuts gs
Getting e Most Out Of Figs
PHOTO COURTESY OF VALLEY FIG GROWERS
Year-round marketing focusing on the traditional and trendy is key to boosting sales.
FBY CAROL BAREUTHER
igs, native to the Middle East and Western Asia, were some of the rst fruits mankind cul- tivated. Fig fans have included ancient Greek philosopher Ar-
istotle, Rome’s rst emperor Augustus, and more recently circa the 18th century, Span- ish missionary Junipero Serra, who brought the rst gs to California.
Today, 98 percent of all gs produced in the United States are grown in the Golden State, according to the report, Figs, last revised in October 2018 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service’s (ERS), headquartered in Wash- ington, DC. Of this, 87 percent of the crop was processed, with dried being a major form.
e advantage of dried gs is the ability to stock this fruit year-round, rather than just during its fresh domestic season from May to December. e United States imported nearly $52.1 million worth of both fresh and dried gs in 2017/2018. is availability, combined with a shelf life measured in years rather than days, weeks or months, translates into dried gs being a valuable portion of produce department sales. e trick? Promote 365-day usages that span both the trendy and traditional. Even more crucial, make sure
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customers know dried gs are available and how to enjoy them.
“For us, dried gs are something we carry in our produce departments,” says John Savidan, senior director of produce and oral at Gelson’s Markets, a 27-store chain head- quartered in Encino, CA. “ is placement (rather than in the grocery aisle) provides us the opportunity to carry a wide variety of items year-round that a traditional grocery may not be able to or want to o er. Dried gs for us are not a seasonal item but rather a daily staple in our produce arsenal.”
ere are two primary types of dried gs sold in U.S. grocery retailers. Mission, which are dark purplish in color with a sweet taste, and Golden, which are light amber in hue with a slightly nutty avor. California gs are grown conventionally and organically. As for imports, Greece, followed by Italy are the two largest suppliers of dried gs to the United States. Heaviest import volumes during the 2017/2018 season were in the months of November through February, according to USDA ERS data.
“We o er a few di erent pack sizes of dried gs year-round, and we do capitalize on an imported string g for the holidays,” says Gelson’s Savidan.
String gs are so called because each single fruit’s stem is tied with a piece of string.
TRENDY SNACKS, TRADITIONAL INGREDIENTS
Figs recently received a big boost to their popularity. Firmenich, the Geneva, Switzer-
land-headquartered world’s largest privately owned fragrance and avor company, named g the “Flavor of the Year” in 2018. e company cited the fruit’s numerous health bene ts, positive associations with the popular Mediterranean diet and sweet and satisfying avor. Additionally noted were gs’ endless opportunities across a wide range of food categories. In fact, global growth of g- avored products increased an impressive 84.3 percent from 2012 to 2016, according to a Dec. 7, 2017-published press release by Firmenich announcing the g’s trendy honor.
“Fifty percent of all new products with gs worldwide list a health and nutrition function on the label,” says Karla Stockli, chief executive of the California Fig Advisory Board, based in Madera, CA. “As the demand for healthy, functional food increases, so does the demand for gs,” she says.
Dietary ber, antioxidants and key minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium are among gs’ nutritional bene- ts as are fat-, sodium- and cholesterol-free claims. Buzzwords such as gluten-free, vegan, all-natural, no additives/preservatives, conve- nient and portable also make gs popular as ingredients and for snacking.
“Snacking is de nitely an enhanced opportunity to sell dried gs,” says Linda Cain, vice president of marketing and retail sales for Valley Fig Growers, in Fresno, CA. To make the product portable, the company packs its Blue Ribbon Orchard Choice brand of gs in gusseted bags with resealable tops in 8-ounce and 2-ounce snack sizes and its