January 2019 - 13

Homestyle Puree Apple, Parsnip &
Beet with Cardamom
something new, recognizing this is
starting out small, they see the potential
for growth, and they see the potential to
be a part of something new. "
He added that growing vegetables
was a bit of a challenge.
" It's in smaller amounts, so it's
hard to get ramped up to a more
commercial size, like what we're used
to, " Falak said. " Also, some of these
items are newer to us, and some of
these items we're still learning a lot
about growing. So, we've gone to some
of our suppliers and said, 'Let's give it
a shot.' "
Starting a new product line with new
crops is an education for both growers
and their customer.
" The guys that we deal with are very
good at what they do, but especially
when you're dealing with organic,
there are idiosyncrasies, there are
those little things that can make that
crop for the year, and there will be a
learning curve there for those guys
to get good at it, " Falak said. " Certain
climates will make the growing of
certain vegetables tougher, and that's
a learning process for us. We may
be best grown in a more arid region
and not in the humidity that we have
in Michigan, and we may need to
work with one of our suppliers out of
Colorado for certain crops. "
Parsnips were new to Gerber's
grocery list, and beets hadn't been
there in a long time.
" Going way back into Gerber's
history, we grew conventional beets in
the '90s, " Falak said. " And consumers
for whatever reason went away from
that. Now, as we look at some of the
millennials and the generation Zs,
beets are coming back into favor. "
Greci said the trends seem ripe for
the Gerber Freshful Start.
" Homemade baby food is becoming
more commonplace and I think more
acceptable to parents, especially
parents of the younger generation,
what we call generation Z, which is the
cohort that came after millennials, "
he said. " They typically over-index in
homemade baby food preparation, so
to them, homemade baby food is kind
of the gold standard. "
While such individuals' " gold
standard " for baby food is homemade
from scratch, Greci said, Freshful Start
provides an easier option.
" Fresh Start is trying to balance that
high-quality refrigerated product with
easier and convenient prep so that you
don't have to take the time to wash,
prep, peel and steam all the ingredients
to make baby food, " he said.
More than a month after its launch,
Ready-to-Blend Kit Parsnip, Yellow
Carrot & Orange Carrot
Greci said the initial response by
consumers was good.
" We're just starting to see the initial
results, and they look encouraging, "
Greci said. " I think at least for the time
being we're going to be in that 50-store
Veggie Entree Bowl Tomato Basil
test mode, and then we're going to make
a decision about what the next steps are
as far as how do we expand it, and that
will come from discussions internally as
well as with our partner Walmart. "
Consumer acceptance could mean
Veggie Sides Noodled Beets with
Quinoa
a windfall for the fruit and vegetable
growers supplying Gerber.
" We don't know exactly how quickly
or at what pace it will grow, and as
it does, we will go to our existing
growers, " Falak said. VGN
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VGN | JANUARY 2019 | 13

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January 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2019