The announcement of Newman’s Own packaged salad kits from Fresh Del Monte earlier this month is a reminder of the role food and beverage brand licensing plays in the fresh produce industry. The new product line is one of a few agreements that have been announced in this space over the last couple of years:
- The Newman’s Own product is being manufactured and marketed by Fresh Del Monte Produce’s vegetable division, Mann Packing, and represents the first time the charitable food brand has entered this category. As with all Newman’s Own products, 100% of the royalties from the line go toward supporting children facing adversity. The salad kits, which will debut in North American grocery retailers in January 2025, include Mann Packing lettuce; toppings such as croutons, cheese, bacon bits, carrots, dried chickpeas, and sun-dried tomatoes; and Newman’s Own-branded dressings. The initial offering includes four flavors: King of the Caesars, Rodeo Remix (with ranch dressing), Italian Magnifico, and Parmesan Powerhouse.
- Coca-Cola said in spring 2023 that it had licensed Minute Maid and Simply to Frutura’s Dayka & Hackett division for the juice brands’ first-ever line of fresh fruit. Dayka & Hackett is a California grower, packer, and distributor of table grapes, citrus, mangos, avocados, kiwifruit, Asian pears, and stone fruit. The Minute Maid brand was set to appear first on grapes in the U.S. and fresh citrus and grapes in Japan, while the Simply Select brand was to identify fresh citrus in the U.S.
- General Mills’ Old El Paso brand paired with Calavo Growers, a producer of avocados, papayas, and tomatoes and marketer of value-added fresh foods, for a line of fresh, refrigerated guacamole and salsa. The products debuted in grocery, mass, and convenience stores across the U.S. in fall 2022. The chunky guacamoles launched with mild and medium versions and the salsa in mild, medium, and hot. None are currently available at retail. Calavo was sold to F&S Fresh Foods this year.
Achieving success with food brand extensions in the fresh produce industry is not easy, and deals are relatively few and far between. Still, those that make it tend to remain on the market long-term. Examples include Green Giant Fresh, which has been ongoing for many years through a variety of brand owners (currently B&G Foods), master licensees, and sublicensees. It currently encompasses 200 different fresh products through licensees such as Church Brothers (Brussels sprouts), Potandon Produce (potatoes and onions), and F&S Fresh Foods (bagged vegetable products). Welch’s Fresh has long been licensed to Robinson Fresh, which currently markets fresh grapes, blueberries, strawberries, nectarines, peaches, and plums under the brand; Robinson is also the long-time licensee for Mott’s apples and other licensed brand extensions in fresh produce. And Sunkist fresh-cut fruit products are offered through Taylor Farms and include sliced oranges, pineapples, apples, and grapes.
A reminder that Raugust Communications’ last monthly e-newsletter of 2024 comes out tomorrow, December 17, 2024. The Licensing Topic of the Month examines the potential ramifications of the incoming Trump Administration’s promised tariffs and what companies are doing to address their possible implementation in the new year. The Datapoint research spotlight analyzes licensing in the protein/energy/nutrition segment of the food and beverage industry. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can sign up here.
Tomorrow also marks the publication of our wrap-up of 30 top licensing trends of the year. A link will be provided in the next RaugustReports post on Thursday, December 19.
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