SunSelect and Oppy plan to use jar-shaped bags developed in Denmark to promote a range of produce items through the brand 'Outrageously Fresh', with specialty tomatoes rolling off the line this week.

The brand was launched at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit in Atlanta last year, involving a tie-up between the two companies and Mexico's Divemex to form the "biggest biggest greenhouse program in North America".

However, in a release Oppy said the new step with tomatoes from SunSelect's Tehachapi, California facility signified the first step in a larger plan for these packs to become the bag of choice at retail, 'in the greenhouse section and beyond'.

SunSelect Director Reinhold Krahn said the bags were a result of a partnership between his company and Denmark's Schur Star Systems which developed the packaging.

"SunSelect has secured the exclusive rights to Schur’s mason jar bag across several categories in the U.S., Canada and Mexico," Krahn said.

"Our discussions with retailers have illustrated the great promise of this pack. We believe it could have enormous influence on how healthy snacks are profitably merchandised at retail and easily enjoyed at home."

SunSelect’s exclusive includes peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, cherries, red and green grapes, cranberries, apples, kiwifruit, and blueberries, with potential extensions of the jar bag concept for other products. In the coming months, SunSelect and Oppy will offer the concept to producers of many of these items.

The “Schur Jar Bag” was discovered by members of the Krahn family, owners of SunSelect, at Fruit Logistica last year.

"We felt the design would be a great fit for snacking items, and a differentiator on the shelf,” Krahn said.

"It’s more stable than other packaging options within clamshells and cello bags, and plays on the popularity of home canning and use of mason jars in decorative and useful ways around the house."

Hans Christian Schur, Schur’s Oceanside-Calif. based CEO, shared Krahn’s enthusiasm about the partnership and the promise of the bag concept for many types of fresh fruits and vegetables.

"The enterprise is based on SunSelect’s desire to differentiate in the fresh category, and Schur’s commitment to deliver a solution to help them achieve that," he said.

"We are excited to expand the concept with SunSelect, bringing in associated companies like Oppy who work with growers of other items."

The re-sealable Outrageously Fresh mason jar bags include: 10.5 oz, grape, cherry and gourmet medley tomatoes grown by SunSelect, 14-oz. mini cucumbers, and 1-lb mini peppers grown by Divemex and are available exclusively from Oppy.

www.freshfruitportal.com