A British company is expanding its global presence in ready-to-eat beetroot, adding a touch of convenience to the selenium-rich vegetable whose properties are known to help reduce blood pressure and fight rheumatism. 

Love Beets vice president of marketing, George Shropshire, discussed the expansion with www.freshfruitportal.com during the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fruittrade Latin America event in Santiago last week.

"We are a family of growers from the U.K. We produce a lot of vegetable varieties and one of them is beetroots," Shropshire said.

"A few years ago we saw the opportunity to take what we were doing to the U.S. and give it the brand 'Love Beets'. We tried this in the market and it was a true success, so four years later we now have operations in Australia, Asia, the U.K. and Europe where we sell Love Beets."

He said the company was able to generate new South American contacts during the inaugual PMA Fruittrade Latin America fair.

"That's why we are taking part, to get to know buyers, growers, importers, and people we can learn from, get information from, and hopefully find a business with a similar business vision to our own and that could represent Love Beets in South America.

"If you look at the market, beetroots are very, very popular, but no one had ready-to-eat. If you go to the supermarket, you can buy prepared salads. We thought this was an opportunity for beetroot and we did the same.

"Currently, we have different flavors and infusions that the consumer can buy, open the packet and simply eat during lunch."

Products include baby beets infused with vinegars including white, balsamic, smooth, spicy sweet, honey and ginger, and smooth organic. Also, the group sells pre-cooked beets that are already packed, as well as snack trays where the beets are accompanied by a portion of cheese and crackers.

Shropshire emphasized that Love Beets did not use artificial coloring or preservatives, and all products - bar the beets with honey and ginger - were gluten-free.

The company will also soon launch an organic beetroot juice to the market.

"We want to be experts in everything that has to do with beetroots," the vice president of marketing said.

The family company also grows celery, lemons and mushrooms, among other varieties of vegetables that are sold at retail

"We have our own farms and associations with growers who produce what we need for the year, and according to supermarket programs, etcetera. They tell us what they are looking for and we plan with the growers to have enough supply," Shropshire said.

"Not everything we have is organic as it is very difficult to grow everything we need as organic. There simply aren't enough organic beetroots at the moment, but we are increasing year-on-year."

www.freshfruitportal.com