Proprietary seed technology has allowed Ocean Mist Farms to produce artichokes year-round, but to help boost sales in traditionally lower sales periods the company will be giving retailers new options to attract consumers to the vegetable during the warmer months.

As the largest grower of fresh artichokes in North America, Ocean Mist's director of marketing Diana McClean says the 12-month supply comes out of Californian farms in Castroville, Coachella and Oxnard, as well as Mexico.

"As there's definitely demand for sales year-round we need to make sure we have a variety that will grow in the various locations year-round and produce a quality vegetable," McClean tells www.freshfruitportal.com.

She says Nielsen FreshFacts data shows there are opportunities to increase sales in August, even though most produce aisles are packed with classic summer fruits like stone fruit.

The data shows summer artichoke sales have witnessed year-over-year growth of 4-5%.

"What we’re trying to do is let retailers know that artichokes will sell if they are presented creatively and visibly in the summertime," McLean says.

One of the creative solutions offered is a microwavable Season & Steam bag which allows users to enjoy the vegetable without heating up their kitchens, potentially throwing the artichokes on the grill outside afterwards.

The company has a wide range of point of sale (POS) materials available to retailers, including recipes such as dips and Artichoke Ice Pops.

She says the product available now is from the Castroville area, with Oxnard coming on with a crop from October to December and Mexican supply grown from November to the end of February.

But Mexico has not only thrived as a production area for the crop. McLean adds it has also performed well as an export destination for the California-grown artichokes, including the microwavable bag product.

She says Ocean Mist exports the vegetable year-round, with other destinations including Canada and Asia.

www.freshfruitportal.com