Last week Friday, 23 September, marked the 5th year that Italian grower and producer Mioorto, attended the Fresh Market event in Warsaw.
"We make sure to participate in the show annually because there are always new buyers and new people with whom we can share opinions and learn more about how the market is moving. We noticed, this edition, that here are a lot of new people that we haven't met before and new stands. It seems like there are less people from the general public and more who are specifically interested in the trade, which has been great." said Laura Pedrini from Mioorto.
When the company entered the Polish market in 2005, they started with salads, and since then have expanded their offering to a wide variety of fresh cut, ready to eat and washed salads and vegetables, which are now available throughout the country.
"We like to bring a new product to the market each year and our newest addition is the salad kebab bowl. It consists of iceberg lettuce, since that is the most common type of lettuce consumed in Poland, and we added some kebab which is a big trend here, along with a yoghurt sauce. It is something that can be eaten any time of the day. We have also started offering seeds that people can add to their salads, like sunflower seeds, for health benefits." shared Pedrini.
The company is present in 16 different countries and say that they have observed big demand in all of their markets for fresh cut salads in supermarkets. Today's consumers have a lot less time to prepare meals and would like to eat something both healthy and fast.
Along with salads, pre-cut vegetables are also on offer, such as pumpkins, green beans, cauliflower, onions, carrots, leek, celery, broccoli and mixed veg. Different packaging and cuts are offered to suit all needs, to be used as a side dish or in the main dish itself. As the winter season is approaching, Mioorto is also looking to start offering microwaveable vegetables where the trays can be put directly in the microwave, and the product is cooked within 6 minutes.
"Poland has always been a strategic country for us and we continue to see year on year growth. For example, when we first came to the market 11 years ago, consumers were only familiar with fresh-cut for iceberg, onions and leeks and they now are demanding different mixes and salads. It is important to understand that fresh cut salad does come at a higher price, but also adds convenience by saving time. As consumers have increasingly less of it, we see our products as a time saving service. Rucola is still the most consumed, but there is also a lot of demand for baby leaf salads." said Pedrini.
