“If it’s quality and it’s good and it’s quick, it’s a win.”
So says Jeff Richardson of Leamington, ON-based Great Lakes Greenhouses Inc. of the growing segment of mini vegetables that have a snackable factor to them. And to tap into that segment, Great Lake Greenhouses now offers a 1 lb. sealable bag option for mini cucumbers to help build out that category.
“We’ve had mini cucumbers on and off. But for the last couple of years, that category continues to grow so we’ve increased our acreage,” says Richardson. “This year we have 14 acres. That’s the most we’ve had. We have 118 acres total but 14 are allocated for mini cucumbers.” He notes that as a category, mini cucumbers has seen 32 percent growth. “It just continues to escalate,” he says.
Trays, bags and more
This product is in addition to the other products the family-owned grower has within its greenhouse including its expanding organic program (sweet colored peppers, tomatoes on the vine and mini eggplant) and Long English cucumbers and tray-wrapped mini cucumbers. “The tray has a nice purpose too, but there is strong demand for the bags and they’re resealable and consumers like that. That’s helping drive it,” says Richardson.
Along with the growth experienced in Leamington, a key greenhouse growing region in North America, Richardson notes that the U.S. has also intensified its acreage on small snackable vegetables as has Mexico.
Meanwhile, as many commodities across North America are reporting, pricing is being pressured by the increased production costs growers like Great Lakes are seeing. “Everything is going up,” he says. “Since COVID hit, we’ve absorbed the increases. But we can’t eat any more of the increases because it wouldn’t be viable to produce it. To deliver a skid of produce, this week it’s costing us as much as 115 percent more in freight costs than it did a month ago because of the truck shortage. Growers can’t always absorb that, not to mention all of the other operating costs going up.”
For more information:
Jeff Richardson
Great Lakes Greenhouses Inc.
Tel: +1 (519) 419-4937
Jeff@greatlakesg.com
https://greatlakesg.com/
"vegetable" - Google News
February 18, 2022 at 07:46PM
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New mini cucumber bag extends snackable vegetable category - hortidaily.com
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