Red Celery Revealed

Posted by Christina Herrick|October 18, 2010

After nearly 20 years of research, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, the world’s largest grower and processor of celery, once again showcased its commitment to innovation and quality with the introduction of Red Celery at this year’s Produce Marketing Association’s annual Fresh Summit Trade Show in Orlando.

Red celery, under the brand name Celery Sensations, is a new and truly unique variety. Horticulturist Larry Pierce, Ph.D., Duda’s manager of celery seed research, started working on this project back in 1991. Using traditional techniques and natural plant breeding methods, Dr. Pierce cross-pollinated an existing commercial variety with an old-world heritage celery root, or celeriac variety, which was red in color, to produce a commercially viable variety for today’s consumer’s taste profile.

“We are so excited to unveil our ‘red celery.’ It has the same great crisp fresh flavor as regular celery with added crunch that consumers like so much,” said Dan Duda, president/chief operating officer, Duda Farm Fresh Foods. “Many of our customers and fellow growers were extremely curious about today’s reveal. Most thought we were launching a new radish variety, which would have been a close bet, as we did launch our Radish Ministicks, a new julienned packaged product. But the real buzz is all about our red celery; it turned heads and captured everyone’s attention and we are confident its superior quality, great taste and vibrant color will build incremental category sales.”
Duda continues, “From consumer trends to product evolvement and technological developments, we’re proud of our track record of innovation in the fresh produce industry. Our patents for new commercial celery varieties are a testament to that.”

Duda’s commitment to innovation is not only in the field, but can be evidenced in its smart packaging too. Celery Sensations will be sold with Microsoft® Tags. Placed directly on packaging, this high-capacity color barcode (HCCB) contains encoded information that consumers can easily access by scanning the URL Tag with a mobile device like their cell phone. The encoded information consists of product information, storage and usage tips and even recipes and meal suggestions.

“We aim to continually explore and utilize packaging that maintains strict sustainability guidelines, and reduces transportation and handling costs throughout the supply chain in addition to protecting the freshness, safety and integrity of our natural products” concludes Sammy Duda, vice president, Western Vegetable Operations.