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Menlo Park, California
June 14, 2001
Landec Corporation (Nasdaq: LNDC), announced today that its
wholly owned food technology subsidiary, Apio, Inc., has
expanded its Eat Smart vegetable party tray line using the
company's proprietary Intellipac(TM) specialty packaging
technology to include a new Classic party tray.
The Eat Smart 4.5 pound Classic tray will be positioned as an
upscale tray containing mini carrots, pepperoncini, black
olives, broccoli, celery, mini sweet pickles and a ranch dip.
The Classic tray offers retail and club stores a premium
offering for the produce department. This new product is
designed to enhance Apio's fresh-cut vegetable category with
several party tray options to further capitalize on the high
demand especially during holidays and social events.
Apio has marketed "all occasion" vegetable party trays for the
past three years. The company's existing 3.5 and 5 pound
vegetable trays contain broccoli, carrots, celery, cauliflower,
radishes and a ranch dip. The trays are re-sealable and utilize
Intellipac specialty packaging to provide the ideal atmosphere
within the tray to extend shelf life and preserve the freshness
of the product. The Intellipac breathable membrane also allows
Apio to distribute its party trays without ice to stores. Other
available Eat Smart trays include a 1.5 pound mini vegetable
party tray that contains broccoli, carrots, celery and ranch
dip.
Since 1996, Apio has commercially marketed products that use
Intellipac specialty packaging for its Eat Smart fresh-cut line
of products. In addition to party trays, the product line
includes broccoli florets, broccoli slaw, broccoli and carrots,
broccoli and cauliflower, cauliflower florets, vegetable medley
and vegetable stir-fry in twelve-ounce, two-pound and
three-pound packages.
The company has launched nine new products since the beginning
of the year and is now marketing its Intellipac products to over
7,800 retail and club stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. The
company sources virtually all of the produce used in its
fresh-cut processing facility in the immediate surrounding area
so the product can be packaged at its peak freshness. Because
the Intellipac specialty packaging extends the amount of time
the product maintains its freshness, the company is able to ship
its products to customers nationally and internationally.
Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Guadalupe, California, Apio
markets a full line of whole
vegetables, fresh-cut vegetables, bananas, grapes, and tree
fruit under the Eat Smart brand. The
company's Intellipac specialty packages extend produce shelf
life by controlling the internal atmosphere of a package to
optimally fit the respiration requirements of produce. The
membranes are customized for each specific product to provide
the ideal oxygen and carbon dioxide levels for preserving
produce quality, even when exposed to changes in temperature
experienced during distribution.
"The Intellipac specialty packaging enables us to develop and
market party trays with complex blends of ingredients that have
unique advantages in the market place," noted Jennifer Browder,
Apio's director of marketing. "The Classic tray is a well
positioned addition to our current party tray line that will
contribute to growth in our fresh-cut vegetable category," she
added.
Landec Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and sells
temperature-activated and other specialty polymer products for a
variety of food, agricultural and licensed partner applications.
The company's temperature-activated polymer products are based
on its proprietary Intelimer(R) polymers which differ from other
polymers in that they can be customized to abruptly change their
physical characteristics when heated or cooled through a pre-set
temperature switch.
Company news release
N3587 |
