The Future of Frozen Fruit

Industry leaders in the frozen fruit category are anticipating changes and introducing new initiatives. Suppliers have an eye toward transportation and supply chain improvements. Category leaders also plan to provide more valued products closer to consumers.

Bill Smittcamp, President of Wawona Frozen Foods said rising prices of fresh fruit will give shoppers more incentive to shop for their produce in the frozen aisle. “We’re seeing some of that transition most recently, and so I believe there’s more awareness of the frozen side of our business that the consumer is understanding,” Smittcamp said. “The consumer is understanding that there’s less waste and more convenience to frozen. It always takes a long time for us to get the feedback of what’s really happening out there. As we enter the summer months, our retail sales generally dip a little bit because of the fresh side. Why not buy a fresh peach rather than a frozen? But I do believe that when you go in and see $2.50 per pound for peaches or whatever the blueberries are, it’s just crazy. Wow—that’s expensive. Everybody is talking about eating healthier, so hopefully that is getting into the consumer’s mind and then when they see those outrageous fresh prices, they’ll go down that freezer aisle and pick up something that is frozen.”

On the heels of an investment which will allow for the company to expand its strawberry output, Wawona Frozen Foods is eagerly waiting for the strawberry season to start. “Last year we put in a very large investment into another IQF tunnel which gives us more flexibility, more capability and a tremendous amount of pounds per day through our facilities,” Smittcamp explained. “By having this large tunnel, it will give us more flexibility to bring in specialty fruits, whether it’s white sliced peaches or especially fun strawberry varieties out there such as a white and a rose strawberry. In a normal situation, to run 5,000 to 6,000 pounds per hour, you just can’t do specialty options when you’re focused on the total production. But because of the new IQF tunnel, it gives us a little downtime for our smaller tunnels. We’re trying some of these white and rose strawberries specialty fruits that we can highlight in a blend or highlight by a single fruit by itself. I’m not sure that a white strawberry standalone in the retail side will do anything but being able to enhance one of our blends with it will give it a little 'ah-hah!' The white strawberry is actually sweeter than a normal strawberry, so it’s going to be fun to do. We are optimistic. We are always throwing things against the wall to see what sticks. The berry market is a little in flux so there will be a lot of opportunities for us to run more blueberries and strawberries through our facility which will give us a bigger array for our retail customers.”

“It’s an exciting time in the frozen food category,” Seal The Seasons CEO Patrick Mateer said. “We had a huge growth to the category through to the pandemic just as people changed their eating habits, and consumers have stuck with the category through the pandemic. People are still prioritizing frozen fruit and looking for new and innovative items in frozen fruit. The category is really on trend and now that we have the eyeballs on the category, there’s really an opportunity to bring more specific products. As an example, bring more intentionally grown and more transparency to the category, bring more flavor and bring the better-for-you products that consumers are really craving.”

“We partner with Safeway/Albertsons, we use a locally grown, locally frozen, locally sold supply chain so everything is done in the Pacific Northwest. The fruit is grown there, it’s frozen there it’s packaged and it’s sold all in Washington and Oregon,” Mateer added. “Our business hasn’t felt the supply chain bottle necks as much. We’re not bringing in fruits and vegetables from outside the country. We don’t have to face the ports and the delays there. We’ve been really fortunate that relying on the local growers, they’ve been able to make it happen and produce the products and keep their local communities fed.”

The frozen fruit category is divided in half with a distinctive conventional market and a distinctive organic market.

“The organic market has continued to grow for frozen fruit berry mango all the fruits and all the berries have increased on the organic side,” Townsend Farms President Mike Townsend said late last year while predicting how the category will perform in 2023. “So now you have to get into specific items that are being impacted by price and labor and where these products are coming from and how the labor and the freight is associating with the outcome of the pricing of those items. From a glance, I would say the berry industry is positive in the US. It’s trying to move forward."

Last fall, Naturipe entered the frozen fruit category with its line of frozen fruit products launched in select retailers across the Midwest and Northeast. The frozen fruit line included bags of frozen blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes and cherries and organic blueberries and strawberries. The frozen berries are ready-to-eat and void of preservatives.

“We’re thrilled to introduce our new line of top-quality frozen products," Jason Bellan, VP and General Manager said at the time of the launch. “Our new eye-catching packaging leverages the 105-year heritage of the Naturipe brand and was consumer tested to stand out on the shelf with its vibrant and colorful berry imagery.”

Relationship sales is key to Smittcamp, demonstrated by the strong ties Wawona has developed with retail giant and partner Costco.

“We have dialogue quite often with the frozen buyers, and they’re always asking what’s up, what’s new and how can we do it?” he said. “The Costco buyer at one of the divisions said, 'We’re opening a new store; we know you’re short on peaches, but we’d love to do an organic peach front load to celebrate your 60th anniversary.' So, [my son] Blake and I figured out how to put a couple of truckloads together for Costco to have this banner in time for their new store opening. That’s what it's about—they asked us, not us asking them. That’s what relationships are all about. They’re very strong, and I truly believe it is what has made Wawona Foods successful for the last 60 years.”