Ayco Farms is experiencing a substantial increase in bagged asparagus sales to some of its largest retail customers as consumer trends are changing in today's economy. “Bagged asparagus grabbed attention and seems to have kept traction due to consumer trends and the convenience of packaged produce,” said Avi Nir, Ayco CEO. “We see consumers buying more bagged products than ever before.”
Since that first push, sales have remained strong. “Consumer trends have changed the way people are buying produce,” said Shani Nir, marketing coordinator for Ayco. “In April, our bagged sales began to increase in a serious manner. Interest in bags has never been higher. Once retail customers and their shoppers became familiar with the bags, they realized the convenience of our presentation and the benefit in this bag.”
Ayco Farms was one of the first companies to advance into the new and innovative packaging of asparagus. “With many months of testing MAP and non-MAP materials we developed a bag and protocol perfect for handling asparagus,” said Avi Nir. “We invested in figuring out what materials worked best for asparagus and adopting our facility for the machines. We believe that we offer the most innovative asparagus bag on the market.”
The company has been testing bagged asparagus for several years, according to Shani Nir. “Our goals were to increase shelf life and create a more consumer-friendly bag. In May 2020, we released our new full color design with unique features to our customers including a breathable stand up gusset bag with a handle, a large window for a good view of the product, nutritional facts, a QR code to scan recipes on the website and a tagline on the bottom of the bag that says, ‘Got Asparagus?’ so that even lying down the package has a clear sales message.”
Ayco continues to invest in producing bagged asparagus in volume. “We are tweaking our bagging operation and are about to order two new machines to handle the new demand,” said Avi Nir. “Our sales indicate bagged asparagus is here to stay. Even with a change in consumer trends in the marketplace, we foresee the convenience and safety benefits of bagged asparagus remaining for retail shoppers.”
