Ocean Mist® Farms' Philip Barrientos Discusses Tight Brussels Sprouts Market and Retail Opportunities
CASTROVILLE, CA - Over the past few years, Brussels sprouts have made the exciting transition from a supporting role on consumers’ plates to culinary superstars as home cooks and professional chefs alike have embraced the cruciferous veg. As the category continues to gain popularity, Ocean Mist® Farms is showcasing a wide variety of Brussels sprouts offerings to get shoppers’ culinary juices—and dollars—flowing.
“Ocean Mist offers a diverse line of Brussel sprouts items, from bulk and 1 lb net bags to our value-added Season & Steam line,” explains Philip Barrientos, Commodity Account Manager. “We also want to ensure our retail partners are aware of the POS materials and other resources on our trade resource web page as well as our recipe page dedicated to showcasing the Season & Steam line and personalized dishes that shoppers can create with this convenient family of products.”
As packing in its Oxnard, California, operation starts to wind down, Ocean Mist will continue shipping Brussels sprouts out of Castroville, California, and its Mexico facilities until mid-July. While the season has seen some varied challenges in the supplier’s different growing areas, the quality that is coming out of these two regions has been excellent so far.
Due to some of the early seasonal challenges, volume has been reduced for the grower, but supplies are now gaining momentum and approaching Ocean Mists’ budgeted volumes.
“The market is tight and pricing has been in the high-20s to low-30s for the past couple of weeks, but I think we should see the market remain pretty active—at least until we get settled into the summer months and start seeing that consistent supply coming in steady every day,” Philip says.
With volume starting to pick up, so too do the opportunities for buyers to showcase Ocean Mist’s Brussels sprouts in their produce aisles. Whether catering to on-the-go consumers, creative home cooks, or restaurant-level chefs, the company has all of your bases covered, leaving you ready to hit a sales home run this season.
