Kale Grows in the Produce Aisle and Beyond
This superfood is showing up everywhere. There are now kale smoothies, kale chips, kale martinis and even kale nail polish lines. Kale is also making its way to Hollywood with celebrity chefs and endorsements from Gwyneth Paltrow.
In a recent ABC News video, Church Brothers Produce Vice President of Marketing and Product Development, Ernst van Eeghen, is Hollywood-ready as he offers a tour of the company’s kale fields in the video below.
Church Brothers has a 10-acre ranch in Salinas Valley that grows about 80,000 pounds of kale, and the company is planting six times the amount of kale than it did three years ago. “That’s how much people like it,” van Eeghen told ABC News.
Mentions of kale on American restaurant menus have increased 233% over the past two years according to Technomic. Whole Foods reports that it sells more than 22,000 bunches of kale per day in its stores.
As ABC News suggests, kale’s biggest marketing ploy is most likely its health benefits and not its celebrity status. Kale has the maximum amount of vitamins, nutrients and minerals in a single food, alongside Swiss chard, watercress and collard greens, according to the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) Scoring System.
Brad Gruno, Founder and CEO of Brad’s Raw Foods, also spoke to ABC about his business. He estimates his company will bring in an estimated $20 million this year, with 70% of that from kale products.
From produce aisles to the White House garden to Hollywood, what might be kales next big move? Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to cover this leafy green.
