Offering a Broad Variety of Vegetables with Extreme Freshness and Extended Shelf Life

GUADALUPE, Calif., Sept. 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apio, Inc., a leading producer of Eat Smart® fresh-cut vegetables and restaurant-inspired vegetable salad kits for the United States and Canada, today announced EatSmartatHome.com, an online home delivery service for the Eat Smart portfolio of fresh products. The new service offers Eat Smart vegetable bags, trays and salads in a premium online shopping experience and is available in select Western states. With delivery directly from Apio™ headquarters in Guadalupe, California, consumers receive product shortly after harvest – with nearly two weeks of remaining refrigerated shelf life. The home delivery service combined with Apio’s patented BreatheWay® packaging technology delivers extreme freshness and extended shelf life to consumers. With a commitment to sustainability, the delivery box, insulation and ice packs are all 100 percent curbside recyclable.

“Eat Smart is committed to making it easy and delicious for consumers to eat vegetables every day, and our industry-leading online home delivery service, EatSmartatHome.com, provides people who live in geographic areas where Eat Smart products are not currently offered with a convenient way to access our produce,” said Molly Hemmeter, President and CEO of Landec Corporation (NASDAQ:LNDC), owner of Apio and the Eat Smart brand. “The home delivery service also makes it easy for consumers to ensure fresh vegetables are available in their homes at all times. The site offers a broad assortment of vegetables that are washed, trimmed and available throughout the year, with unique recipes on the package or the website to make vegetables taste delicious. By ordering directly from EatSmartatHome.com, shoppers can enjoy easy and delicious ways to include vegetables at every meal.”

Apio’s move into the home delivery business is on trend, as consumers are busier than ever and searching for easy and delicious ways to maintain healthy eating habits. Online grocery shopping has become mainstream behavior, and produce is one of the largest categories. Online produce sales are currently a $5 billion business, and projected to grow to $23 billion by 2023ⁱ, with 85 percent of online grocery transactions including produce items.ⁱⁱ

EatSmartatHome.com Details

• EatSmartatHome.com will initially serve specific zip codes on the West Coast, including all of Nevada and Arizona; most of California, Idaho and Utah; and parts of Oregon, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.

• Delivering directly from Apio’s headquarters in Guadalupe, California, means that consumers receive their fresh products within 72 hours of being washed, trimmed and packaged – with nearly two weeks of remaining refrigerated shelf life. The home delivery service combined with Apio’s patented BreatheWay packaging technology delivers extreme freshness and extended shelf life to consumers.

• Products are offered throughout the year, allowing consumers to receive the fresh vegetables they want – when they want them. 

• Products are delivered in a box with insulation and ice packs that are 100 percent curbside recyclable.

• The site currently offers 24 delicious packaged vegetable products to meet a wide variety of unique tastes, and plans to offer more products in the months ahead. The site currently includes:

• A wide variety of vegetables such as broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, Brussels sprouts, green beans, snow peas, snap peas and slaw products – all fresh, washed and ready-to-prepare.
• Eat Smart’s cauliflower rice, which has become a new favorite carbohydrate replacement for mashed potatoes, pizza crust and a wide variety of recipes.
• A broad offering of salads and flavors, including vegetable salad blends, multi-serve salad kits and single-serve salad kits. Eat Smart recently launched its new single-serve Salad Shake Ups!™, featuring unique flavors, a 100% Clean Label, nutrient-rich vegetables and plant proteins in a patented bowl design that makes it easy to enjoy with less mess. New Salad Shake Ups are perfect for an on-the-go meal or lunch at the office.
• Eat Smart vegetable trays with dips for snacking or entertaining.

• The site will offer Eat Smart items at suggested retail price, with free shipping on purchases over $30.

• All products are priced individually and no subscription or contracts are necessary. 

“Eat Smart products have always been on the forefront of meeting consumer needs for great-tasting, fresh and convenient vegetables,” said Hemmeter. “Earlier this year, Eat Smart became the first brand in the packaged non-organic vegetable category to launch a 100% Clean Label initiative, representing its commitment to ensuring all products will be free from high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated fats, as well as artificial colors, preservatives, flavors and sweeteners. Today, we are delivering the ultimate access to fresh nutrient-rich vegetable products that taste delicious and consumers can feel good about putting in their bodies and serving to their families.”

Consumers can access the site at www.eatsmartathome.com, or by selecting “Shop Online” from the main navigation menu on www.eatsmart.net.

About Apio
Apio™ is a leader in processing and marketing fresh-cut specialty vegetables under the Eat Smart® brand, including multi-serve and single serve salads and party tray products. The company is headquartered in Guadalupe, California. Eat Smart products can be found in the refrigerated produce sections of local grocery stores and club stores within the U.S. and Canada. Landec Corporation (NASDAQ:LNDC), leading innovator of diversified health and wellness solutions within the packaged food and biomaterial markets based in Menlo Park, California, acquired Apio, Inc. and the Eat Smart brand in 1999. Visit www.eatsmart.net for more information.

ⁱ Rabobank Agfocus February 2015

ⁱⁱ Produce News, Produce a Large Part of Online Grocery Sales, September 1, 2017

For more information, contact:
Audrey Sahl
Audrey.Sahl@omalleyhansen.com
(646) 561-8508