SALINAS, CA (March 7, 2011) – Top 10 Produce LLC today announced the launch of Locale™, a strawberry brand that is 100% percent traceable to the farm of origin. Each Locale™ Salinas Valley strawberry grower has a product label that can be scanned with ShopSavvy®, the number one shopping application for smartphone users, to display a mobile profile controlled by the grower. The grower profile includes information about the farmer, a map of the location where the product was grown, links to the farmer’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and more.
“While Salinas Valley produce is considered locally grown by San Francisco foodies, the Locale™ brand is not just about local – it’s about transparency,” said John Bailey (pictured), Top 10 Produce Executive Director. “Transparent branding means explaining where the produce comes from and how it was grown. Consumers have the opportunity to become personally acquainted with the real grower and the grower's family. The actual grower serves as the spokesperson for the brand, as opposed to a cartoon character, as has often been the case with produce brands of the past."
“ShopSavvy® has always focused on enabling the shopper to make better purchase decisions, and this is the latest example of this,” said Alexander Muse, Co-Founder of ShopSavvy, Inc. “Consumers are increasingly demanding to know where the food they buy comes from, and Top 10 Produce is taking a leadership role in providing this information to sustainability-conscious grocery shoppers.”
When consumers scan a Locale™ label with ShopSavvy®, they will see a profile like this one, from C & R Farms: http://www.kyf2.me/ca/0004
Wholesale buyers interested in sourcing Locale™ may contact the growers' sales agent, Chip Fratangelo at Health*America Fresh Foods, Inc., by calling (831) 759-0706. Independent growers can learn more about the program at http://www.top10produce.com/
While currently this information is available only for Locale™ brand strawberries, Top 10 Produce will soon offer this service to any brand that is selling produce supplied by growers licensed by Top 10 Produce LLC. ShopSavvy, Inc. will then work with these brands to deliver highly targeted offers and advertising to mobile shoppers based on location and user interest.
Source: Top 10 Produce, LLC