Durham, North Carolina-based Seal the Seasons is launching a new strawberry variety, Ruby June.
The company states that this strawberry is 50 percent sweeter than commercial strawberries varieties that are traditionally frozen. Developed at Lassen Canyon Nursery and botanically known as Fragaria x ananassa, the Ruby June variety of strawberries has a deep dark red exterior and interior with a sweet flavor.
The Ruby June Strawberries come in a package that highlights the variety and the family farmer, Teresa Cottle, who grew them in Faison, North Carolina.
“Several years ago, we decided to go after a more flavorful berry,” Cottle said. “After multiple varietal testings, we found the perfect variety. Ruby June has an excellent flavor profile, and great characteristics such as size, color and most importantly flavor.”
The variety is distributed under the Seal the Seasons brand that uses a “locally grown, locally frozen and locally sold” business model to bring the best local foods to its grocery partners.
“I am so proud of our team’s hard work over the last 12 months to bring this variety to market,” said Patrick Mateer, CEO. “It took careful planning with Ron and Teresa over at Cottle Farms to grow the hundreds of thousands of pounds needed for our customers.”
Initial launch customers include Harris Teeter, Wegmans, Food Lion, Whole Foods, Lowes Foods, Ingles Markets and Weaver Street Market Co-op. Ruby Junes will be available across about 1,500 locations on the East Coast.
Seal the Seasons is one of the only brands showing double-digit dollar sales growth over all four-, 12-, 24- and 52-week periods in both the MULO and the Natural Channel. The company has more than 65 local SKUs available, supporting more than 70 farms and utilizing 12 freezing and packing sites across the U.S.
All of Seal the Seasons’ products are locally grown and sold. The brand first released local fruit and vegetable products in 2016 by selling North Carolina and South Carolina grown produce in grocery store chains based out of the Carolinas.
For more information about Seal the Seasons, visit sealtheseasons.com.
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