Fresh Express is adding two chopped salad kits to the value-added salad set: Roasted Poblano Caesar and Fire-Roasted Queso Crunch, available beginning in October in the produce section at participating retailers nationwide.
The new varieties aim at consumers’ appetite for bold, restaurant-inspired flavors and textures. Roasted Poblano Caesar puts a peppery twist on the classic Caesar, pairing crisp romaine and roasted poblano Caesar dressing with sweet corn, tri-colored tortilla strips and cotija cheese. Fire-Roasted Queso Crunch takes its cue from loaded nachos, combining chopped greens with a queso dressing featuring fire-roasted flavor, a taco cheese blend and tortilla strips.
“We see an opportunity to change the conversation around salad from routine to anticipation,” said Fabian Pereira, VP of marketing and innovation at Fresh Express. “Consumers shouldn’t have to choose between convenience and crave-worthy flavor. With Roasted Poblano Caesar and Fire-Roasted Queso Crunch, we’re taking flavors people already know and love and creating fresh new salad experiences they can genuinely look forward to eating.”
The launches come out of the company’s Innovation Center in Streamwood, Illinois, where Fresh Express combines consumer insights with culinary and restaurant trends, working with chefs to develop and validate new concepts for the salad category.
Orlando, Florida-based Fresh Express pioneered the retail packaged salad category with its Keep Crisp bag in the 1980s and today offers more than 100 salad varieties, with more than 14 million consumers buying its salads, spinach and vegetables each week, according to the company.