FOODEX Japan

Organics Unlimited owners, Mayra and Manuel Velazquez de Leon, traveled to Makuhari Messe, Japan this week to attend the 36^th annual FOODEX Japan exhibition. Organics Unlimited will be exhibiting there among 80,000 trade professionals in the food and beverage industry. FOODEX runs from March 1-March 4 and will feature 3,300 booths of international food and beverage products from fresh fruits and vegetables to specialty coffees and teas. 

As one of the largest international shows, FOODEX attracts a large cross section of products that appeal to the Japanese market.  And while for Americans organic bananas are a commodity that we often buy in quantity, the Japanese shopper buys them one banana at a time, individually wrapped once they arrive in Japan. 

Our bananas in Japan sell under the BioFruit label.  For more information on Japanese distribution, visit our website.

New Use for Your Favorite Fruit

Organic, tropical fruits are good for your body–inside and out. We all know that bananas, coconuts and pineapples have incredible health benefits and can help keep our bodies strong and healthy. But did you know these fruits’ superpower qualities could do wonders for your skin and hair? Here are some natural skincare recipes that can help with many skin care concerns. These recipes can add value to the produce department and encourage sales for alternative uses of tropical fruit. Give your customers some tips that will help with their health, their beauty and their budgets and tell them to whip up one of these cost effective and 100% natural concoctions.

Pineapple spot treatment: Place pineapple slices on problem areas. Lay back and relax for 5-7 minutes. The natural enzymes and acids remove impurities from your skin and help clean pores.

Pineapple Face Mask: Mix crushed pineapple, one large egg, a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and powdered oats or rice flour into a gooey paste. Gently massage into skin. Leave the mixture on for 10 minutes, then rinse off with warm water.

Pineapple Face Wash: Mix some crushed pineapple, sea salt and water until it becomes a thin consistency that is easy enough to scrub your face with.

Banana Moisturizer: Mash 2 bananas and apply to the dry areas of your skin. Wait about 10 minutes then rinse off.

Pineapple Exfoliator: Rub some mashed, fresh pineapple onto dry, flaky skin. Leave on for 15 minutes, wash away apply moisturizer.

Anti-Aging Banana Mask: Mix 1 tablespoon of cream with half a mashed banana and 1 teaspoon of water. Apply the mask to your face and neck. Leave on for 30 minutes. Rinse with water.

Damaged Hair Banana Mask: Mix a mashed, ripe banana and some olive oil together in a bowl. Apply to hair and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Rinse with club soda then shampoo and condition.

Coconut Shampoo for Oily Hair: Mix some coconut water into shampoo. The water will help absorb excess oils and add a fresh scent to your hair.

Coconut Spot Treatment: Fill an eve dropper with some coconut water. Apply a few drops on problem skin areas. Leave on overnight.

Organicology

Organics Unlimited and GROW will be involved in this year’s Organicology Tradeshow and Conference held in Portland at Oregon’s first Green Seal Certified hotel–the Doubletree Lloyd Center. The tradeshow will run from Friday, February 10 to Sunday, February 12 and will feature keynote speakers, workshops and food sampling. In addition to a booth at the trade show, Organics Unlimited president, Mayra Velasquez DeLeon, will speak on a sustainability panel. Ted and Susan Rose will also be in attendance to speak about the exciting things going on with our GROW program. We are looking forward to attending Organicology and will be sure to share all the exciting news from the event. If you’re attending Organicology this year, stop by our booth and say hello.

Dealing with Winter Chilled Bananas

Bananas throughout much of the growing regions, from Mexico into South America, have been experiencing a very slow growing season due to unusually low temperatures. As the major sourcing areas for all US bananas, this has decreased supply of both conventionally grown and organically grown bananas.


Bananas need warm weather to grown and ripen properly. If the temperatures drop below 56F, the bananas will experience some damage, particularly in their appearance. Chilled bananas tend to be off color, and never ripen to the bright yellow that we normally see in the markets. While Organics Unlimited is picking the best of the production to ship to the US and Japan, it is often hard to tell prior to ripening what the appearance will be.

The good news is that chilled bananas may not look as good, but the fruit itself inside the peel continues to mature in the proper way, and the skin is actually acting as insulation. These bananas will taste the same and have the same consistency as consumers expect from the bananas they are accustomed to buying.

To counteract consumer perception to the chilled bananas, Organics Unlimited has developed signage for retailers to explain this phenomenon to their customers. The POP highlights that the fruit inside the banana peel is still good, and that these darker bananas are not a result of being overly ripe, but merely a phenomenon of nature based on a very cool season. Organics Unlimited is providing this additional information for retailers and consumers as part of an ongoing education program that will help retailers maximize their banana category.

This is also a good time for the produce manager to interact with customers, slicing into a chilled banana and offering the opportunity for people to see and taste for themselves. This educates the shopper and increases impulse sales, not to mention helping build closer relationships with customers.

Organics Unlimited, as a grower as well as an importer, is taking every precaution to ensure we are protecting the crops to the best of our ability. Until the cold season passes completely, we are paper bagging all of the new stalks to prevent any further damage.

How to Crack a Fresh Coconut

Oftentimes when consumers want to cook with a fresh coconut, they're unfamiliar with the proper techniques used to crack it open. Since they're more familiar with the pre-shredded, packaged variety, consumers may look to your staff for advice. Here is a tried-and-true, easy way to open a coconut:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Pierce the softest eye of the coconut with a screwdriver or metal skewer
• Drain the liquid into a bowl (this is coconut water that can act as a thirst quenching drink or can be added into recipes)
• Bake the coconut in the oven for 10-15 minutes
• Break the shell with a hammer, then remove the coconut fresh with the tip of a strong knife
• Remove brown skin with a vegetable peeler
• Shave edges of coconut meat with a vegetable peeler

Here are some great recipes to try using fresh coconuts:

• Baked Coconut Shrimp
  
• Strawberry Coconut Salad
  

International Sourcing of Bananas

Everyone knows that bananas and tropical fruit must be grown in tropical regions in order to yield the best quality and taste. Tropical fruit is rarely grown in temperate climates and is mostly grown south of the US border. Customers sometimes voice concerns about organic certification and food safety of fruits and vegetables grown in Mexico. Any produce sold in the US must adhere to the USDA’s National Organic Program, no matter where it’s grown. It must be produced without any use of synthetic pesticides, GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) or artificial fertilizers.

As a certified organic grower in Mexico, Organics Unlimited's farms and facilities are inspected and audited on a regular basis. We hold ourselves to high standards and continuously pass inspections and audits with flying colors. Our customers and inspectors have praised our sustainable practices. We pride ourselves on providing our customers with the best possible product, and we don’t cut corners.

We also know your customers are concerned with reducing their carbon footprints, and that they value companies with an earth-conscious mindset. Since our bananas are grown in Mexico, they’re the closest for the United States customer, and therefore have the smallest carbon footprint of any commercially grown banana.

When your customers request the best organic bananas with the most sustainable practices, look to Organics Unlimited.