Free Idea for Irene Rosenfeld

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a contribution from a veteran food marketer who prefers to remain anonymous.
Looking for a line extension or a new niche business?
Oceanspray is abandoning their Cran-Fruit product, both the cran-orange and the cran-raspberry. This is a great shelf stable product packaged in 12-ounce plastic containers with a paperboard over-wrap and positioned right next to canned cranberries in all major supermarkets.

The product is a crushed fruit consistency almost like fresh cran-relish. It has been around for years and a staple at my house. Desperate when I noticed it was no longer available at the supermarkets, I ordered a case from Netgrocer to tide me over and immediately contacted Oceanspray which is when – much to my dismay – I found out that they are discontinuing the product.
Normally the issue would end there. I would report what a great job Oceanspray did responding to my messages, even including a handwritten note and that would be that. Yet food marketing is in my blood and I sometimes see windows of opportunities in the most unexpected places.
When it comes to Cran-Fruit, there are no competitive brands – fresh, canned or frozen. And delis only make cranberry relish around the holidays. A consumer can’t even make her own, as the cranberries themselves are only available for a short time after the fall harvest. Yet, they can and freeze well.
I’m not suggesting you move to Massachusetts to become a bog farmer. Yet, if anyone out there hears the knocking and has experience in food processing and distribution, perhaps these healthy little berries, co-packed and sold through a broker network to the supermarket chains is an opportunity worth exploring. With the right marketing, merchandising and advertising this little niche could be your big time success story.