Salads and salad dressings continue to show signs of strong potential for ongoing success. Manufacturers have introduced a variety of products and packaging this year in efforts to establish themselves firmly in a growing, profitable category. New products introduced in 2004 can be grouped into four categories: health, packaging for convenience or freshness, premium quality/flavor and organic.
Salads have an inherent aura of healthfulness, which appeals to those who generally eat healthfully as well as to those who have a temporary need/desire to eat that way. Many salad companies have introduced new varieties of lettuce, not only for variety, but also to increase the “greenness,” and thus the healthfulness, of the salad. According to Mintel's report “Salads & Salad Dressings,” some dieticians consider iceberg lettuce significantly less nutritionally dense than other lettuce varieties. The dietary “rule of thumb” commonly put forward by nutritionists is “the darker the lettuce, the healthier it is.” Iceberg lettuce has significantly less vitamin A, vitamin C and folate than other leafy greens. While iceberg lettuce has some nutritional value, the focus is on darker greens, which explains the greater range of lettuces included in the newest bagged salads. While bagged salad producers still sell iceberg lettuce, it usually is blended with a number of darker greens such as romaine or escarole. For example, Fresh Express Farms (Salinas, Calif.) added two “Lettuce Trios” to their line in March 2004--one with green leaf lettuce, romaine and iceberg; the other with 100% romaine, cabbage and carrots.