Hello once again from Healthy Happenings – where you can read all about the healthy and sustainable activities of Sun Sprout. www.sunsprout.co.nz  

Spring is here!

It’s so great to feel the temperatures warming up and knowing that our products are growing well again after the continuous wet weather we, and all produce suppliers experienced over the winter months.

A big thanks to all our valued customers for your patience through this trying winter period.  

Our latest, Sun Sprout Single Serve Salads have now become Dashboard Diner.  Two new flavours to enjoy – Crunchy Bean Salad and Garden Salad both with a delicious Japanese Sesame dressing.  These individually bowled salads are perfect for lunch-on-the-run, school lunches, picnics or as a side dish with your evening meal.  These compliments the Salad Shake product range – Watch out for them in your local supermarket this spring.  

For further information either contact your Sun Sprout Sales Representative or call the office on
0800 1477 766.

Foodstuffs Expo

The Bi annual Fresh Foods expo was held in Palmerston North mid August. This event is a major showcase for foodstuffs bringing a huge number of (invited) suppliers to attend.

The expo is not open to the public but rather a chance for Foodstuffs members to view a huge range of fresh food suppliers under one roof.

We were represented by Stephen, David, Richard, Cilla and Emma but by far the most popular member on the stand was the “Sprout Man” racing car which some lucky winners will get a chance to ride in around Pukekohe race track. We received a large number of visitors over the two days and some very positive comments about our product and company. A number of buyers showed interest in new products or extending the range of existing products and it was a very successful exercise for us to be involved in. 

A special thanks to Delwyn for all her hard work in organising all our logistics for a stress free event.

Customer Visits

An important part of servicing our customers is not just supplying them with product but also helping them to understand how our business works for them.

One of the ways we do this is by customer visits and during August four customers from Wellington were hosted for the day by us and were shown everything from the farm and Chris’s large and very expensive tractor to a full tour of the factory and dispatch areas. Despite the fact all of these visitors have been in the industry a long time all of them were very impressed with our operation, attention to detail and commitment to provide the very best product every time.

There is a lot that happens between planting a seed to putting a finished product into a shopping trolley at the supermarket, it requires a team effort from farm, production, sales, admin and dispatch and our customers were very impressed at how we make it all come together.    

Auckland Foodstuffs DC Starts 21st September!

Well we are finally in the Foodstuffs Auckland DC with a range of product.  We went live on Monday 21st of this month, with very few hiccups.  The range consists of all the Fresh Express sprouts plus a selection of our Sunsprout lines including our two organics, Sango and Sweet Baby Mung.  We are also supplying the full range of our Farmer Bill’s Baby carrots as well as the Dashboard Diner Salad Shakes and Single Serves.
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The biggest performer has bean the fresh Mung 250 gram, the quality has been very consistent with outstanding results, since we changed our seed from green to black.  

A big thanks goes to our Despatch and Customer Service teams to make this all happen with great accuracy and efficiencies.  Also our Sprout Production team has performed with excellence while under great pressure to meet strict dead lines.

We are all looking forward to a LONG AND HAPPY relationship with Foodstuffs Auckland DC.

HACCP Conference

Recipe of the Month...

Spring has Sprung!!  A delightful light and colourful salad.

Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh asparagus, cleaned
1 packet baby spinach leaves
1 tin mandarin segment
10 x cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/3 cup bacon pieces, cooked, crumbled & divided
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
Salt to taste.
Fresh Express Ranch Dressing.

Directions:
Prepare asparagus by steam cooking in a steamer filled with 2 cups of water mixed with 1 teaspoon of salt.
Heat water until boiling, then add asparagus to the steamer, cover and cook for 3 – 4 minutes or until tender.  Drain water and set aside until cool.
Cut into 2 cm lengths.  If the end of any stalk is tough and fibrous, slice off and discard.
Using a salad bowl, combine the cooked asparagus with the mandarin organges, tomatoes, avocados, garlic and spinach.
Toss through the Fresh Express Ranch Dressing.
Refrigerate until serving.

Introducing...