February 2021 • Volume 1 • Issue 1 Ingredient Spotlight*: Cherries February Is National Cherry Month

Home , Dried fruit

2021 Trend Focus: Immunity Consumers seek foods and ingredients that support personal health The pandemic has spurred new focus on health, personalized nutrition, and the role food plays in building a strong immune system that helps protect and fight against disease. Demand for nutrient-dense foods with natural ingredients that deliver pre-, pro-, and post-biotics, antioxidants, vitamins, and other functional benefits is skyrocketing. In addition, sensory factors like color and flavor play an increasingly important role in signaling immunity benefits: think bright colors, bold flavors, and distinctive textures. This accelerated demand for immunity-boosting foods is expected to accelerate through In This Issue 2021 and beyond. Consumers immediately recognize the superfruit status of

PAGE 1 cherries, cranberries, and blueberries. Dried or fresh, they 2021 Trend Focus: are whole food ingredients that deliver antioxidant, anti- Immunity inflammatory, and bioactive compounds that strengthen immunity, promote cardiovascular and cognitive health, aid PAGE 2 Ingredient Spotlight: post-workout recovery, and promote better sleep. Graceland Cherries Fruit infused dried fruit ingredients contribute delicious nutrition, flavor, and texture, as well as important visual health cues, to a PAGE 2 wide variety of food applications that support immune health, Nutrition Spotlight: Cherries longevity, and well-being.

PAGE 3 Application Inspiration: Snacks

PAGE 3 Grower Spotlight: Lutz Farms

PAGE 4 What’s New at Graceland Fruit

PAGE 4 Upcoming Industry Events

PAGE 5 2021: The Year of Fruits & Vegetables February 2021 • Volume 1 • Issue 1 Ingredient Spotlight*: Cherries February is National Cherry Month. Celebrate this boldly tart, deep red, on-trend superfruit! Consistent with the growing demand for immunity boosting foods is heightened interest in more tart, less sweet flavors. Dubbed “sophisticated sour” by flavor houseVirginia Dare, consumers connect tart flavor profiles with health and wellness. This is where delicious Montmorency cherries shine. Nutrition These superfruits offer a multi-faceted sweet-tart flavor Spotlight*: profile to a wide variety of foods and beverages sought out by today’s health-conscious consumer. Versatile and nutritious, Cherries consumers enjoy the distinctively delicious flavor of tart Montmorecny cherries cherries in products that range from functional to permissibly are packed with indulgent, from sweet to savory, and from appetizers to natural antioxidants desserts. and bioactive The distinctive sweet-tart flavor, bold color, and delightful compounds texture of dried Montmorency cherries check all the food • Are a good source of innovation boxes: vitamin C, vitamin A and copper • Flavor versatility: Pairs well with sweet, savory, and spicy notes. Adds complexity and balance to sauces, dairy products, • Provide 3g of fiber 56 trail mixes, nutrition bars/bites, breakfast cereals, confectionery, mg of flavonoids and even meat snacks. • Are one of the few natural food sources of • Functional: Tart cherries are recognized as a superfruit. The melatonin scientific evidence supporting the health benefits of these • Are emerging as deeply hued gems is immense and additional research is meaningful aid in post- currently underway, especially related to sleep and exercise exercise recovery recovery. • Soothe symptoms of • Premium Appeal: Tart cherries help elevate the eating arthritis and gout experience, adding a touch of elegance to a recipe or • Support heart heath processed product and enhancing its perceived quality. and blood pressure regulations • Pop of Color: The distinctive bold, bright red of tart cherries *Per 1-cup serving; See is due to their high concentration of natural anthocyanins. ChooseCherries.com/ Consumers associate bright colors with high nutrition content, Our Nutrition Story and as well as visual interest and Instagram-worthy appeal. Red ChooseCherries.com/The is also a top color trend in food, evoking vitality, passion, and Trend of the Tart for more positive energy. details • Michigan-grown: Consumers increasingly care about food origins, with US-grown and connection to specific geographic regions increasingly preferred.

2 February 2021 • Volume 1 • Issue 1 Application Inspiration: Did you know? Snacks • 85% of Americans Consumers are snacking more than ever and looking for made changes in how healthy options they eat due to the pandemic (IFIC) Snack category growth continues to outpace other food • 31% of consumers are segments. With work and school from home still the norm, buying more products consumers are increasingly shifting from the traditional “3 tailored for their health meals a day” to more frequent “mini meals” throughout the (ADM) day that can provide essential vitamins, minerals, nutrients, • 50% of consumers and satisfaction. As many as 26% of US consumers snack prefer foods and multiple times a day, and another third snack once a day; 38% beverages that replace meals (usually lunch) with snacks at least occasionally naturally contain (IFIC). According to NPD, consumption of snack foods as meals beneficial ingredients (ADM) grew to 26% in 2020, and The Hartman Group research reports that 48% of all food and beverage occasions are snacking • 48% of consumers plan occasions. to purchase more health and wellness Delicious, healthy snacks that support immunity and overall products (Softengine) health and well-being are top choices. Consumers want • Immunity-boosting snacks that provide real health benefits, especially parents food sales are purchasing snacks for their children. Formulations that prioritize projected to reach $1 real, simple, whole food, and wholesome ingredients lead the trillion by 2023 (The Food Institute) pack. Nutrition bars, snack bars, and trail mixes fit the bill. They can be personalized for functionality, taste, variety, and format. • February is National Dried superfruits, like cherries, cranberries, and blueberries, Snack Food month add nutritional value, along with bold pops of color, deliciously • 2/3 of adults are intense flavor, and moist, chewy texture. Also trending: snack snacking at home clusters and bites, and dried fruit jerky. more often (Harris Poll) • 3/5 of adults are Achieving balanced bar and trail mix blends requires ounce- choosing better-for- perfect mixes, piece integrity, size precision, and flowability. you snacks; 56% buy Graceland Fruit infused dried fruit ingredients deliver that and trail mixes; 55% buy more: vibrant color throughout processing, snack bars easy handling and storage, and extended shelf (Harris Poll) life. Not to mention exceptional flavor, texture, and nutrition. Want to brainstorm ideas for new snack products? Have a new snack concept you want to explore? Need help with process improvements? Our innovation team is here to help.

3 February 2021 • Volume 1 • Issue 1 Upcoming Industry What’s New at Events Graceland Fruit We look forward Graceland Fruit® Starts 2021 with Renewed Focus, Brand, to connecting with and Website food manufacturers, providers, and Welcome to the fresh new look of Graceland Fruit® Exceptional innovators around Ingredients, and to the first edition of our monthly newsletter, the world. Will you be Bits ‘n Pieces! We’re excited to unveil our updated brand identity, there? We’d love to website, newsletter, and more, all created to better reflect our set up a meeting. Let’s renewed focus on the commercial ingredient market and our connect! heritage of exceptional product and service performance. Refocused: In 2020, we ceased selling Graceland Fruit branded consumer products at retail. We are once again TM • Taipei Internatioal 100% laser-focused on delivering delight by supplying Bakery Show exceptional ingredients to innovative consumer packaged Taipei City Taiwan food, foodservice, and other food companies who develop, March 26-29, 2021 manufacture, and market their own products and brands. • Bakery China Rebranded: With renewed channel and customer focus, we Shanghai China April 27-30, 2021 undertook a rigorous and comprehensive review of our brand positioning and visual identity. The Graceland Fruit logo had • IFT Nor-Cal Section not changed since the company was founded in 1973. Our new Suppliers Night Expo Pleasonton, CA brand identity features a more contemporary logo that pays May 11, 2021 homage to our Company’s heritage while adding prominence to the brand name, better communicating our expertise, • SIAL China Shanghai, China and providing a design architecture and visual system that May 18-20, 2021 supports future growth and innovation. Coupled with our new tagline, We deliver delight™, the new Graceland Fruit brand • Northeast Section IFT Supplier Expo identity now serves as the foundation for all our touchpoints. Worcester, MA Renewed website: We are excited to have you explore our May 19, 2021 completely reimagined, redesigned, and restructured digital home base, GracelandFruit.com! We’ve enhanced functionality to make it easy for you to learn more about our products, our process, our growers, and our services. It also serves as an on-demand resource center for product information, industry trends and insights, and other tools to help you delight your consumers and profitably grow your business. Most importantly, we hope you find it is a source of inspiration for use applications and innovation. We invite you to explore our new site and learn more about how we deliver delight™ through exceptional product and service performance. Learn more about Graceland Fruit and our new brand identity here.

4 February 2021 • Volume 1 • Issue 1 Grower 2021: The Spotlight: Lutz Year of Farms Located in Northwest Mich- igan, Lutz Farms has sup- Fruits & plied Graceland Fruit with high-quality Montmorency Vegetables cherries since 1988. Lutz Farms serves the commu- United Nations Designation nity with the best in freshly Recognizes Importance to farmed fruits and vegeta- Human Nutrition, Health, bles, along with Christmas Food Security trees and wreaths. The Lutz Farms cherry orchard The United Nations has designated 2021 the International Year is Michigan Agriculture of Fruits and Vegetables (#IYFV), a year-long celebration to Environment Assurance raise awareness around the globe of the importance of fruits Program (MAEAP) verified. A fourth-generation family and vegetables to both human and planetary health. The farm, Lutz Farms was found- objectives of IYFV 2021 include: ed in 1895 as a cattle ranch • Raising awareness of and directing policy attention to by Matthew Lutz when he moved to the US from the nutrition and health benefits of fruit and vegetable Germany. Today, Lutz Farms consumption covers 975 acres and grows cherries, strawberries, • Promoting diversified, balanced, and healthy diets and pumpkins, other assorted lifestyles through fruit and vegetable consumption garden vegetables, and Christmas • Reducing losses and waste in the fruit and vegetable trees. The food system operation is run by • Sharing best practices on promotion of Calvin consumption, sustainable production and supply II and chains, integration of small farm holders, and food his wife waste reduction Julie, with help Fruit and vegetable ingredients play an important from role in this global initiative. They’re nutrient-dense, their three versatile, and offer extended shelf life. Learn more children. about #IYFV and how you can participate here.

Graceland Fruit, Inc. is a leading producer and global distributor of premium quality dried fruit ingredients for the food industry. Our exceptional product and service performance make it easy for innovative food manufacturers and providers to create delicious, on-trend products to surprise and delight their consumers.

5 February 2021 • Volume 1 • Issue 1