Meet the Queen of Kiwi: The 96-Year-Old Woman Who Transformed America's Produce Aisle (ENCORE)
Sep 10, 2024
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Frieda Caplan, the 96-year-old Queen of Kiwi, is a culinary pioneer who transformed the American produce aisle by introducing exotic fruits and vegetables. She shares her journey of overcoming skepticism to educate consumers about delightful items like the kiwi and sugar snap peas. Listeners will discover her innovative marketing strategies, the legacy of her family's specialty produce warehouse, and the fascinating challenges of selling unique produce. Her story is a celebration of diversity and the adventurous spirit of modern eating.
Frieda Caplan revolutionized the American produce aisle by introducing over 200 unique fruits and vegetables, including kiwis and sugar snap peas.
Her innovative marketing strategies and relationship-building techniques transformed consumer perceptions of produce and emphasized the importance of storytelling in food.
Deep dives
The Visionary Behind Exotic Produce
Frida Kaplan, known as the Queen of the Kiwi, played a pivotal role in transforming the American produce landscape. Initially entering the industry by chance, Frida quickly saw the potential in introducing unique fruits and vegetables that were largely unheard of in the 1960s. Her tenacity led to the introduction of over 200 different varieties, including kiwis, sugar snap peas, and seedless watermelon, which are now staples in American diets. By connecting with small farmers and promoting their goods, she created opportunities for diversification in the produce industry and expanded consumer palates.
Marketing Strategies that Changed Food Culture
Frida's marketing strategies revolutionized how fruits and vegetables were perceived and sold in supermarkets. Unlike traditional approaches, she understood the importance of branding and storytelling, leading her to rebrand the Chinese gooseberry as kiwi fruit. Her innovative tactics included sampling events and chef collaborations, which helped introduce unfamiliar produce to consumers. This approach not only captured public interest but also established a framework for how produce is marketed today.
Overcoming Obstacles in the Produce Business
Earning the respect of a male-dominated industry was a significant challenge for Frida and later her daughter Karen. Despite facing skepticism from buyers unfamiliar with exotic produce, they developed persuasive sales techniques that emphasized the unique qualities of their offerings. Karen leveraged her charm and knowledge to break down barriers, showing that innovative and non-traditional items could attract customer interest. The focus on relationship-building over mere transactions became a critical part of their success in promoting lesser-known fruits and vegetables.
Expanding Culinary Horizons Today
Today, the mission of Frida’s Specialty Produce continues to evolve, focusing on bringing lesser-known varieties to a wider consumer base. Innovative chefs like Ayer Muir of Clover Food Lab highlight the contributions of small farmers while introducing new fruits and vegetables into mainstream cuisine. They aim to combat the fear of trying unfamiliar items through proactive sampling and appealing dishes that use these products. By enhancing people's culinary experiences and raising awareness about food diversity, they help foster a more adventurous and healthy American diet.
The produce section of most American supermarkets in the 1950s was minimal to a fault, with only a few dozen fruits and vegetables to choose from: perhaps one kind of apple, one kind of lettuce, a yellow onion, a pile of bananas. Today, grocery stores routinely offer hundreds of different fruits and vegetables, many of which would be unrecognizable to time travelers from a half century ago. What changed, and how did Americans learn to embrace spaghetti squash, sugar snap peas, and kiwi fruit? This episode, we tell the story of the woman behind this transformation: Frieda Caplan, the Queen of Kiwi. (Encore)