Gourmet Trading Co., a Los Angeles-based importer-exporter of Peruvian asparagus and other specialty items, is using an innovative marketing approach to sell asparagus this year, including a unique tie-in with the re-release of the very-popular movie, The Wizard of Oz.

Tambo Sur LLC in Pompano Beach, FL, opened its doors seven years ago as a Peruvian asparagus grower-importer. It has expanded beyond that one commodity, though asparagus is still one of its top items.

It has asparagus year-round from Peru, asparagus from Mexico and organic asparagus from Argentina. “Now we do other items but what ties them together is that they all come mostly from Peru,” said Fabian Zarate, president.

Foodservice outlets of all types and levels have shared in the success by providing customers with mushroom meatless and blended entrees since the Mushroom Council started its Swapability and Swap It and Top It campaigns last year.

And industry professionals -- growers, marketers and others -- are all helping to promote the idea to their foodservice customers of swapping out less healthy, more expensive forms of protein for mushrooms.

East meets West once again for a collaborative approach to the representation of Peruvian asparagus, among other things.

More than most items, Peruvian asparagus is extremely price sensitive at the retail level, according to Peter Warren, category manager for Ayco Farms in Pompano Beach, FL.

Warren, who is the asparagus category manager for Ayco and has been selling Peruvian asparagus for many years, said that every time the retail price drops by a $1 a pound, there is exponential sales growth. “If you sell ‘X’ at $5.99 (per pound), you’ll sell ‘3X’ at $4.99, ‘5X’ at $3.99 and ‘10X’ at $2.99,” he said.

With opening of a state-of-the-art cold storage facility in the Miami area, Crowley Maritime can boast about two top services it can offer to Peruvian asparagus importers: customs brokering and cooling services.