Migliore
Migliore tomato sauce cans
Editor's Note: We learned recently that Red Gold created a line of tomato products especially for Mexican restaurants called Migliore. What makes Migliore tomatoes especially suited for Mexican menus? We interviewed David Halt, vice president of Red Gold foodservice sales, about that.
Q: When did the Migliore line debut?
Halt: We were proud to announce the release of the new Migliore® brand in the pages of El Restaurante in the November-December issue of your magazine, with the text of the advertisement in Spanish. We wanted your readers to be the first to know about this wonderful new brand. We are now making the brand available to restaurant operators nationwide and we look forward to the brand’s success.
Q: The ad mentions that the brand was designed for Mexican restaurants. Why was the market chosen for this line?
Halt: Red Gold has been in the foodservice business for 75 years, providing a variety of fresh-packed tomatoes, condiments, and tomato juice to restaurant operators. The Mexican segment is a heavy user of tomato products, so we have monitored the cuts and styles that Mexican restaurants typically order through our distributors. That is how we carved out seven products that meet the bulk of the demand from the market segment. These are the staples of a great Mexican menu. We understand the level of tomato quality that a Mexican restaurant operator is seeking. This new brand offers that level of quality at a competitive price.
Q: What characteristics about the line are specifically geared toward Mexican restaurants?
Every great Mexican restaurant takes a lot of pride in the salsa they serve, typically as a free appetizer before the customer orders their meal. Thus, the ingredients in their salsa must be incredibly good—and affordable because the salsa is given away. Tomatoes and salsa are frequent ingredients in burritos, tacos, huaraches, and quesadillas. Thus, the cuts and styles of the Migliore line are designed to reduce labor costs and the time of preparing a variety of menu items.
The line includes everything from tomato puree, sauce, and juice to chopped tomatoes, petite diced tomatoes, and peeled tomatoes. We believe that these cuts and styles incorporate the lion’s share of what is needed within a vibrant Mexican restaurant operation.
Q: Is there some significance in the Migliore name?
Halt: The languages of the Mediterranean region are beautiful and somewhat similar in their meanings. The brand name was also very close in meaning to another Red Gold brand, il Migliore, which in Italian means ‘the best.’ We simply shortened the name because we believe for Mexican operators, Migliore is the best choice for their menu.
Q: What else about this line should our readers know?
Halt: It is important to know that Red Gold is a family owned and operated company that focuses on delivering the best-tasting tomatoes in the world. That is easier for us, because our focus is on only tomatoes. Our company contracts with more than 50 family owned and operated farms in the Midwest to grow our proprietary seed stock.
Like the other brands that we offer, our fresh-packed tomatoes are packed within hours of their picking, and we take a lot of care in how we treat our employees and contract laborers during the processing of our products.
We are also happy to share samples of our new brand with operators. Simply go online to MiglioreTomatoes.com and click on the free sample button to taste the Migliore difference.