Chopped cauliflower is replacing white rice, pasta and potatoes on many low-carb dieters’ plates across America, and the swap is gaining traction.
Vegetable processor Green Giant is hoping the cauliflower “rice” trend — which has led to some Trader Joe’s stores to sell out of bags of its house version — will go mainstream and help it reverse years of declining sales. Green Giant plans to sell bags of frozen riced veggies made with cauliflower, as well as frozen mashed cauliflower, at the end of September. It has been selling bags of fresh cauliflower crumbles in produce sections for nearly a year.
Others are in on the trend, which could hamper Green Giant’s ambitions. Trader Joe’s began selling frozen riced cauliflower last year and a fresh version this year. Kroger rolled out cauliflower “pearls,” similar to Green Giant’s crumbles, in select locations in July, and plans to make them available nationally.
Producer Taylor Farms notes that overall cauliflower sales in the U.S. rose 13 percent past year, and that people are using chopped cauliflower as a replacement for rice, mashed potatoes and in pizza crusts. To capitalize, companies are doing the prep work of chopping.
Whether the fad has staying power remains to be seen. In its food trends report based on searches between 2014 and February, Google listed cauliflower rice as a “rising star.”
Parents have long tried to sneak more vegetables into children’s diets, but now more adults are using swaps, such as replacing pasta with shredded zucchini, to cut the carbs. Although stocking decisions vary, Whole Foods reports it began selling shredded vegetables as veggie noodles or pasta in 2013.
The nation’s carb phobia is apparent in sales of dry pasta, which have declined since 2009, according to market researcher Euromonitor. Sales of rice, however, have edged up annually since 2011, suggesting it has been relatively shielded and that cauliflower “rice” may remain niche.
Jordan Greenberg, vice president of marketing at Green Giant owner B&G Foods Inc., said vegetable swaps are more than a fad, and that a “fundamental shift” is underway in how people look at their plates.
“I believe vegetables will move from the side of the plate to the center,” he said.
It’s a big bet for B&G Foods, which purchased Green Giant from General Mills Inc. last year and counts on the brand for more than a third of sales. Since 2011, Green Giant’s frozen vegetables sales in the U.S. have declined 25 percent to $477.6 million, according to Euromonitor.
