Free-flowing, individually frozen
IQF Whole Kernel Sweet Corn
Kernels are the format that gets used, not admired. They go into a mix, a sauce, a ready meal, a salad bar — which means the only…
Solutions
One origin, twelve months
Sweet corn is a seasonal crop sold into markets that are not seasonal. Bridging that gap is normally done by changing origin two or three times a year — which is also how variety consistency, and any traceability story, gets lost.
The gap is a format problem, not a sourcing problem
The temptation when the fresh window closes is to find another grower in another country. But the thing your customer bought was a variety and an eating experience, not a harvest date. Keeping both through the year is a question of which format carries the corn, not of who grows it next.
How the three formats cover the calendar
Fresh cobs run in the Shandong harvest window, when the corn is at its best and the story is easiest to tell. IQF, frozen at −35 to −40°C and held at −18°C for up to 12 months, carries the same corn through the rest of the year. Vacuum-pack sits alongside both, serving the ambient channels that never had a freezer to begin with.
What we need to plan against
A realistic plan starts from your calendar rather than ours: which months carry which format, what volume moves per call-off, and where the peaks sit. With those three things we can say what the crop will support before you commit a listing to it.
Step by step
How it runs in practice
01
Map the year
Set out which months need fresh, frozen and ambient, and what volume each carries.
02
Fix the formats
Decide cuts, pack sizes and labelling per SKU, and whether the range is branded or private label.
03
Agree call-offs
Frozen stock held at −18°C is drawn against an agreed schedule rather than re-quoted each time.
04
Review after the season
Compare what the crop delivered against the plan, and adjust the next year's split before planting is scheduled.
Questions we get asked
How far ahead should a programme be agreed?
Fresh volume has to be discussed before planting is scheduled, because it is decided in the field. Frozen call-offs are more flexible, within the volume the season produced.
Can a programme start mid-year?
Yes — frozen and ambient formats are not tied to the fresh window, so a listing can start on those and add fresh cobs at the next harvest.
Products that fit
Graded and pre-cooled in season
Fresh Sweet Corn Cobs
A fresh cob is judged in the hand, not on paper. The grade has to be visible — even ear length, tight kernel rows filled to the…
Cooked, sealed, ambient
Vacuum-Packed Sweet Corn Cobs
This is the format that reaches shoppers frozen corn never meets: the convenience store with no freezer, the ambient e-commerce…
Ready to source from Yuyuan?
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