ORLANDO, FLA. — Fresh Express, A Chiquita Brands International brand, is launching a new line of Gourmet Kit Bowls inspired by entree salads from restaurants across the country. Featuring chef-crafted recipes, the salad kits were designed to take consumers on a “culinary adventure,” Fresh Express said.

“With the invention of the special Keep Crisp bag in the 1980s, Fresh Express pioneered the retail packaged salad category and was the first to make them available to grocery stores nationwide,” said John Olivo, president of Fresh Express. “We have continued investing in salad innovation, in keeping with consumer and customer needs. We have built a state-of-the-art facility to produce these Gourmet Kit Bowls.”

Fresh Express Gourmet Kit Bowls come in six varieties.

The Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad kit combines Parmesan herb grilled chicken breast meat with garlic pita chips, shredded Parmesan cheese, slivered almonds, carrots and grape tomatoes on a bed of kale and romaine lettuce with a zesty Greek Caesar dressing.

The Pearl Mozzarella Caprese kit features pearl mozzarella cheese, diced prosciutto, grape tomatoes, spring mix lettuce blend and Balsamic vinaigrette.

The Buffalo Chicken bowl is made with buffalo marinated grilled chicken breast, red pepper crisps, crumbled blue cheese and sea salt multigrain crackers atop a spring mix blend all topped with bacon buffalo ranch dressing.

The Chimichurri Grilled Chicken kit is a medley of red cabbage, queso fresco cheese, crinkle cut radishes, chimichurri grilled chicken breast and corn kernels on a bed of baby arugula and baby spinach finished with a chimichurri vinaigrette dressing.

The Chef Salad kit includes romaine lettuce topped with shredded carrots, crumbled hard-boiled eggs, red cabbage, grape tomatoes, shredded swiss cheese, capicola, smoked turkey and smoked ham all finished with bacon ranch dressing.

The Parmesan Cheese Crisp bowl includes baked Parmesan cheese crisps, farro and red pepper crisps, Genoa salami, crinkled radishes and a spring mix blend with a tangy white wine lemon vinaigrette.

“The Gourmet Kit Bowls are a disruptive game changer in the salad category that taps into mega consumer trends — healthy eating, affordable, fresh restaurant inspired food on-the-go,” said Fabian Pereira, vice-president of marketing and innovation for Fresh Express. “We listened to consumer needs and optimized the package and product design. Our culinary team worked with the best chefs to address this by designing high-end restaurant salads with hand selected, chef-crafted ingredients in a convenient ready-to-eat bowl that salad lovers can enjoy anywhere, anytime. Special care went into designing the bowls. Our packaging engineers worked with consumers to develop premium packaging where the fresh ingredients can be seen and stay fresh. When at the table or desk, consumers can flip the dry ingredients on the salad, pour the dressing, rotate the lid to a locked position, shake the bowl and enjoy … no fuss, no mess.”

New Fresh Express Gourmet Kit Bowls are rolling out to retailers in the mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Central and Southern regions with a suggested retail price of $4.99.