Dole Becomes the First Produce Brand to Receive Nielsen Innovation Award

DOLE® Chopped Salad Kits were selected in 2016 for breakthrough
innovation and success from almost 3,500 products

MONTEREY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nielsen has honored Dole
Fresh Vegetables for transformational innovation and for continually
bringing improvements to essential day-to-day experiences and rituals.

The produce leader and specifically its line of DOLE®
Chopped Salad Kits launched in 2013 received a 2016
U.S. Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Award, selected for
distinctiveness, relevance and endurance from close to 3,500 consumer
products introduced to the market that year. It is the first time a
produce brand has won the award in the eight-year history of the
competition.

2016 Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Award winners satisfied three
requirements: a distinctive consumer product that delivered a new value
proposition to the market in 2014; a minimum of $50 million in
first-year U.S. sales; and a demonstrated ability to endure the market
by achieving 90 percent of first-year sales during its second year.

“Dole is beyond honored that the DOLE Chopped Salad Kit line is one of
only 92 U.S. products to receive this award since its inception in 2008
– and the first-ever winner in the produce industry,” said CarrieAnn
Arias, VP of marketing for Dole Fresh Vegetables. “DOLE Chopped Salad
Kits were launched in 2013 as the next wave in salad innovation: a
taste-first chopped salad experience featuring layers of flavor,
texture, color and crunch in every bite. The success of the initial line
led to the introduction of two additional Chopped Salad varieties in
2015 to meet consumer demand.”

“The fact that Nielsen reviewed 20,000 U.S. product launches over eight
years and found Dole and DOLE Chopped Salad Kits as demonstrating
breakout innovation and success and improving America’s daily routines
of eating is extremely fulfilling for everyone at Dole.”

The seven DOLE Chopped Salad Kits – with varieties that include Bacon
and Bleu, BBQ Ranch, Chipotle & Cheddar, Pomegranate, Poppy Seed, Sesame
Asian and Sunflower Crunch – are part of a larger line of packaged salad
blends and kits, including conventional and family-size, sold under the
DOLE brand.

Other brands to receive a 2016 Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Award
include Arm & Hammer™, Ben & Jerry’s®, Breyers®, Kellogg’s and Chobani®,
among others.

For more information on the 2016 awards or to download a copy of the
2016 U.S. Nielsen Innovation Report visit Nielsen.com/breakthrough.

About Dole

Dole
Food Company, Inc., is one of the world’s largest producers and
marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an
industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in
nutrition education and research. For more information, visit www.dole.com
or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dole.

About the Breakthrough Innovation Award, Report and Project

The U.S. Nielsen Breakthrough Innovation Project is a long-term in-depth
analysis of more than 20,000 U.S. product launches over eight years.
Since its inception in 2008, the project has celebrated 92 top products
in the U.S. and 198 globally. The findings and winner spotlights in the
U.S. are featured in the U.S. Breakthrough Innovation Report, which is
released annually at Nielsen’s U.S. Consumer 360 event.

About Nielsen

Nielsen Holdings plc. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management
company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers
watch and buy. Nielsen’s Watch segment provides media and advertising
clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on
which content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment
offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the
industry’s only global view of retail performance measurement. By
integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data
sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help
improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over
100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world’s population. For
more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

Contacts

For Dole Food Company, Inc.
Bob Ochsner, 714-881-2341
BOchsner@amusementparkinc.com