"Papaya is clearly on the rise"

Exotics supplier Special Fruit has had the papaya in their assortment for almost ten years now. "We started flying this product in from Brazil in 2005," says Lieve Michielsen. "The papaya used to be a fairly unknown exotic, but since it was added to the RTE assortment of mango and avocado, it has become more well known. There is a good rise in the sales of papaya. What is striking is that the volume has tripled."

Combination with lime popular among fans
The papaya is available all year round. "We mainly import them from Brazil, but if this country can't supply due to extreme weather conditions, for instance, we get them from Jamaica. The main buyers are the Benelux and Scandinavia. Peaks in sales mainly occur in peak periods such as Christmas and Easter, in which all exotics get a boost. Consumers like this exotic and it's healthy. It's a great fruit that can be processed into almost anything. The papaya can be combined with other exotics like mango, pineapple and banana. The possibilities for its use are unlimited: you can even combine it with a sweet and sour dip. The papaya contains a lot of vitamin C and is good for digestion. Sometimes the papayas are packaged in twos, including two limes. This combination is very popular among fans. But most of ours are sent out already ripe in the original box."

On the rise
Special Fruit has been seeing good growth. "The papaya is clearly on the rise, it does take time for people to get used to the flavour, but once they are, they keep coming back. We expect the sales to increase in the future and new markets will certainly develop," concludes Lieve.

For more information:
Lieve Michielsen
Special Fruit
Europastraat 36
2321 Meer - Belgium
Tel: +32-(0)3 3301792
Fax: +32-(0)3 3150843
www.specialfruit.be
info@specialfruit.be