“I don't see many people going toward ripening at this point,” said Gary Clevenger of Freska Produce. “There have been promotions and webinars on the ripening process put on by the Mango Board.” He explained that he likes the concept. “When a consumer gets a product that is good, it will generate repeat sales, but we are way off before implementing such a program here.” Besides they also need to look at keeping the costs down. “There is a lot of mixed maturity in a box, so a lot of repacking needs to be done, unless somebody wants to invest in a repacking machine that can gauge ripeness.” There are some machines available at a very high cost, so it needs to be a return on investment.
“It's a touchy subject with mangos,” said Clevenger. “It's not like avocados where they have to be soft because you can't eat a hard avocado. Some people like hard mangos and some people like soft mangos. It's a completely different creature with mangos.” For their part, retailers have also been skittish about accepting mangos that are too soft. Especially with varieties like Kent mangos, which are softer because they have less fibrous material inside, those in charge of receiving fruit sometimes reject the mangos because they are not hard enough. For there to be any kind of change would require a coordinated effort to educate consumers and retailers about the differences between hard mangos and ripened, ready-to-eat mangos.
“It's something that really needs to be accepted industry-wide for it to gain traction,” said Clevenger.
For more information:
Freska ProduceTel: +1 805-650-1040
Fax: +1 805-650-3550
Email: sales@freskaproduce.com
www.freskaproduce.com