The National Mango Board (NMB) is promoting its Ripe and Ready to Eat Mango Program, with the objective to provide mangos with a marketing advantage and offer U.S. consumers a quality fruit that is ripe and ready to eat right away or within a few days. The mango industry should not miss this exciting opportunity to learn and evaluate how they can implement a ripening program to delight their customers with ready to eat fruit.
Over the years, the NMB has done extensive research demonstrating that ripe fruit has higher acceptance rates with consumers. In a recent consumer attitudes and usage study, approximately 81 percent of current mango purchasers stated they would definitely/probably consider future purchases if the mangos were "ripe and ready." Nearly half (48 percent) of past purchasers also expressed the same interest. Armed with this information, the NMB developed multiple tools for the industry, such as temperature management protocols and fruit sensory descriptions, to encourage a quality product through the supply chain. Furthermore, the NMB has created a Mango Handling and Ripening Protocol, designed to encourage improvements in mango handling and ripening practices in the U.S., leading to better quality mangos, greater consumer acceptance, and higher mango sales.
In addition to the tools provided to the industry, the NMB has enlisted a ripening expert to design, implement and evaluate a ripe and ready to eat program for mangos. The ripening expert travels to select importers, retailers, wholesalers, and fresh-cut processors to determine their ripening capabilities and assess all the technical factors that can affect the success of the program by auditing mango in-store displays and storage rooms. Following these audits, the ripening expert works closely with the Quality Control (QC) personnel to test and develop a plan that will deliver a ripe mango to consumers.
"The Ripe and Ready to Eat Mango Program is a great tool for the industry to help overcome mango purchasing barriers for consumers in the U.S.," stated Rachel Muñoz, NMB's Director of Marketing. "The rewards of programs like this can lead to greater consumer acceptance and considerable growth in the mango category."
For more information:
Angela Serna
National Mango Board
+1 407 629 7318+1 407 629 7318 x113