Finger limes out of California will see almost double the production of last year’s crop. “We did about 19,000 lbs. of finger limes last year and we’re looking at about 30,000 lbs. this year,” says Megan Shanley Warren of Shanley Farms. “We have several hundred trees coming into production every year for the next few years so we expect volume to keep increasing as the years go on.”
“We did about 19,000 lbs. of finger limes last year and we’re looking at about 30,000 lbs. this year,” says Megan Shanley Warren of Shanley Farms.
Shanley Warren adds that the grower-shipper also has different colorful varieties of the unique citrus fruit--in which the pearls of fruit inside the rind are squeezed out and eaten. Along with the Champagne variety, which has translucent green to rosy pink pearls, there’s also the Byron Sunrise variety which is red on the inside of the fruit as well as the Emerald variety which is bright green on the inside and out.
The Emerald variety ships earlier than the others and harvest on that item began a few weeks ago. All other varieties will come into production in the next three to four weeks and production will continue through Christmas. “Then as soon as the cold hits, the production halts,” says Shanley Warren.
With finger limes, the pearls of fruit inside the rind are squeezed out and eaten.
Educating consumers
To manage the movement of all of this fruit, the challenge ahead for Shanley Farms is creating demand for this unique item which can be paired with foods such as sushi and fish, used in drinks and has in the past also been featured in meal kit programs, something the grower-shipper is trying to return to. “We have to create the demand for finger limes and introduce it to people. We have to teach them what they are, why they look like this and why perhaps they don’t always look like a bright green lime,” says Shanley. “Our crop from Morro Bay tends to be brownish dark purple color on the rind whereas in Visalia, it’s a bright green color.”
With consumer education in mind, what better place to start the educational process than the California school system adds Shanley. “Here at Shanley Farms, we are working with many school districts throughout California to offer a healthy option to nourish the minds and bodies of our future generations,” says Marcus Hunt also of Shanley Farms. “Through our educational outreach programs, we’re teaching kids to eat these fresh finger limes like they would an apple or orange. Best of all, the kids eat them like they’re candy!”
Shanley Farms is creating demand for finger limes which can be paired with foods such as sushi and fish, used in drinks and has in the past also been featured in meal kit programs.
To help explore the health benefits of the fruit, the grower-shipper is also looking to a study on those benefits with California Polytechnic State University.
What will help movement perhaps is pricing that’s similar to last year. As with most commodities, early in the season prices are higher and then as more product comes in, pricing levels off. For finger limes, promotional periods could be between August-October.
For more information:
Megan Shanley Warren
Shanley Farms
Tel: +1 (805) 323-6525
megan@shanleyfarms.com
https://www.shanleyfarms.com/