“Star Ruby grapefruit, grown in District 3 in California and Arizona is just coming into season now and is tasting delicious,” says Joan Wickham with Sunkist. Sunkist has a year-round grapefruit program, but the California Star Ruby variety season is just now getting underway. “We launched a campaign that is called “Not Your Mother’s Grapefruit” to encourage millennial women to eat more grapefruit,” said Wickham. “We showcase modern usage ideas in an effort to move grapefruit beyond the breakfast category.” Sunkist’s Not Your Mother’s Grapefruit program is aimed at educating consumers about grapefruit’s nutritional benefits and versatility. Grapefruit is delicious in salads and is finding its way into more recipes and meal parts; it is increasingly being used in cocktails, and also tastes great as freshly squeezed juice. “We are trying to get people to rethink grapefruit.”
Easy peelers have gained popularity
Specialty easy peelers such as late season mandarins and Minneola tangelos are another important category out of Sunkist’s more than 40 different citrus varieties. “Easy peelers are becoming more popular because of convenience,” said Wickham. They are not a replacement of grapefruit as the occasions are different. “Grapefruit is typically consumed by people who are focused on health and nutrition or culinary minded. Easy peelers, on the other hand, are a great snack on the go,” commented Wickham.
Snack fruit for kids
To help deliver the snack-on-the-go convenience of eating fruit for kids, Sunkist has partnered with Stemilt, an apple and pear grower out of Washington State. Together, the companies have introduced the Lil Snappers brand, bagged fruit that includes easy peelers such as mandarins and Minneolas, sometimes in combination with apples. An example is a pink bag of Cara Cara oranges with Pink Lady apples. “Lil Snappers is a unique product that offers small fruit for kid-sized hands,” said Wickham.
Consumer education on seasonality
Sunkist fruit is grown in the states of California and Arizona. Some of the company’s citrus varieties are available year-round, though other specialty varieties, such as Cara Cara Navels, are only available seasonally, and for a limited time each year. Gold Nugget variety mandarins, for instance, are only in season right now. “They are a sweet and easy to peel late season variety that extends the local citrus season,” said Wickham. Sunkist is also trying to educate its consumers about seasonality. “Consumers identify citrus with summer, but if they learn about the unique varieties that are available during our winter season, they will understand better why some varieties are just not available year-round.” Complimentary to Sunkist’s growing season, some global sourcing is done to maintain shelf space. “The local and global programs really complement each other,” finished Wickham.
For more information:
Joan Wickham
Sunkist
Tel: (+1) 818-379-7430
