Supplies of the specialty watermelon radishes are steady.
Robert Schueller of Los Angeles, CA-based Melissa's Produce says the item is a popular one for around the holiday season where it can be featured in appetizers, salads, grazing boards and more. The radish, which like a watermelon features a green skin outside with bright pink flesh inside, is baseball sized and is described as crisp, mildly spicy and slightly sweeter than the ordinary radish. Melissa’s carries the radishes in a 5 lb. pack size (online only) or 12/ 1 lb., 10 lb. and 20 lb. case sizes.
“More education around it is allowing it to become more popular. The radish category in general is becoming more popular overall which is helping sales in the U.S.,” says Schueller, adding that Melissa’s Produce is seeing a 15 percent increase in demand for the product compared to this time last year.
More and more growers
As for pricing on watermelon radishes, it’s been steady and consistent. “Pricing continues to drop as more growers come on and there’s increased availability,” says Schueller. “But overall the radish is more expensive than common radishes.”
Looking ahead at the next few weeks, Schueller believes sales will be up an estimated 20 percent for Christmas and New Year’s. “We see consumption increasing 10-20 percent a year over the next few years as the “color on the plate” trend continues,” he says.
For more information:
Robert Schueller
Melissa's Produce
Tel: +1 (800)-588-0151
[email protected]
https://www.melissas.com/