Supermarket Perimeter - July 2019 - 37

Other Tropicals
Mary Ostlund, director of marketing for Brooks Tropicals Inc.,
Homestead, Florida, says that papayas, both large and small,
continue to grow. "Those buying large fruit are thinking of
papayas as additions to several dishes," Ostlund says. "Perhaps
it'll be chopped to top yogurt, sliced for a lunchbox or blended
for a summer's heat-beater smoothie. Large papaya, like Caribbean Red, have gone mainstream."
For years, starfruit has been accessorizing many drinks and
dishes, she says. "Starfruit can be tossed into fruit salads but
also can be found topping side dishes and entrees," she adds.
Additionally, consumers are very familiar with passionfruit,
even if they've never sliced one open, Ostlund says. "This
fruit is being enjoyed via iced teas, drinks and salads in many
restaurants," she adds.
Miami-based J&C Tropicals' biggest increase in available
volume and demand for a tropical item has been for dragon
fruit, says vice president and owner Jessie Capote.
"It's grown substantially," he says, with close to 3 million pounds grown in Florida. The company, which offers the brand Dragon Fuel, has also sourced dragon fruit
from Vietnam the past three years and Ecuador the past
three months.
"It's an impulse buy for shoppers - it's pretty and distinct,"
Capote says, adding that it has high antioxidant levels and
different brix levels for the three types available.
Alex Berkley, sales manager for Frieda's Specialty Produce,
Los Alamitos, California, says the company's internal research
(in partnership with Chicago-based C+R Research) indicates
that 66% of shoppers say they want to try new tropical fruits
this summer.
"Specialty items such as red dragon fruit, young coconuts
and jackfruit ﬁt perfectly on destination displays with other
summer classics such as blueberries, mangoes, pineapples
and watermelons," she says, adding that the three specialty
fruit items are the top trending tropical fruits in the produce
department due to their "Instagrammable" appeal, delicious
ﬂavor and health beneﬁts.

Melons
Juliemar Rosado, director of retail and international marketing
for the National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB), Winter
Springs, Florida, says with a category item like watermelons,
good merchandising is important because it conﬁrms the value, health and versatility of the product, which are some
of the primary drivers for watermelon sales.

In addition, Rosado says cut watermelon equals
convenience.
"The customer who buys fresh-cut watermelon will not
necessarily be the same one that picks up a whole watermelon at the store," she says. "Keeping that in mind, when bins of
watermelons are available, if the cutting is done in-house, one
suggestion would be to have the bins of whole watermelons
showcased near the fresh-cuts, targeting both customers."
The NWPB also invites all retailers with watermelons in
their stores to enter the 11th annual Watermelon Retail Display
Contest.
"Originally established to annually honor National
Watermelon Month in July, the contest has expanded in
recent years to also celebrate National Watermelon Day on
August 3 and will run throughout both months," Rosado
says. "The contest is used to encourage retailers to create
eye-catching displays that showcase the many beneﬁts of
watermelon. It's a winning combination!"
Stella Farms, Scottsdale, Arizona, is in the thick of its melon
season, says Vice President of Sales Mike Martori, approaching
peak volume of the season.
Conventional large, seedless watermelon continue to take
center stage, Martori says. "Quality this season is great, and
prices are low, so retailers should get as many melons on the
shelves as they can," he adds, saying suggested retail price
for medium-size watermelon in the summer ranges from
$3 to $5.
Martori agrees that cut melon continues to be trending in
popularity, with a broad range of consumers opting for this
choice for convenience and time savings.
Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Los
Angeles-based World Variety Produce Inc. which produces
the Melissa's brand, says the company is excited to promote
the Charentais melon, a globe-shaped fruit with a slightly
netted gray-green rind and an orange ﬂesh with a luscious,
ﬂowery aroma.
The company introduced the thinner-skinned, smaller-size
melon in January that's sourced from the Dominican Republic,
which offering year-round availability, and Schueller says
it projects for strong sales for the coming year.

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