El Niño is causing havoc with some specialty fruits and vegetables.
The weather “has made doing business out of Peru very tough and a lot lighter this year,” said Jeff Friedman, president of CarbAmericas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Likewise in Ecuador, mango production is down around 60%, “and pricing is not going to be conducive to promotions,” he said.
For D Produce Co., Coral Gables, Fla., the weather problems impacted and damaged mango plantations in Peru “and people couldn’t mitigate these problems,” said Diego Morales, sales manager. Prices will be extremely high because of that, he said.
Recent political unrest in Guatemala also has blocked exports out of the country, and HLB Specialties has had trouble obtaining papayas, though the situation is easing, said Melissa Hartmann de Barros, director of communications.
This has also been affecting exports for CarbAmericas, which sources snow peas and snap peas from Guatemala. Now that the ports have reopened, “there will be a little bit of catch-up,” Friedman said.
Global specialty produce is a large category that encompasses dragon fruit, papaya, rambutan and many other produce items.
One of the bestselling products for HLB Specialties is the samba papaya from Brazil, which is small and very sweet. “And it’s non-GMO and some consumers pay attention to that,” Hartmann de Barros said.
Another strong-selling product for HLB Specialties is the formosa papaya though “the samba is gaining in popularity and it’s establishing a name for itself,” she said.
The Fort Lauderdale-based company’s produce comes from Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil.
“Consumers are wanting to try new items and there’s a lot of potential items to introduce to the North American market,” Hartmann de Barros said.
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Global specialty manufacturers and suppliers rely on packaging to both keep their products in great condition and for communications.
HLB Specialties’ 12-ounce rambutan clamshells help the fruit retain moisture, because once picked, it doesn’t continue ripening and loses moisture quickly.
“We can show retailers this is an item which can last on the shelf. It can protect the fruit and give some information which is important for items that are less known,” Hartmann de Barros said.
When the company started importing rambutan, it was mostly available in bulk and mostly in Asian supermarkets “so non-ethnic consumers weren’t familiar with it,” she said. But once the company put it in a clamshell with eating instructions and a picture of a dancing rambutan, “it makes it a little friendlier and entices maybe kids to try it.”
HLB Specialties has also developed holiday packaging over the years, especially for Halloween. “Because it’s such a strange looking fruit, it’s a great item for Halloween parties,” she said. “So we have a special Halloween PLU that includes nutritional information and eating instructions and a QR code that leads to our website.”
It does similar marketing for white and yellow dragon fruit, which come in a clamshell. The 2024 Lunar New Year will be the year of the dragon, “so we made a specific label highlighting the dragon and dragon fruit,” Hartmann de Barros said. Information on the package includes eating instructions and nutritional information.
“For exotic fruits like dragon fruit, education is key to enticing consumers to trying the items,” she said.
Keep reading here: https://www.thepacker.com/news/retail/weather-hampers-specialty-produce-availability-information-stores-help-boosts-sales
Source: The Packer
