PASADENA, California – It’s California kiwifruit season, and according to Sun Pacific, retailers are finding success stocking the fruit during the popular holiday shopping season. Mighties kiwi from Sun Pacific accounts for approximately 50 percent of the California kiwifruit market, which runs from October through May.
Mighties began shipping the first week of October, and are available in 1-pound to 4-pound clamshells. According to Howard Nager, vice president of business development at Sun Pacific, grocers are capitalizing on consumer demand for healthy holiday snack options. Many retailers are introducing Mighties display shippers in secondary locations throughout the produce aisle and in conjunction with Sun Pacific’s landmark brand, Cuties. When merchandised together, retailers report a triple digit volume and dollars sales lift for Mighties, as well as significant increases in Cuties as well. Sun Pacific recently announced holiday themed packaging for both brands to promote California kiwifruit and California Cuties together.
“The whole kiwi category is garnering more and more attention from retailers and consumers,” said Nager. “While kiwifruit may not produce huge volume for a retailer right now, they are finding they can drive incremental sales with very little effort, and we’re seeing the greatest volume with Mighties 2-pound clamshells.”
Compared with bulk kiwi, Mighties arrive in stores ripe and ready to eat. Sun Pacific pre-conditions its California kiwi crop via a proprietary process to ensure a consistently sweet, delicious flavor that eliminates guesswork for consumers. Additionally, Mighties packaging helps educate consumers about the health and nutrition benefits of kiwifruit. Most clamshells include a spife, a combination spoon and knife utensil, and the brand’s original cut, scoop and eat messaging, which reinforces how families can easily enjoy Mighties kiwifruit on the go.
“We are doing a really good job of not only branding but education on this rising superfruit,” said Nager. “From health-conscious parents who want a vitamin-packed snack for their busy kids to foodies that love the flavor profile and color, Mighties is quickly becoming a staple produce purchase.”
According to recent market research by Sun Pacific and W5, a national marketing research consultancy, approximately one-third of parents have purchased Mighties, and more than 80 percent say the brand is preferred by their children[1].
Sun Pacific is the largest grower of kiwi in North America and continues to invest in planting more kiwi to meet consumer and retailer demand. Nager says the company plans to triple its kiwifruit crop within the next few years and will then represent approximately 70 percent of the California kiwi crop. Sun Pacific currently harvests more than 40,000 acres of fruit in California each year.
Source: Sun Pacific
