Sunkist We Are Citrus® Brings The Grove To 2019 PMA Fresh Summit
October 18, 2019, Valencia, Calif. – Fresh, healthy and full of flavor, the California-grown citrus cooperative is celebrating the season with more than 40 varieties, new packaging, merchandising displays, and a host of innovative marketing solutions to drive demand and grow sales.
Sunkist produces more than 40 varieties to promote, offering a broad portfolio of oranges, lemons, mandarins, grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos, and limes. Sweet, seedless and an excellent source of vitamin C, the juicy return of the Sunkist Navel orange is an indicator that citrus season is here. Specialty varieties, including the sweet, seedless, and low acidity Cara Cara navels and savory, rich blood oranges, continue to pique consumer interest. Over the last four seasons, both Blood orange and Cara Cara Navel orange sales have experienced double-digit dollar and volume sales. Blood orange 2-pound bag sales were up 23 percent this season versus last year, while the Cara Cara Navel 3-pound bag represented nearly 50 percent of total sales.
Sunkist Organics include Navels, California mandarins, Minneola tangelos, Cara Cara Navels oranges, Blood oranges, Valencia oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. Paired with a strong supply of conventional citrus, Sunkist is able to supply a well-rounded citrus program year-round. Industrywide, organic mandarin sales were up 39 percent last season, and distribution continues to increase with more than 25 percent of retail stores offering 2-pound organic mandarin bags, a 15 percent increase over the previous season.
“We have a complete portfolio of organic citrus, along with new organic packaging,” said Julie DeWolf, Director of Marketing Operations. “We’re also looking forward to Lunar New Year with limited-edition packaging and a secondary display for Year of the Rat. The new Blood orange consumer carton will be on display at our booth, along with a wide variety of square bins that open up cross-promotion opportunities for retailers. This approach helps to increase selling space within a small footprint while promoting our 2- and 3-pound bags.”
Sunkist also offers customizable marketing programs, which include secondary display bins and in-store point-of-sale materials. DeWolf added, “Through our flavor-forward displays and packaging, retailers can engage with consumers and educate them on the taste, quality and versatility of Sunkist citrus varieties.”
With the recent promotion of Cassie Howard to Director of Category Management, Sunkist expanded its category management solutions and value-added services. Howard said, “It is imperative for us to stay on top of consumer trends, as it relates to Sunkist citrus categories, packaging solutions, and benchmarking opportunities. By keeping on top of citrus consumption patterns and consumer behavior and trends, Sunkist is able to offer enhanced support to retail partners to help improve citrus sales.”
“PMA Fresh Summit brings the industry together, and offers a great venue to kick of the upcoming citrus season,” said Christina Ward, Director of Global Brand Marketing at Sunkist. “We’re excited to share our deep California roots with PMA attendees by collaborating with three local Anaheim chefs to bring citrus-forward flavors to the event.”
PMA Fresh Summit attendees can visit the Sunkist “We Are Citrus®” booth (#3037), which will feature a rotating menu of citrus-forward drinks and dishes. Visit the booth to learn more about Sunkist citrus and the vast selection of marketing support, including customizable promotional and merchandising programs that can be tailored to unique needs.
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Sunkist Growers is a citrus marketing cooperative, founded in 1893, which is owned by and operated for thousands of family farmers growing citrus in California and Arizona. For more information, visit www.sunkist.com.
SUNKIST and WE ARE CITRUS® are registered trademarks of Sunkist Growers, Inc., USA. ©2019