Marketers expect tropicals to hold their own

Excerpts from a The Packer article published on 04/24/2009 by Abraham Mahshie

The excitement, flavor and cultural connection to the tropical fruit category are all reasons that grower-shippers say the category will continue to grow despite a down economy. Tropicals are a great opportunity to pick up some of those negative sales trends that stores are experiencing.

"Retailers also will have to do their part and provide value to consumers," says Mary Ostlund, marketing director of Brooks Tropicals LLC. "People want to know what kind of bang for the buck a fruit or vegetable will give them" she said. "They may think, 'tropicals are exotic and they might be more expensive,' but in actuality, they deliver a lot of fruit, a lot of vegetable for the dollar."

Ms. Ostlund added that the Food Network was and continues to be a valuable source of information for tropical fruits and vegetables.