Jimbofresh is shaking up the European melon market with not one but three exclusive varieties launched during the past two years.
Okashi, Cayoran and Jimbee are premium offerings that punch well above their weight when it comes to flavour, according to the company’s managing director Miguel ángel Jiménez.
While Okashi can be described as a traditional Galia – albeit with an excellent flavour and sugar profile according to Jiménez – Jimbee and Cayoran are quite different from anything else on the market and reflect the growing trend towards value added offerings that are driving European demand in the melon category. Jiménez describes Jimbee as having a velvety vanilla-coloured skin and sweet buttery flesh with hints of caramel.
“We launched in 2014 with very modest volumes and were blown away by the response we received,” he said. “Consumers were enthusiastic about having rediscovered the flavour of years gone by which seems to have become increasingly rare.”
The response to Okashi, meanwhile, has been equally positive and production volumes are set to grow rapidly in 2016.
