Paramount Citrus, America’s largest citrus grower, has signed a deal with California-based Mulholland Citrus to consolidate Mulholland’s mandarin volume under its rapidly expanding Wonderful Halos mandarin brand.
This new partnership brings together the market leader and the third largest grower/packer of mandarins in an alliance that strengthens the ability of the Halos programme to broaden the branded market and reach a wider set of consumers.
Under the terms of the deal, Mulholland Citrus will grow and pack its mandarins under the Wonderful Halos brand.
“We are focused on working with other like-minded quality farmers to grow the overall mandarin category within the citrus industry,” said Paramount’s president David Krause. “Working closely with the highly experienced citrus growers at Mulholland Citrus is a logical next step to reinforce the transformation of mandarins into one of America’s most popular produce items.”
In season from November to April, Wonderful Halos is one of the fastest-growing brands in America’s produce aisles. The brand is currently sold in virtually every major supermarket, mass market and produce aisle across the US and Canada.
“At Mulholland Citrus, we share the same values and a similar vision as Paramount Citrus to expand the market for mandarins and use the power of a well-known brand like Wonderful Halos to reach an ever-increasing number of consumers,” said Tom Mulholland, owner of Mulholland Citrus. “Both of our companies are strongly rooted in California agriculture, and we believe we can help each other give America a healthy alternative as the perfect snack.”
Paramount launched its Wonderful Halos clementines and mandarins in November 2013 with a five-year, US$100m marketing campaign. Paramount has invested in marketing and brand awareness-building as part of an integrated, national campaign to market the “pure goodness” and uniquely delicious taste of the sweet, seedless, easy to peel fruit.
Demand across the industry has grown exponentially over the last few years. Due to the new collaboration with Mulholland, retail customers can expect a larger supply of mandarins available for the 2014 / 2015 season.
