Asda has launched a new baby sharonfruit line as it strives to target younger consumers with the exotic fruit.
The Israeli-grown fruit, supplied by MTEX UK, went on shelves on 9 December in five-pack punnets.
Asda buyer Dean Hayden said sharonfruit has become a very important item in the supermarket’s exotics fixture.
The retailer has carried out educational work in-store to raise consumer awareness, working with growers to produce box-talkers that familiarise Asda shoppers with the key characteristics of the product.
Hayden said: “Improved post-harvest technology has given sharonfruit better eating consistency and the sweet flavour fits in very well with the taste profile of children.”
Israeli sharonfruit is available between October and April and this year output is forecast to reach some 17,000 tonnes. Production stretches through an area from Galilee to the coastal plains.
MTEX UK general manager Marius du Plessis said the firm’s growers are planting additional volumes to match expected demand.
Asda’s sharonfruit sales have grown significantly, mainly due to sampling across the store network, Hayden believes. In Asda’s latest six-week period, sharonfruit outsold mangoes.
Continued education is crucial if the market is to grow as expected, added Hayden.
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