Exotics importer Toucan Fruit is stepping up its supply of sapodillas for the UK market.
While the Indian variety of sapodilla - which is described as having a taste somewhere in between caramel and chocolate - has been available on these shores previously, Toucan Fruit has started importing the product in greater quantities from Thailand, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.
Luxury goods store Harrods, department store Harvey Nichols, and TV chefYotam Ottolenghi's favourite London greengrocer, Clifton Greens, are among those to have bought sapodillas from Toucan Fruit.
Soraya Bahrami, co-founder and CEO of Toucan Fruit, which is based in London but imports and exports products to a range of destinations worldwide, said: 'We have been working with our farmers to grow and gain access to these fruits for some time. We have had a lot of requests for them over the last couple of years.
'I think they are gaining in popularity because as people are travelling more to far-flung destinations, they are gaining exposure to these fruits. Additionally, they are now being grown commercially to export standards.'
