With season-to-date citrus trending ahead of last year, Sunkist gears up for the coming celebrations
With Lunar New Year on the horizon, Sunkist has created a limited-edition Year of the Dragon-themed 10lb carton as it aims to keep the citrus category at the forefront of longstanding celebrations domestically and across Asia.
Citrus is considered a prized staple of Chinese and Lunar New Year festivities, as it is traditionally given as a gift symbolising good luck and prosperity in the future.
In Chinese culture, the dragon holds important significance as it is the only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac representing good luck, strength, and health.
Sunkist said its limited edition Year of the Dragon cartons and matching merchandising programme featured an authentic Chinese design with custom illustrations printed with a focus on red and gold colours.
“According to Circana, season-to-date citrus is trending ahead of last year, outpacing total produce and fruit,” said Cassie Howard, senior director of category management and marketing at Sunkist Growers.
“As we’ve seen the building up of consumer demand towards specialties, the Lunar New Year shopping season is a great event for retailers to promote in-stores to keep citrus top of mind.”
A recent Sunkist-commissioned study revealed that when consumers were asked what advertisements incentivised direct citrus purchases, recipe inspiration and utilisation tips were at the top of their lists.
The group said that its merchandising programme featured interactive point-of-sale materials with scannable QR codes providing real-time recipe inspiration to shoppers.
“The fruit this year is also producing some of the largest sizes we have seen in recent memory,” added Howard. “As more consumers turn to citrus to help them celebrate the Lunar New Year, retailers should capitalise on our interactive display bins to create bountiful opportunities to provide great value to their customers with big fruit offerings.”
