VALENCIA, CA - Haven’t you heard? Citrus is a yearlong affair these days, but that’s not to say without the hard work of Sunkist and its team. As a 125-year-old cooperative of family farms, Sunkist’s growers work day in and day out to make sure retailers and consumers have access to more than 40 fresh citrus varieties 365 days a year. With its citrus season still underway on a whole host of varieties, I caught up with Christina Ward, Director of Communications, to see just how many juicy details I could peel away regarding Sunkist’s extended season.

“Sunkist’s fresh citrus season is still underway, and 2019 has been a fruit-filled year with promotable volumes of just about everything, from oranges, specialty oranges, and mandarins to tangerines and tangelos. The mandarin crop is typically winding down this time of year, but due to increased production of this strong variety, we have good news for citrus lovers and retailers alike: We will continue to have supplies of our California-grown mandarin crops of Sunkist Delite® and Gold Nuggets well into June,” Christina shared with me.

Despite the later season, Sunkist’s mandarin supplies are bearing excellent quality, sweet, juicy flavors, and volumes that have doubled since last season. And, while the industry market has been down of late, Christina revealed that Sunkist is seeing it strengthen once more, which may or may not have anything to do with Sunkist’s dedication to meeting consumer demand for great-tasting, high-quality fruit.

Per usual, Sunkist Delite mandarins are fresh-picked from the grower’s California farms and packed in giro bags, trays, and bulk cartons. Christina explained that recent data shows that the 2lb bag has become the fastest growing pack for mandarins and, when coupled with Sunkist’s “Fresh from the Grove” Delite mandarin secondary display bins, offer the perfect solution for retailers looking to increase selling space within a small footprint.

“Sunkist also has the ability to customize promotions and point-of-sale materials to fit our customers’ needs. In addition, we have partnered with chefs and mixologists to create fresh recipes featuring mandarins as the star ingredient of easy-to-make recipes,” Christina said. “Specifically, food and lifestyle expert Brandi Milloy joined our grower Heather Mulholland to make three different Delite mandarin recipes in the middle of the Mulholland citrus grove.”

If you’re curious to see just how that meetup went down, click here.

And to stay ahead of all of the produce industry’s freshest news, stick around AndNowUKnow.

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