“Mainstream consumers are becoming more exposed to tropical fruit through media and through their travels,” said Anthony Formusa of National Produce Marketing in Ontario. National Produce's big tropical items are mangos, papayas and pineapples sourced from a rotating roster of countries in order to secure year-round availability. While consumption used to be confined to smaller ethnic groups, the mainstream has now picked up on the tropical trend. But that growth of the category hasn't progressed without a few snags.
“In the past, attempts to get high-quality tropicals have not been successful,” said Formusa. “So that was a big deterrent to the growth of the category, and that lack of quality hampered the growth of tropical items in Canada for the mainstream consumer. I know people who had gone to Central America and tried papayas that were delicious, and then they'd buy some papaya at home and it would be terrible.” Knowing that consumers would not turn into repeat buyers unless they were sure what they bought was good, Formusa, along with some associates, came up with a program to ensure high quality of fruit.
“Part of our growth has come from investing time, money and experience by going down to South and Central America in order to build partnerships and make sure that what they're producing down there will give consumers the right taste experience,” said Formusa. Those efforts have paid off, especially in sales of papayas, which Formusa says have doubled for them in the last three years.
“In general, when you talk about why there's more interest in tropical fruit, it's because there's more awareness and there's better quality,” said Formusa. “More people are recognizing the need for a quality assurance program, so there's more attention and better-tasting product.”
