Given its year-round availability, mango has grown in popularity throughout foodservice and across menus and dayparts. A recent survey of foodservice distributors, prepared by IDReport/Winsight, LLC for the National Mango Board, showed that 90 percent of respondents offer some form of fresh, whole mango to their foodservice customers. Results also showed that 91 percent of respondents’ fresh mango sales have either increased or remained steady over the past 2 to 3 years. Fresh-cut and fresh, whole, pre-ripened mango were the two forms of mango cited most often for generating a sales increase.
Availability of fresh-cut and pre-ripened mango is a direct result of consumer demand and operator response. Distributors have been working to meet restaurant specs--providing dices, cubes, spears and fresh mango cheeks, as well as pre-ripened whole mango--ensuring a fresh produce menu solution.
If there’s a missing piece, it’s that many operators remain unaware of the fresh options available. According to the survey, 51 percent of distributors claim lack of operator demand as the biggest hurdle for increasing fresh mango sales. That number is likely driven by low awareness of the fresh-cut and pre-ripened fresh mango forms that are now available from foodservice distributors, as cited by 42 percent of survey respondents.
