What’s New in Superfruits: Jackfruit, Baobab, Graviola, and Dragonfruit
These tropical desert fruits have emerged as the year’s newest superfruit stars.
The superfruit category continues to evolve. Resilient long-term players (pomegranate, blueberries, acai) are maintaining their momentum among health-conscious consumers, while “rediscovered,” cleverly branded tropical and desert fruits (jackfruit, baobab, and dragonfruit) join the superfruit team. Superfruits like jackfruit and dragonfruit are emerging as new stars, appearing in products ranging from ready-to-drink beverages to meat alternatives to frozen-smoothie bases to candies to dietary supplements. (Graviola, another fruit, is also trending, although it’s important to point out that there are significant safety concerns regarding its use, to be discussed later.)
While growth trends for these four superfruits-jackfruit, baobab, dragonfruit, and graviola (viewed together as one segment)-may have varied over time, in 2011-2016 “dollar sales of this segment have almost doubled, reaching $27 million, up 11% in 2016 versus prior year,” according to IRI’s Total Multi-Outlet calculations, explains IRI client-insights consultant and corporate analyst Christine Nollas. Year-to-date sales (through May 14, 2017) have already reached $10.5 million, Nollas adds.
Beverages (waters, juices, teas, nectars, sodas) have been key to this growth, Nollas says, “reporting 85% share in 2016.” But, she says, as new entries into different categories have emerged, “beverages’ share of the segment has declined from 2011.” She adds that frozen foods (including desserts and dinners) is the second-largest category of importance to this segment, while year-over-year 2016 dollar growth of the segment was strongest in health categories. “Refrigerated foods and general foods reported significant growth as well,” she says.
The following four slides provide a closer look at nutrition profiles and product trends for jackfruit, baobab, dragonfruit (pitaya), and graviola (guanabana).
CLICK ON IMAGES TO VIEW SLIDESHOWPhoto © Shutterstock.com/Quanthem
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