RIVERSIDE, CA - There’s a saying that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Well, I’m here to tell everyone that diamonds are not my best friend, it’s the new GEM. Index Fresh is kicking off its season of marketing the GEM avocado, a precious new variety that’s shaking up the California avocado category.

“GEM is a larger piece of fruit that sits internally in the tree, covered by leaves. We haven’t seen alternate bearing yet, not to say it won’t come in the future. It’s just a very good eating piece of fruit, and there’s no consumer educational period because it blackens when ripe,” said Bailey Diioia, Field Representative at Index Fresh.

According to Index Fresh’s press release, there’s about a one to two-year waitlist for GEM trees, showing early excitement for this new variety and its long-term potential. The worldwide avocado marketer is currently in partnership with growers who are committed to building a dedicated program based on delivering high-quality fruit to store shelves.

“By carrying the GEM variety alongside Hass, we believe that it will just boost the overall category and increase general sales without taking away from the Hass,” said Todd Elder, Vice President of Sales at Index Fresh. “One of GEM’s attributes is that it’s usually a very large piece of fruit, which makes it a large premium offering for retailers who are also carrying a smaller size, economical variety. All in all, this gives the consumers a variety of options while shopping for avocados during this season.”

Index Fresh has been excited about the GEM avocado since its introduction and sees a number of benefits in marketing GEM for both growers and retailers, which will come in handy because the marketer is looking to double the volume of its GEM offering from last year. To gear up for the new arrival, Index Fresh is sending samples to retailers along with information on the GEM variety that highlights the potential for extending the avocado category and increasing their overall avocado sales.

“We’re excited about GEM. It’s not often that we get to introduce a new variety of avocado, and we look forward to working with both growers and retailers to provide a new and flavorful expansion of the avocado category,” said Diioia.

The GEM is a high yield per acre variety that allows for efficient harvesting. This year, the variety will be available for six to eight weeks, starting the first week of April. In the future, both the volume and the length of the season will expand.

ANUK will continue to bring the latest updates in the produce sector.

Index Fresh