LOS ANGELES, CA - Competition in the retail space and every facet within it is as strong as it’s ever been as consumers vie for eye-catching and unique items to add to their shopping carts. In this space, more exotic produce items and flavor profiles are top of mind, among them a rising interest for persimmons.

The Giumarra Companies upped the stakes on the expanding persimmon market with its ready-to-eat Fuyu persimmons, adding snackable convenience to the exotics category. The company's California persimmon program is among the largest in the nation, and it has seen strong sales growth in the category. Currently, it is touting promotional volume through the holidays. Pairing well with sweet and savory dishes, Fuyu persimmons make a colorful addition to your holiday promotions and your shoppers’ holiday tables.

“In recent years, persimmons have become one of our top-selling items at Giumarra Reedley,” says Jeannine Martin, Director of Sales for Giumarra Reedley. “We have expanded our Fuyu persimmon program to include a bagged option for grab-and-go consumers looking for snack-sized fruit for lunches and eating on the run.”

Kellee Harris, Western Region Business Director for Giumarra, mentioned that progressive retailers see the bagged persimmon program as a great way to build the category and seize on this trendy fruit. Giumarra also offers merchandising display bins to support the bag program. The bin serves as a secondary display option and features colorful high graphics, a #DoYouFuyu hashtag, and a mobile phone-ready “snap a picture and go” recipe on the side panel.

“The recipe for sweet and spicy persimmon avocado toast that’s displayed on our bins targets younger consumers. It’s perfect for breakfast or a snack,” Kellee says.

The team at Giumarra believes that avocado toast has proven itself as more than a trend. When promoting less familiar produce items in the marketplace, fun recipes are key. One of the team’s first moves when diving into the persimmon category was to explore its versatility with a personal chef and food stylist. The result is several in-house dishes to help tempt consumers even further into experimenting with this bright orange fruit. With the help of these recipes on its www.naturespartner.com website, as well as display bins and educational points-of-sale, Giumarra is aiming to inspire millennial consumers in particular to use persimmons in new and exciting ways.

“We will have Fuyu persimmons well through the holidays and will wrap up our 2019-20 season in January,” says Jeannine.

As traditional menu and household options continue to change shape, it will be intriguing to see the space this bright fruit carves for itself on holiday plates and beyond.

The Giumarra Companies