Sunkist Growers' Christina Ward Discusses Citrus Volume and Trends at PMA Fresh Summit 2019
ANAHEIM, CA - PMA’s Fresh Summit certainly left us with no shortage of exciting industry innovations! Sunkist Growers was another company I interacted with on the show floor—when I saw the spectrum of oranges, yellows, and reds, it simply could not be passed up. Christina Ward, Director of Global Brand Marketing for Sunkist, took the time to chat with me about all the company has to offer.
“Sunkist is the leader of the citrus category. We’ve been around for more than 125 years, and it’s imperative for us to stay on top of consumer trends, consumer behaviors, packaging solutions, and things that are going to help drive sales and grow our category overall,” Christina said. “Our California-grown citrus cooperative is celebrating the season with more than 40 citrus varieties, and we’re excited that the juicy, sweet, seedless Navel orange is really what kicks it off. Over the last four seasons, we’re seeing the Cara Cara Navel orange and blood orange saw double-digit volume and dollar sales. That’s exciting to see and that’s a true testament to the fact that once consumers get a taste of these varieties that they just fall in love and they want to come back for more.”
Both Christina and myself were fueled by the fire that Fresh Summit 2019 brought about. She continued by enlightening me with Sunkist’s newest solutions for retailers.
“Sunkist has a strong organic line, and with that paired with our conventional citrus, we have a lot to offer year-round. It’s essentially a well-rounded program,” Christina told me. “We also have new packaging, merchandising displays, and innovative marketing solutions, because for us it’s important to keep up with consumer trends and demands so that we can offer our retail partners solutions to drive citrus sales.”
Based on what I witnessed at Fresh Summit, Sunkist Growers seems to be well-versed in the language of consumers. With new packaging, double-digit sales and volume, and star-studded organic and conventional lines, Sunkist has positioned itself for a lucrative New Year.
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