With the Lunar New Year approaching, Sunkist Growers says it has created a limited-edition Year of the Dragon-themed 10-pound carton to help keep the citrus category at the forefront of longstanding celebrations domestically and across Asia.
Citrus is considered a prized staple of Chinese and Lunar New Year festivities, as it is traditionally given as a gift symbolizing good luck and prosperity in the future, according to a news release.
In Chinese culture, the dragon holds important significance as it is the only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac representing good luck, strength and health, the release said. Sunkist says its Year of the Dragon cartons and matching merchandising program feature an authentic Chinese design with bold, custom illustrations printed with a focus on red and gold colors.
The 10-pound cartons can hold either navel oranges or cara cara oranges. New this year, says Sunkist, is exclusive packaging for select retailers, while its display bins continue to help highlight any in-season conventional or organic variety, including pummelos, blood oranges, lemons, California mandarins, minneola tangelos, and grapefruit.
“According to Circana, season-to-date citrus is trending ahead of last year, outpacing total produce and fruit,” Cassie Howard, senior director of category management and marketing at Sunkist Growers, said in the release. “As we’ve seen the building up of consumer demand towards specialties, the Lunar New Year shopping season is a great event for retailers to promote in-stores to keep citrus top of mind.”
A recent Sunkist-commissioned study revealed that when consumers were asked what advertisements incentivized direct citrus purchases, the top of their lists included recipe inspiration and utilization tips, according to the release. Sunkist says its merchandising program features interactive POS materials with scannable QR codes providing real-time recipe inspiration to shoppers.
“The fruit this year is also producing some of the largest sizes we have seen in recent memory,” Howard said. “As more consumers turn to citrus to help them celebrate the Lunar New Year, retailers should capitalize on our interactive display bins to create bountiful opportunities to provide great value to their customers with big fruit offerings.”
In addition to Lunar New Year-themed merchandising bins, Sunkist also has new bin headers and header cards this season that promote flavor information and nutritional benefits, as well as trending recipes that can be easily interchangeable for all in-season varieties, the release said.
Retailers can contact their Sunkist sales representative to learn more about how to incorporate citrus celebrations in-store, according to the release.
