Yowzers! Mastronardi Produce adds red chili pepper to Sunset line

Kingsville, Ontario-based Mastronardi Produce is adding more heat to the Sunset lineup with Yowzers!

Set to hit retail shelves in early 2021, the Yowzers! red chili pepper joins the Sunset heat-heavy lineup of pepper products, including Shazam! shishito pepper and Kaboom! black jalapenos, according to a news release.

“For years, the pepper category remained stagnant without much in the way of offerings outside of standard bell peppers and jalapenos,” Peppe Bonfiglio, vice president of sales at Mastronardi Produce, said in the release. “We saw the need to innovate and heat things up, so we started revolutionizing the category with unique and flavorful products in the hot pepper category.”

According to the release, hot peppers continue to drive double-digit growth, with added success for packaged hot peppers.

Shishito peppers are among the top five fastest growing categories of produce at restaurants, according to the release. Retail sales of Shazam! are up nearly 150% in the U.S over the last year, and fixed weight packaged hot peppers are up over 60% year over year, according to the release.

“Yowzers! has the heat of a traditional jalapeno but also explodes with sweet flavor,” Roger Mooking, chef and culinary director for Sunset, said in the release. “The first few bites are surprisingly sweet but these chili peppers offer the ultimate flavor experience, taking your taste buds on a ride from sweet to heat in just a few seconds.” 

In addition, Sunset is introducing Wild Wonders mini peppers, a mixed variety pack of six different colors, and seedless One Sweet peppers. Those two items are the latest additions to the company’s lineup of sweet pepper offerings, which includes Aloha striped peppers and Wild Wonders long sweet peppers, according to the release.

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