A cheery outlook for pomegranates

While several red-hued fruits are compared to rubies, the shiny arils within pomegranates are about the size of what a wealthy woman would wear on her finger. And these jewels are doing well.

Grown in California and the decades-long favorite, the wonderful variety crop is thriving in the sun this season and expected to start harvest and shipping by the second week of October, said Maurice Cameron, president of The Flavor Tree Fruit Co. LLC, Hanford, Calif. The produce marketing company specializes in the SunnyGem brand of wonderful variety pomegranates, as well as plums, cherries and California kiwifruit.
 

While the pomegranates will likely remain in stores into February, the arils, sold in top-seal clear cups, can stay in stores into March. The pomegranates used for their arils only can withstand colder storage temperatures because the skin doesn’t need to hold its appearance.
“That is really important for the pomegranate deal,” Cameron said.
 

His company’s SunnyGem pomegranates are grown on about 2,500 acres. With a heavy crop last year, Cameron expected this year to receive a lighter volume because it usually fluctuates that way.
 

“But there will be a little bit larger crop this year, with good growing conditions and a good set,” he said.
 

The wonderful variety is the tried and true variety he’s sold for the past 35 years. It’s not the earliest variety, but when it does come on, the crop has great red color, with deep, burgundy arils, good sugars and a hardy constitution for shipping and long shelf life.
 

“And it’s got good production in the field as well,” he said.
 

Cameron expects good demand nationwide, and his major export countries include South Korea, Australia, Taiwan and Japan.
 

Los Angeles-based Pom Wonderful, part of The Wonderful Co., grows the same variety on more than 9,000 acres in California’s Central Valley. 
 

Adam Cooper, senior vice president of marketing, expects his company’s harvest to start early to mid-October and also last through January.
 

Pomegranate harvest peaks come nicely in the middle of fall and winter holidays.
 

“When pomegranates hit shelves in October, we see a strong resurgence of consumer love, especially tied to the holidays as they’re looking for unique culinary ingredients to spruce up meals,” Cooper said.
 

Shoppers like to use the whole pomegranates as Thanksgiving table decorations, which are then eaten later, and they sprinkle the arils on almost everything to add a pop of festive color and bright, tart, sweet flavor to complement heavy winter foods.
 

It’s also a huge win of timing that pomegranates last through Super Bowl season, Cameron said.
 

“The Super Bowl is the biggest seller for avocados, and the best dip is guacamole, and people are putting pomegranates on it,” he said.
 

The health benefits of antioxidant-rich pomegranates remain a big selling factor.
 

“We’ve seen strong tailwinds for the arils category over the last five years as consumers seek healthier snacking options with functional benefits, which is what we expect for the upcoming crop season,” Cooper said.
 

The company’s newest Pom Antioxidant Super Tea flavors – Pomegranate Orange Blossom White Tea and Pomegranate Elderberry Boost Tea — have won three awards in 2021 so far.
 

This fall, Pom Wonderful will also reveal a rebranding of its fresh pomegranate arils, which will apply to point-of-sale displays and packaging, along with a social and digital campaign.