Wonderful Citrus promotes seedless lemons, limes

Wonderful Citrus has multiple sourcing options for both lemons and limes, company executives report. 

Among its 2022 marketing efforts, Delano, Calif.-based Wonderful Citrus is raising awareness of Wonderful Seedless Lemons, said Adam Lazo, senior director of citrus sales.

The seedless variety is in its third year for Wonderful Citrus, he said.

“Volumes of this new, naturally seedless, non-GMO Project-verified lemon variety are still small with limited distribution,” said Lazo. “While we’re focused on select markets and channels for now, this innovative product will be a game-changer in produce as the crop grows over the next few years.”

Wonderful Citrus is the largest single grower and shipper of lemons in North America, Lazo said. The company has a year-round lemon portfolio and a strong presence in the California’s Central Valley, coastal and desert growing regions, along with supply from Mexico.

Wonderful has two packing facilities, located in California and Mexico, along with forward distribution centers in Florida and New Jersey, Lazo said.

Lazo said the wonderful Citrus’ lemon supply out of California is robust for both Central Valley and the Coastal growing districts, allowing retailers to put strong promotional plans behind both bulk and bagged lemon sales through June. The Mexican crop, he said, is similar to last season and will have good supply and quality through the summer until November.

In terms of packaging, Lazo said Wonderful Citrus is seeing that bagged lemons are taking over some of the bulk share of the category. In addition, many retailers are adding the 5-pound bag to their lemon offerings, which encourages bagged lemon purchases.

Foodservice is well on its way back to a pre-pandemic marketplace, Lazo said. Restaurant closures and labor limitations have been key pandemic challenges that will continue to affect the foodservice industry for the next one to two years, he said.

“These obstacles will continue to prevent distribution from hitting its full demand potential,” he said. 

One positive trend, Lazo said, is that customers have an increased interest in the functional benefits of their food choices, heightened from the pandemic. Shoppers are looking for foods with immunity benefits, such as lemons, known for their abundance of vitamin C.

“Some of the other changes in customer behavior we’ve experienced over the last couple years will leave a lasting impact, including people enjoying more meals at home, which results in increased grocery store cart sizes,” Lazo said. “Our research shows that Wonderful Seedless Lemons drive repeat buyers because customers realize the convenience of not having those pesky little seeds.”

Lime pipeline

Wonderful Citrus runs a comprehensive lime program sourcing from multiple areas, including thousands of owned acres in Mexico, said Nico Giraldo, director of sales for Mexico for Wonderful Citrus. He said Wonderful Citrus services customers nationally out of Texas, Florida and California, while customers in the European Union,  Asia and Mexico are serviced directly out of Mexico. “Wonderful Citrus offers a comprehensive portfolio, including conventional Persian limes, organic Persian limes and conventional key limes packed in multiple carton and bag styles,” Giraldo said. All of its owned acreage is certified fair trade and all packing operations follow the same standards as in California, including the Global Food Safety Initiative and being Sedex Members Ethical Trade-compliant, Giraldo said. 

The lime supply will be concentrated in small sizes 230/250s through the end of April, Lazo said. “The summer crop will follow, helping stabilize supply and price through July.”  

Headwinds and tailwinds

The broader citrus industry faces several challenges, Lazo said, including those resulting from water availability and climate change.

Wonderful is accounting for those challenges with responsible water stewardship, he said, with water usage adjusted based on factors such as soil moisture, temperature, solar radiation, humidity and wind. “We are a company that believes in continuous improvement and innovation, and continue to look at ways to be good stewards of the land and community,” Lazo said. 

Despite the challenges,  Lazo said the lemon category is performing well.

“In terms of trends, we are seeing that the lemon category is performing really well, with around 7% growth in the past two years,” Lazo said. “As consumers continue to make the shift to purchasing better-for-you foods that offer nutritional value, while also cooking and eating more at home, the category has experienced steady demand as health-forward lifestyles dominate.”

The lemon category is poised for continued growth over the next five years, he said.