In the past few years, Sunkist has enjoyed big success with its California Star Ruby retail display contests, and this year should be no different, Howard said.

“This season we’re looking forward to getting customers on board even earlier with our programs launching this spring. And we’re excited to help our customers promote big fruit offerings and engage shoppers in their stores with this nutrient A-lister variety.”

Sunkist’s influencer programs, meanwhile, provide real-time recipe inspiration and strike the right balance between educating consumers about cost-effective ways to utilize the whole fruit and helping shoppers make their citrus purchases even more worthwhile through grilling, baking, and kid-friendly DIY activities.

Also on tap for this summer, Sunkist will work closely with its retail partners to create and promote bagged sales and strategic bulk displays to continue growing the category.

Bagged sales have been up by 5% or more at times this year. Some varieties have done even better — bagged grapefruit sales have been up 10%, bagged mandarin sales 15%.

In addition to strong bag programs, Sunkist’s merchandising program features interactive point-of-sale materials with scannable QR codes providing real-time recipe inspiration to shoppers, Howard said.

A recent Sunkist-commissioned study revealed that when consumers were asked what advertisements incentivized them to buy citrus, recipe inspiration, and utilization tips were at the top of their lists.

This article is an excerpt from the April 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Citrus feature and more in the digital edition here.