VALENCIA, CALIF. — To celebrate its 130th anniversary, Sunkist Growers has had Sunkist Citrus Day officially registered in the National Day Calendar for March 1.

Sunkist was founded in 1893 and is currently the oldest agricultural cooperative in the United States, according to the company.

In March 1908, Sunkist published its first ad about Southern California’s commonly recognized ‘Orange Day’ on March 1 and continued working from then on to have the day associated with its brand.

A large part of that process has been sharing the stories of the many small, family-owned farms that make up the cooperative.

"In a recent study, we learned that citrus shoppers find value in knowing where their citrus is grown and how it is picked," said Christina Ward, senior director of global marketing at Sunkist. "We wanted to bring citrus shoppers to a California grove with 'Meet the Grower' POP (point of purchase) and interactive in-store displays. These materials educate shoppers on our growers' stories, the zesty lineup of Sunkist citrus and our farming regions."

As part of the celebration, Sunkist is promoting its Sunkist Legacy Heirloom Navel orange, a premium sweet orange that is only available during the peak of the season, according to the company.

“For retail, new 3 lb. and 4 lb. giro bags and display masters are accompanied by matching square and quarter bins,” a representative for Sunkist said. “The commemorative design was consumer-tested and received an overwhelmingly positive response, with surveyed shoppers saying they would buy this new packaging.”

Using the tagline ‘Celebrate Every Bite,’ Sunkist is encouraging consumers to engage with Sunkist Citrus Day in the following five ways:

  • Learn about the different varieties of citrus grown by Sunkist.
  • Buy Sunkist citrus to support the family of farmers that make up the cooperative.
  • Try a new recipe – inspiration can always be found on Sunkist.com/recipes.
  • Order a citrus-forward dish or drink at your favorite food joint.
  • Share your favorite citrus flavors or wellness tips using citrus and give Sunkist a shout-out on social media using #NationalSunkistCitrusDay.
Sunkist productsSource: Sunkist Growers