National Mango Board to host Viva Fresh session
National Mango Board to host Viva Fresh session
As part of the Viva Fresh event, the National Mango Board will be hosting a mango education session on Friday, April 21, at 10:30 a.m.
NMB Communications Manager Angela Serna said the “deep-dive mango session will be engaging, entertaining and fast-paced, covering topics from receiving and ripening, to store level and the consumer.”
The session will be presented by NMB Retail Program Manager Wendy McManus and ripening expert Dennis Kihlstadius.
Serna said that while mangos are the most popular fruit in the world, they have not yet made it to the top 10 list of consumed fruits in the United States. “During the mango session at Viva Fresh, the mango board will arm retailers with the tools they need to transform mangos from specialty fruit to mainstream staple,” she said. The topics that will be covered during the session include mango ripening and its importance to the industry and U.S. consumers, mango education on receiving, and mango merchandising.
There will also be an opportunity for audience interaction as NMB will use this opportunity to further its own mango knowledge. “We will enlist audience participation in a Mango Consumer Acceptance Study, which is a taste test of mangos at different stages of ripeness,” said Serna. “We will also engage the audience in two additional mango tasting opportunities — serving a mango and avocado salsa and mango cubes sprinkled with Tajin fruit spice.”
Another highlight of the session will be a tutorial on the proper way to cut a mango. Serna said several retailers will be asked to participate in a hands-on mango cutting lesson that’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
“Viva Fresh is an outstanding show, especially for mangos,” Serna said. “The event will be packed with retailers who serve strong mango markets, along with growers and shippers of mangos who serve them. The NMB is honored to have this opportunity to present this deep-dive mango session.”
