Citrus is considered a prized staple of Chinese and Lunar New Year festivities, as it is traditionally given as a gift symbolizing good luck and prosperity in the future. Sunkist has created a limited-edition Year of the Dragon-themed 10-pound carton to help keep the citrus category at the forefront of longstanding celebrations domestically and across Asia.
In Chinese culture, the dragon holds important significance as it is the only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac representing good luck, strength and health. Sunkist's limited edition Year of the Dragon cartons and matching merchandising program feature an authentic Chinese design with bold, custom illustrations printed with a focus on red and gold colors. With the growth of this program, Sunkist has continued to expand its offerings.
The 10-pound cartons can hold either Navel oranges or Cara Cara oranges, and new this year the company has exclusive packaging for select retailers — and the company's display bins continue to offer a terrific way to highlight any in-season conventional or organic variety, including Pummelos, Blood oranges, lemons, California mandarins, Minneola tangelos and grapefruit.
“According to Circana, season-to-date citrus is trending ahead of last year, outpacing total produce and fruit,” said Cassie Howard, senoir director of category management and Marketing at Sunkist Growers, Inc. “As we’ve seen the building up of consumer demand towards specialties, the Lunar New Year shopping season is a great event for retailers to promote in-stores to keep citrus top of mind.”
A recent Sunkist-commissioned study revealed when consumers were asked what advertisements incentivized direct citrus purchases, recipe inspiration and utilization tips were at the top of their lists. Sunkist’s merchandising program features interactive point-of-sale materials with scannable QR codes providing real-time recipe inspiration to shoppers.