Southern Specialties: Tropicals continue to be a growth phenomenon
Southern Specialties: Tropicals continue to be a growth phenomenon
Savvy companies like Pompano Beach, FL-based Southern Specialties stay on top of movements in order to continually provide their customers with the specialty items that are trending at all times.
Charlie Eagle, vice president of business development for the leading grower, importer and distributor of specialty produce, told The Produce News that the tropicals category continues to be a growth phenomenon in produce aisles and on foodservice menus.
“Southern Specialties has been committed to tropical products for many years, and we continue to see growth in the category,” said Eagle. “We see the tropical arena as an area for growth, and therefore continue to make investments in the category.”
He added that tropical fruits are a great dessert option for chefs to offer on their menus.
“We are seeing more papayas offered in retail stores with increasingly more space for the commodity,” said Eagle. “We offer Golden Solo papaya, which is smaller so more convenient for individual consumers. Our large papayas are Maradol and Formosa. These are ideal for larger families and also good for including in recipes. Our organic papayas are the Maradol variety. This is a new item Southern Specialties introduced in the past 10 months. We were one of the first companies to offer organic papaya.”
The company’s papayas are grown in Guatemala and Mexico.
In the tropical category, the company also grows, imports and markets mangos, starfruit, limes and avocados.
“Florida starfruit just ended for the season,” said Eagle. “Its second season of the year will begin in July.
“Mangos from Peru have also ended and we have transitioned into mangos from Mexico and Guatemala,” he continued. “Volumes have been limited during transition periods.”
The backbone of Southern Specialties’ mango line includes Tommy Atkins and Kent varieties.
Southern Specialties has over 25 years of experience in offshore production, importing, processing and distributing.
During the course of the year the company is involved in growing and shipping fruits and vegetables from 10 different countries, including in several regions in Guatemala.
“Our Guatemalan limes have high juice content,” Eagle noted. “They are great for cocktails, marinades and deserts.”
He also pointed out that cold fronts this year have affected many commodities.
“Fortunately, we have not seen a decrease in papaya volumes,” he said. “The biggest issue has been fruit coming in smaller sizes.”
