CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The world's leading vertically integrated producer of high-quality fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables is joining forces with the nation's largest distributor of specialty produce to offer fresh pineapple lovers an entirely new size option.
This week, Fresh Del Monte unveils Del Monte Precious Honeyglow, a personal-size fresh pineapple that is available nationwide year-round exclusively through Melissa's Produce.
Fresh Del Monte's new Precious Honeyglow is the latest in the company's line of Honeyglow pineapples, which offer a distinctly sweeter taste than traditional pineapples. Grown at specialty farms in Costa Rica, Del Monte Honeyglow pineapples are left to mature and ripen naturally on the plant for a few extra days, resulting in an extra sweet taste and radiant golden hue.
Precious Honeyglow is the most compact pineapple in Del Monte history, weighing between 1.5 and 2 pounds, about half the average weight of a full size traditional fresh pineapple. The smaller Del Monte Precious Honeyglow is designed to offer consumers more choices in the variety and size of their fresh whole pineapple, to suit taste preferences and reduce food waste.
"As the world's top producer of fresh pineapples, Del Monte offers a wide range of options to suit consumer preferences, whether it's a sweeter taste, sustainability benefits or a versatile range of sizes," said Melissa Mackay, Fresh Del Monte's vice president of marketing, North America. "Our new Precious Honeyglow delivers everything that people love about Del Monte Honeyglow pineapples, such as its extra sweet taste and distinct color, in a compact single-serving size."
Single-person households are on the rise in the U.S, with more than 28% of American households now occupied by a single person – the second largest proportion of the population. The shrinking size of U.S. households is contributing to greater food waste due to spoilage, which according to the USDA's Economic Research Service, results in 133 billion pounds of food wasted annually, at a value of approximately $161 billion. Internal surveys conducted by Fresh Del Monte show that single-person households are significantly less likely than multiple-person households to prefer full-size whole pineapples, specifically to avoid wasting fruit.
