Florida has long been the world leader in grapefruit production, however production in this region is now unrecognisable compared to just two or three years ago. Citrus greening - a disease which damages the size, shape and taste of the fruit, also causing fruit drop and poor yields, is one of the contributing factors which has led to increasing production costs. This, combined with low juice consumption, the disastrous hurricanes of 2004 and hurricane Irma, has meant a drastic reduction in the supply of fruit.
From 10.8 million boxes in 2015/2016 to 4.9 million in 2017/2018, we’re looking at a huge 55% reduction in grapefruit crops in just the last two years. As a result, we’re seeing dramatic reductions in the availability of grapefruit oil on the market and prices like those witnessed after the hurricanes of 2004.
What’s being done?
Our global strategic procurement team watch the market and have anticipated this change for some time. They have planned accordingly, working alongside our global technical team to ensure our customers have a range of alternative price-stable solutions that are more cost effective and sustainable than true grapefruit oil, whilst importantly still delivering on flavour.
The natural solutions selected use a blend of sustainable, alternative oils with similar properties to grapefruit and have been created to deliver the same recognisable characteristics of true grapefruit oil, whilst still being natural in status.
Our nature identical products are made using synthetic ingredients and have been carefully crafted to behave, perform and look like the pure materials found in nature. These solutions can be used independently or as a base to build more complex flavours. As they are synthetic, these products aren’t subject to the same price volatility and limited availability of naturals.
If you’d like to find out more about these sustainable grapefruit solutions please do get in touch. You can also sign up to receive our marketing intelligence report (scroll to the bottom of the page), to keep up to speed with what’s happening in the market.