Del Monte’s Rubyglow Pineapple Can Set You Again Practically $400

Have you ever ever noticed a ripe pineapple on the grocery retailer and located your self disenchanted by how yellow it was? In all probability not — however that hasn’t stopped Contemporary Del Monte from innovating sudden new styles of tropical fruit to shock and delight shoppers. The worldwide produce large has introduced that the Rubyglow, its uncommon proprietary pineapple with a pink shell and candy yellow flesh, is now obtainable within the U.S. market. 

The brand new fruit was first unveiled in January of this 12 months and was initially solely obtainable in China. Its launch there was timed to coincide with the Lunar New 12 months, a splashy debut as Del Monte made its very first entry into the Chinese language market. 

Now, the Rubyglow, which Del Monte refers to as its “most unique, high-end pineapple,” can be obtainable at choose grocery shops nationwide, or on-line through specialty produce retailers. And so they actually received’t come low-cost: The press launch additional describes the Rubyglow as an “ultra-premium luxurious ‘designer’ fruit that appeals to high-end shoppers” and has a hefty price ticket to match. (The precise costs can be set by the retailers, however the Pittsburgh Submit-Gazette famous a worth of $125 for anybody who joins the worldwide waitlist; whereas Melissa’s Produce is presently promoting it for $396.) The fruit, offered with out its spiky crown, is individually packaged in a wonderful field that unfolds nearly like origami. 

“This Del Monte unique pineapple additional cements our international management place within the pineapple market,” mentioned Contemporary Del Monte CEO Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh within the press launch on the time. “Our scientists proceed to raise the bar by creating new pineapple varieties, with assorted tastes and colours, that cater to increasingly shoppers worldwide.”

What makes Rubyglow so costly? For one factor, it’s scarcer than simply about some other produce you eat. The press launch notes that there’ll solely be 5,000 Rubyglows obtainable this 12 months, and solely 3,000 in 2025. They’re grown in Costa Rica, and the patented selection is a cross-breed of a conventional pineapple and a Morada pineapple; every one takes a very long time to domesticate, and Contemporary Del Monte notes the method is “difficult.” It’s unclear whether or not that’s the rationale for the restricted seed provide, or whether or not the corporate has maybe manufactured this shortage to drive up costs of the novelty merchandise — possibly some mixture of each. Regardless, it’s been within the works for 15 years. 

As famous by Abu-Ghazaleh, Contemporary Del Monte has been turning out many distinctive pineapple choices lately. In March, the corporate debuted the Valuable Honeyglow pineapple, a “personal-sized” fruit excellent for single-serving consumption. The product boasts a barely sweeter style, however Del Monte additionally positioned it as a strategy to scale back family meals waste. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, the model launched Grandissimo Gold pineapples in 2022, that are alleged to be twice as candy as a conventional pineapple and have large-format sizes to encourage artistic cooking functions. 

Del Monte has been enjoying round with coloration for some time, too. In 2020, Pinkglow pineapples first hit the market, and so they’re form of the other of the Rubyglow: Whereas the latter has a pink shell and the everyday yellow pineapple flesh, Pinkglows have a typical shell and a brilliant pink inside. 

“As with all Del Monte pineapples and different Contemporary Del Monte merchandise, Rubyglow pineapples comply with sustainable practices for planting, harvesting, and transporting,” the press launch notes.

Now the query is… would you spend your hard-earned wages on it?