A High Bar for Tropical Fruits

Health consciousness and the desire for new and distinctive flavors are big drivers behind the rise in tropical and exotic fruit consumption among U.S. consumers. As mouth-watering fruits like mango, papaya, and pineapple—all rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—increasingly find their way onto plates and into beverages, more and more food companies are looking to incorporate these ingredients into new products. 

Navigating the terrain of tropical and exotic fruits, however, can be tricky, says Kyra Appleby, innovation technologist at iTi Tropicals, a Lawrenceville, New Jersey-based company that specializes in sourcing, importing, and supplying premium tropical and exotic fruit purees, juices, and concentrates to the food and beverage industry. “Everything from extreme weather to crop losses can create roadblocks,” she says. “But by addressing these challenges and leveraging our clients’ expertise, we help them bring successful and innovative products to market.”

Below, Appleby highlights some of the biggest benefits of adding tropical and exotic fruits to a company’s product portfolio and discusses how she and her colleagues ease the way for customers. 

How can product developers tap into tropical and exotic fruits?

There are countless opportunities when it comes to product development. For health and wellness products, coconut water is ideal for sports drinks and hydration products. Tropical fruits like acai, guava, and passion fruit are perfect for health drinks and smoothies. Functional foods with tropical ingredients can offer benefits like improved digestion and immunity boosts. For gourmet and culinary innovations, tropical ingredients add unique flavors to sauces, desserts, and more. Fruits like passion fruit, mango, and pineapple provide sweetness and distinctive tastes. Vibrant colors from tropical fruits can be used as natural colorants, appealing to clean-label consumers. Dairy products and alternatives are another area where tropical fruits are winners. Coconut cream is great for yogurts, ice creams, and cheese alternatives, meeting vegan and lactose-free demand. Flexitarian diets blend animal-based protein with plant-based fat, such as skim milk with coconut cream. Our ingredients enhance dairy products like yogurts, ice creams, and coffee creamers with tropical flavors. Lastly, with functional and specialty foods, tropical fruits like banana, guava, and mango promote gut health in fermented products and prebiotic formulations. They are also key ingredients in energy bars and snacks for athletes and active individuals.

What are the biggest challenges of working with these fruits?

Working with tropical and exotic fruits involves navigating a complex landscape of challenges, including climate change impacts, short harvesting seasons, post-harvest losses, and market volatility. Climate change poses significant threats through temperature variability, altered rainfall patterns, extreme weather events, and phenomena like El Niño and La Niña, all of which can stress plants, disrupt growth cycles, destroy crops, and damage infrastructure. The short and specific harvesting seasons of many tropical fruits require precise timing to avoid significant yield losses and ensure peak ripeness for market delivery. Post-harvest losses are also a concern due to the high perishability of tropical fruits and the need for strict cold chain maintenance during transportation and storage. Market volatility is influenced by weather-related supply chain disruptions and seasonal fluctuations in consumer demand, leading to variable availability and prices.

How do you tackle these challenges? 

To address these challenges, we foster strong, long-term relationships with processors, enhancing communication for quick issue resolution. We facilitate knowledge sharing among supply partners, exchanging best practices and information on U.S. food regulations, sustainability, and social audits. When possible, we source products from multiple regions and climates to build climate resilience and reduce dependency on any single area. Our product forecasting and monitoring involve continuous communication with our network of processors on all supply chain aspects. We also collaborate with customers to predict their product needs for upcoming harvests, ensuring we secure the necessary inventory. These strategies help us manage the complexities of working with tropical fruits, delivering high-quality products with minimal disruption, and maintaining a competitive edge with strong, reliable supply chains. 

Talk about some of the ways iTi Tropicals is innovating in the exotic fruits space. 

We’re constantly exploring new methods to bring unique and high-quality fruit ingredients to the food and beverage industry, and we strive to discover products that meet our customers’ needs. Several examples come to mind. Our Frozen Filtered Coconut Water Concentrate, for example, is a 60ºBrix frozen product that undergoes an extra filtration step, resulting in a product with very low micro load and that is alicyclobacillus free. It’s also clarified, making it ideal for applications requiring low micro load or clarity, such as clear beverage applications. Another product is our 100% Coconut Milk Powder. Produced through spray drying, this powder has a fat content of 55% and serves as a convenient alternative to liquid coconut cream or milk. It offers versatility in applications and an extended shelf life. A third example is our Organic Green Banana Flour. This gluten-free option is made from organic green bananas, picked and dried before the starch can ripen into sugar, maximizing the level of resistant starch retained. 

How do you help clients with their product development? 

Our Quality Team and R&D Technologists staff provide valuable support in product formulation concepts. Recognizing that some of the fruits we offer are highly exotic, we assist customers with ideas for utilizing them in various applications. We can provide samples of our ingredients, application samples, and presentations for application ideation and educational purposes. We also offer technical support related to product development, formulation, and production. Our sales team plays a crucial role in supporting customers by maintaining close relationships and collaborating closely with them. They offer personalized support and guidance to help customers integrate our unique ingredients into their products seamlessly. They also work hand in hand with our innovation and quality team to bring new concepts, ideas, recipes, technical expertise, and support to the customer base. 

Learn more about iTi Tropicals and its products and services here.