Trend: luxury fruit. The haute couture of the shopping basket
A pineapple costing 370 euros, packaged in a chic red box that unfolds like origami, complete with ventilation holes. Or a melon costing 145 euros, carefully wrapped in foam netting. Welcome to the world of luxury fruit.
In parts of Asia, luxury fruits have been a status symbol for centuries, often given as gifts. Now this phenomenon is also beginning to gain ground in the West, starting in the United States. New fruit varieties with unique flavors and appearances are being introduced there, such as the Rubyglow pineapple with its red skin. After sixteen years of development, the – limited – supply sold there for astronomical amounts.
Japanese crown jewel
Luxury fruit belongs in the category of ‘couture food experiences’ with which people want to distinguish themselves in an increasingly homogeneous food culture. A crown jewel in this trend is the Japanese Crown Melon. This muskmelon grows in the sun-drenched Shizuoka Prefecture and is sweet, fragrant and perfectly shaped. Each vine bears just one melon, resulting in a concentrated flavor. Fitted with a carefully wrapped T-shaped stem, the price of this delicacy can rise to 145 euros apiece.
Berries grown in Japan, ranging from red to pink and even white, are sold for hundreds of euros in stylish boxes. American companies are cleverly capitalizing on the trend. A New Jersey company grows luxury strawberries on vertical farms. They started at 95 euros per pound, but have since had to lower their price somewhat. It remains a premium product, however.
Pineapple as a status symbol
The pineapple has always had something decadent about it. Once a symbol of power and abundance, this tropical fruit now comes in all kinds of exclusive varieties. Think of the Elefante Green Gold pineapple from Ghana with an edible core, or the Pinkglow pineapple from Costa Rica with soft pink flesh. The pièce de résistance is the Rubyglow, a pineapple with red skin and sweet yellow flesh. The price tag? 370 euros. You do get it without the crown, though, as that is reused for new specimens.
Luxury fruit will remain a niche for the time being, but it is a sign of the times. In a world where everything already seems to exist, even a pineapple becomes a statement. And honestly: who wouldn’t want to be the king or queen of the fruit bowl for a moment?
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- Emma’s food frustrations: fruit in my food
Image: Del Monte, source: ModMod
