There are fruits that have never had a perception problem. People like them, they have a positive image, and consumers quickly associate them with freshness, quality, and healthy eating.
The pomegranate is one of them.
It’s eye-catching, versatile, adds color and texture, and fits perfectly with increasingly established consumer trends. The problem has never been the product itself. The problem, more often than not, has been everything that comes before you eat it.
Opening it, shelling it, getting your hands dirty, or spending time preparing it are small barriers that, although they may seem minor, end up having a much greater impact than we realize on purchasing decisions and consumption frequency.
And that’s where fresh-cut produce completely changes the equation.
Convenience is also part of quality
For years, when we talked about fruit quality, almost the entire conversation revolved around taste, freshness, origin, or appearance.
Today, consumers still value all of that, but there is another factor that is becoming increasingly important: ease of use.
It’s not always enough for a product to be good. It also has to fit into today’s lifestyle. In the case of pomegranates, this is especially evident. When the product is presented ready-to-eat, clean, and prepared, it ceases to be a fruit associated with a specific occasion and becomes part of everyday life. And that opens up new opportunities for consumption.
Breakfasts, salads, snacks, side dishes, or quick recipes that most likely didn’t include pomegranates before, simply because preparing them took too much time.
We’re seeing this clearly in the fresh-cut produce category
At Peris, we have been observing a very positive trend in the ready-to-eat pomegranate market for some time now.
During the domestic season, from September through January, growth had already been solid. In the last season, sales increased by 37.8% in terms of kilograms sold compared to the same period the previous year, while revenue grew by more than 20%. But perhaps the most interesting developments are taking place outside the domestic season.
Between February and May, coinciding with the import season, sales increased by 115% in terms of kilograms sold, and revenue rose by 81% compared with the same period the previous year.
Beyond the percentages, the message is clear: consumers want to continue finding this product and keep incorporating it into their routine when it comes in a convenient, practical, and ready-to-eat format. However, it’s important to put these figures into context. Pomegranates remain a niche item within the fresh-cut fruit category and are far from the sales volumes achieved by categories such as cantaloupe, watermelon, or pineapple. That is precisely why its growth is so interesting: we’re not talking about a mass-market product, but rather a category with room for growth when quality, convenience, and a clear value proposition for the consumer come together.
Ready-to-eat products expand the range of categories with potential
Pomegranate is a very clear example of something we’re seeing more and more in the industry: products that are well-received can grow even more when barriers to consumption are removed.
And that’s where the fresh-cut produce sector has enormous potential for growth.
It’s not just about convenience. It’s about making certain fruits available at more times of the day, to a wider range of consumers, and for more months of the year.
In categories like this, convenience doesn’t replace quality. It complements it.
Because consumers continue to demand flavor, freshness, texture, and food safety. But they also want solutions that fit their lifestyle.
Product Quality, Consistency, and Performance
At Peris, we process fresh-cut pomegranates with a focus on precisely that combination of quality and ease of consumption.
From the selection of raw materials to processing in the clean room, the goal is to preserve the product’s natural characteristics, maintaining its texture, color, and freshness so that it reaches the consumer with all its properties intact. And that requires particularly precise control when dealing with a product as sensitive as the pomegranate, where factors such as oxidation, moisture, and preservation directly influence the final experience.
That’s why there’s much more to a ready-to-eat tub than just a convenient format. It involves product selection, processing, quality control, and product knowledge.
Innovation also means breaking down barriers
Often, when we talk about innovation in the food industry, we automatically think of new products or complex technologies. But from our perspective, innovation is also about something much simpler: ensuring that good fruit is consumed more and in a better way. And the evolution of pomegranates in the fresh-cut category demonstrates exactly that.
