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Where have all the super fruits gone?

May 29, 2011 by Suzy Badaracco — President, Culinary Tides Inc

There are countless TV shows investigating what happened to former child stars and …Where Are They Now! They go something like this;

The top 5 troubled child stars
Was so-and-so the brightest child star of them all?
Former child stars and where are they now?

Some child stars ended up in trouble, some disappeared, and others grew up and became successful adult actors. What if that same microscope was applied to the super fruits trend? Do not make the mistake of thinking because a fruit ends up in this classification that they have similar personalities or lifecycles. They behave more like siblings – each with its own personality and life path set before it.

Some super fruits finished high school, got married, a job, had kids, and lived quietly, while others went onto college and a professional career - equally happy. Meanwhile, a few others fell into bad company through greedy marketing schemes which crossed the FDA or FTC, tsk, tsk. Still others became stuck in particular character rolls which they cannot seem to break out of so their careers are stunted and their limited growth. The last class of characters are the second string child actors – the ones we didn’t pay much attention to - but then came out ahead as adults and rocketed to stardom later.

Let’s take them one by one.

First are the ones who got married and lived a quiet life. This could be personified by the Goji berry. It came in, made a splash, and then faded quietly. Its problem? One could not find it in its raw form, nor would one want to. No, it came to us most commonly in its dried form – sour and shriveled. Not exactly the “gotta have more of that” reaction marketers would have liked.

Then the bad boys of child super fruit stars splashed the news. Both acai and pomegranate are fighting battles with government. To put it more accurately, the corporations marketing products touting these ingredients are the ones engaging government. Currently, the FTC seeks to halt 10 operators from making deceptive claims about Acai berry weight loss products. Regarding pomegranate, the FTC says POM Wonderful LLC doesn’t have the scientific backing to make advertising claims that its pomegranate juice and supplements prevent or treat prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction and heart disease, and is insistently seeking new legal ground against advertisers.

Included in the group of super fruits who grew up and continued with an adult career would be Yuzu and the Blood Orange. Not only do they both keep making the Top 10 lists each year, but they actually can be found in the grocery store and on restaurant menus. They also both easily play on both the cocktail and food menus at restaurants. Being found in the grocery store is a particularly important contributing factor for lifecycle lengthening. The more interaction a consumer can have with the actual fruit, the better chance it has of staying in their mind.

In the stunted group one finds Baobab, Yumberry, Cupuacu, and Dragon Fruit. Yes, they make top 10 lists most years but have you actually ever seen one or eaten one in its raw state here in the USA? Recognized it on a plate in a restaurant? Or are your experiences with them limited to seeing the name on a label or reading about it in a magazine? These are either very hard to get a hold of in the USA or they may not be easy to eat or not meant to be eaten in the raw state, or are unfamiliar to Americans - thus they remain limited.

Blueberries are the poster child for the second string child star who finally shines as an adult. Their only crimes are that they are native and humble, but in fact they kick most super fruits butt when it comes to outshining them with their antioxidant levels.

As for new child stars to watch, I would keep my eyes out for Golden Kiwi and Hibiscus (yes it is a flower how do you think a fruit starts?). Both can be grown in the United States, are readily found in grocery or garden stores, and are familiar to Americans while still offering an exotic feel, look and experience. They are a triple threat within the super fruit crowd.