Colombian producer to extend golden berry marketing across the U.S.
Colombia-based rare fruit specialist Global Agricultural Trading (GAT) is currently pushing forward with the marketing of its golden berries - also known as cape gooseberries and Physalis - and sees a big future throughout the U.S. 
Speaking to www.freshfruitportal.com at the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit in Anaheim, GAT general manager Robinson Martinez said it had taken a while for the fruit to gain market traction.
"It is a very new and different product," Martinez said.
"It's been a little bit difficult to introduce into the market because of the lack of brand awareness, but thanks to a range of educational programs people are understanding much more about the product - that's really helped a lot."
Martinez said demand had been growing encouragingly at around 7% annually and showed no signs of slowing down.
The company's website features various recipes showing consumers how to use the product, and some big names in the foodservice industry have also started to take up the fruit.
"Nowadays there are competitors, other big companies that are using the product, like Starbucks. So I think slowly but surely we're making the product more and more popular," Martinez said.
"It's a product that's going to give us an interesting future, and we're really hoping that it's going to be the next big super fruit to hit the market," Martinez said.
The fruit is grown in Cundinamarca, near the Colombian capital Bogota, where GAT has its own production and also works with a range of smaller Fair Trade-certified producers.
The golden berries are currently marketed in southern and northern California in the gourmet niche and high-end natural sectors, but Martinez said plans were on the cards to expand into the rest of the country.
"Thanks to a good relationship with a distribution company, we will soon have the opportunity to sell our product nationwide with them," he said.
"These products definitely have an interesting future, we're seen a lot of people who are interested in it."
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