The picking season for The Chosen Ones® (TCO) golden nectarines begins in the third week of December. The taste and quality of the TCO stone fruit this season has consistently exceeded market expectations. Despite a late start to the Australian stonefruit season this year, the TCO golden nectarines are larger in size than last season, with most fruit over 67mm in size and an average Brix range of 14-24.
This season, the QFM packing factories have introduced automatic packing machines to save labor and also ensure the consistency of fruit quality. The automatic packaging machine largely eliminates human error in the traditional packaging process, and at the same time improves the display appearance, while the process is simplified and the packaging speed is improved. The purpose of this investment is to elevate the consumer experience to a higher level so that TCO can continue to surprise customers year after year.
The Chosen Ones® golden nectarines are great not only for their high sugar content but also for their naturally rich, mango-like aroma. Whether it is fresh and crispy, or sweet and juicy after being stored for a few days, it is very suitable for consumers. Consumers can purchase TCO golden nectarines at high-end retail supermarkets in China such as Sam's Club, City Super and Ole. In addition, TCO is also available in Wellcome Supermarket in Hong Kong, China, and high-end retailers in Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
However, the season has been challenging with significant increases in freight costs for fuel, fertilizers, labor, and air and sea freight. Faced with these challenges, QFM is committed to saving costs through a highly productive operation, including careful pruning and picking off what Tim Allen, the General Manager of Operations describes as "big, sweet and hard fruits."
Michael Trautwein, the general manager of QFM Variety Management (QVM), said that QVM is building the largest testing ground for stone fruit varieties in the southern hemisphere, which will include red apricots, purple nectarines and other future stars that are game-changers in the industry.
Michael also mentioned that in the near future, QVM will be releasing early-ripening Sicily Blood Oranges, which will be the world's first commercially available purple oranges. This variety has tender flesh, a sweet taste, is large, easy to peel, and seedless. As an early-ripening breed, it has great potential to surpass other breeds of the same supply period.
QVM's parent company, Eternal Fresh, has an exclusive license to market and/or breed all these future varieties, will invest heavily in R&D and new technology development, and they know what it takes to consistently produce world-class fruit to lead the industry.
Eternal Fresh's Chinese export arm, China Marketing Solutions (CMS), will start shipping prunes and Queen Garnet to Chinese consumers in large amounts from late January. The quality of these two fruits this year is also worth looking forward to. Although the fruit season is late, they are better than previous years in terms of color, sugar content, hardness and taste.
Source: The Chosen Ones®