Del Monte brings petite pineapples to market in effort to avoid waste

Del Monte Foods’ Honeyglow pineapples just got bigger by going even smaller.

The produce giant on Monday debuted its latest creation, Precious Honeyglow, a petite riff on Del Monte’s golden sweet pineapples, with the intent of meeting today’s consumer taste preferences and reducing food waste.

Weighing between 1.5 and 2 pounds, the tropical fruit is about half the size of traditional varieties and is marketed as the “most compact pineapple in Del Monte’s history.”

The Precious Honeyglow is available year-round, nationwide through specialty foods distributor Melissa’s Produce.

In recent years, Del Monte has experimented with smaller pineapple varieties, introducing the Mini Honeyglow to retailers in summer 2022, to meet changing consumer tastes and behaviors. 

As single-person households continue to rise, the demographic is less likely than multi-family households to buy standard pineapples, according to an internal survey conducted by the California-based company. One of the main reasons was to avoid wasting fruit.

“As the world’s top producer of fresh pineapples, Del Monte offers a wide range of options to suit consumer preferences, whether it’s a sweeter taste, sustainability benefits or a versatile range of sizes,” Melissa Mackay, Fresh Del Monte’s vice president of marketing for North America, said in a statement.

Grown on specialty farms in Costa Rica, Honeyglow pineapples are left to ripen a few extra days, which results in an extra sweet taste and vibrant hue. They come in regular and smaller sizes, including the mini and precious offerings.

Del Monte also has colorful proprietary Pinkglow and Rubyglow pineapples to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year.