The dehydrated fruit market is growing in line with increased demand for convenience. Just last year, Rock Garden Herbs ran into the opportunity to expand into this segment. “It aligned with our goal to grow our product line,” says Jeff Bruff with Florida-based Rock Garden Herbs, a subsidiary of Coosemans Worldwide. “Although we envisioned how to bring a dehydrated fruit product to market, we first ran the idea by some of our retail customers,” he added. Not just any retailer, but specifically retailers that own liquor stores.

The plan was to bring a combination pack of different dehydrated fruit slices to market, ideal to add to different cocktail drinks. “Think of hard liquor drinks like Sangrias, Margaritas, and Vodka Martinis,” mentioned Bruff. For that reason, conversations were started with retailers who own liquor stores as the state of Florida requires hard liquor to be sold in standalone liquor stores.

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Holidays and major sports events
The concept was well received and the team at Rock Garden Herbs collaborated with a distributor. About nine months from the start, 380 stores across Florida are now supplied with party mixes. The new product was launched right before the major holidays last year, which turned out to be favorable timing. “Based on the first six to nine months, we can tell the dehydrated party mixes are a good hit around major sports events as well as holidays,” said Bruff. For these type of events, people get together in larger groups. As a result, larger packaging is preferred over small-size packages. “Initially, we started with small packages that would serve about two cocktail drinks, but we’ve branched out into party packs.” These larger packs do well as they contain enough ingredients for about 30 cocktail drinks.

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Different mixes for different cocktail drinks.

The mixes contain different citrus fruits including oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, lemons and limes. In addition, some mixes contain dehydrated apples and pears. “We’ve developed mixes with different ingredients, depending on the cocktail family.” Most product is sourced in Guatemala with smaller volumes coming from California and Thailand. The fruits are dehydrated in the country of origin and brought into the U.S. by container load.

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Most product is sourced and dehydrated in Guatemala.

Topping a cocktail with a dehydrated citrus wheel infuses the drink with subtle sweetness and enhances the visual appeal. “It’s a nice and convenient way to elevate your cocktail and bring it to the next level.”

For more information:
Jeff Bruff
Rock Garden Herbs
Tel: (+1) 305-477-8833
[email protected]
www.rockgardenherbs.com