Going for Gold
Gold Nugget is a seedless, sweet madarin named after its bright orange colour and slightly bumpy rind. Its season is in full swing right now, with fruit available at all leading retail stores across the country.
The hybrid is a cross between two non-commercial tangerine varieties: the Wilking and Kincy and was originally developed by the University of California at Riverside Breeding Programme. Freshmax is a licensed marketer of this variety in Australia and New Zealand.
Growers of this fruit are very excited about this variety and look forward to a great season. “Whilst I grow a variety of mandarins, Gold Nugget is without doubt my favourite citrus. It has that traditional mandarin flavour that is unbeatable. Its bumpy golden skin makes it easy-to-peel, while its flavour has a good balance of sweetness and tartness.”, says Leon Caccaviello, Chetwynd Park Orchards.
Freshmax’s IP & Commercialisation Manager, Andrew Maughan, is very confident about the future potential of this variety and the opportunity it represents. “They’re truly seedless, have all of the robust, sweet flavours that you could possibly want, and they have a crisp and refreshing texture.” This Californian gem is considered by professional taste panels to be one of the most flavoursome mandarins in the world” (www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/goldnugget.html). “With its good looks and fantastic taste, we are confident that it will capture the attention of Australian consumers in a very short span of time,” continues Maughan.
“With soaring popularity of this mandarin variety in global markets, we are proud to be the major marketer of this variety in Australia,” says William Snell, GM Sales, Freshmax Australia. “We are receiving great response from the retailers nationally as Gold Nugget’s characteristics make it a great fit for Australian consumers, evidenced by the strong instore uptake of the variety,” adds Snell.
With Gold Nugget, Freshmax also maintains its tradition of innovative brand campaigning. “Freshmax believes that a sound CSR strategy is a crucial component of a company’s competitiveness and we try to showcase this by collaborating with community partners as an integral part of the campaign. This year, the Gold Nugget campaign will be supporting the Kidney Health Australia initiative by providing mandarins to all participants of the charity runs and walks nationwide,” says Sona Padman, Campaign Manager, Freshmax Australia. Along with Above-the-line and Below-the-line promotions, this year’s campaign will also focus on a more targeted approach within the digital space. “Social media and YouTube have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Our aim with this year’s Gold Nugget campaign is to start to leverage these channels in a very niche and targeted way,” adds Padman.
Gold Nugget forms one of three licensed IP (Intellectual Property) citrus brands driven by Freshmax in the Australian and New Zealand markets. The others, Tangold seedless™ and Sumo Citrus® continue to go from strength to strength each year as Freshmax continues to challenge the need for an improved eating experience through easier peel, better flavour and considerably better degrees of seedlessness. Gold Nugget is traded within and exported from the New Zealand market under the brand of NZ Nugget™.