Homegrown Organic Farms is ready to make some big news in the world of kiwis—literally. The company will be introducing its new Mammoth Kiwi brand during the Organic Produce Summit in Monterey, CA, Sept. 15-16.

Stephen Paul, category director at Homegrown Organic Farms, described the Mammoth as a jumbo kiwi variety from Greece that Homegrown Organic Farms introduced last year, but without the Mammoth brand, which is a new initiative that is designed to help make these fruits popular across the country.

“It has a big wooly mammoth on the logo, so it’s going to have a character and identity to it,” Paul said. “The kiwis are massive, and kiwis are furry, so we decided to call it the Mammoth. It’s big on size; it’s big on flavor; and it’s big on nutrition; so we thought the name was ideal for it. We’re excited to get it launched.”

Stephen Paul, Category Director, Homegrown Organic Farms

He noted that the Mammoth is significantly larger than typical kiwis, comparing the difference in size from a standard kiwi to the Mammoth to the difference in size between a dime and a quarter. It will be available in single-layer, volume-filled, and one-pound clamshell offerings.

“The kiwis are massive, and kiwis are furry, so we decided to call it the Mammoth. It’s big on size; it’s big on flavor; and it’s big on nutrition; so we thought the name was ideal for it.” -Stephen Paul

Establishing a brand and an identity creates expectations for customers, who after buying and enjoying the Mammoth Kiwi will want to have the same eating experience with repeat purchases, and Paul said people who buy the Mammoth can expect consistency.

“It is consistently large; it is consistently delicious; and it is consistently higher in nutritional value,” he said. “All of those things warranted it having its own brand and its own identity. If we didn’t feel it was notably different, then we wouldn’t have gone to this level.”

The pandemic-related increase in consumer interest in healthy foods is another factor that contributed to the Mammoth brand.

“It is consistently large, it is consistently delicious, and it is consistently higher in nutritional value.” -Stephen Paul

“When you talk about the health attributes of a kiwi, they’re quite good,” Paul said. “And it’s still a fruit that is gaining in popularity here but is basically under-marketed in many ways. It has wonderful opportunities to add to our fall lineup for us. We start our fall lineup with Asian pears, which we’re doing now; then we move into pomegranates; and then we roll into kiwis and persimmons.”

“[The Mammoth] fits our narrative. It fits our offerings very well and gives us that great transition from summer fruit to fall fruit, which leads right into winter citrus,” Paul said. “It’s a great opportunity to enhance our fall offerings.”

Paul said the Mammoth will be available from October to about mid-February, and he expects it to be a festive addition to many meals and celebrations at Christmas time.

“You’ve got pomegranate red, and then when you slice a kiwi, you get that beautiful vibrant green,” Paul said. “It’s a nice addition to salads and meals during the holidays when food and family are the pinnacles of celebrations.”

The Mammoth represents Homegrown Organic Farms’ first foray into the kiwi market, and the item is a natural fit for a company that is progressive and dedicated to trying new things.

Paul said the Mammoth will be available from October to about mid-February, and he expects it to be a festive addition to many meals and celebrations at Christmas time.

“We are not afraid to bring on an organic category to the mix if it adds value to our customers and makes sense to the branding of the company,” Paul said. “So last year was our first year with kiwis. We had customers asking us to enhance our fall fruit, so the kiwi was a perfect opportunity.”

And it’s an opportunity that Homegrown Organic Farms is taking on in a significant way.

“We went big,” Paul said. “Go big or go home, right?”