As Dragon Fruit Continues to Trend, Frieda’s Continues Decades of Category Leadership; Alex Jackson Comments

LOS ALAMITOS, CA - Dragon fruit is steadily becoming a household name across food and beverage. Only last month, Kerry’s 2026 Taste Charts named dragon fruit as a key flavor trend, thanks to its growing use in beverages and confections.

For produce retailers evaluating trends, there are plenty of reasons why dragon fruit is more than a fad. A 17% growth rate in new product launches through 2025 indicates that consumers are growing more familiar with this funny-looking fruit. That familiarity creates strong merchandising potential and repeat-sale opportunities.

Seizing the moment to maximize dragon fruit sales.

To really leverage dragon fruit’s popularity, it’s important to have reliable quality, a stable supply, and a supplier who’s been there, growing demand over time. These are all areas where Frieda’s Branded Produce stands apart. While trend headlines about dragon fruit are exciting, the fruit slowly and steadily gained its true footing in the supply chain. From warehouses to Asian markets to supercenter arrays of exotic produce, decades of execution and consumer education led the way.

Long-Term Category Building is the Source of Dragons’ Magic.

Frieda’s introduced dragon fruit to U.S. shoppers in the 1970s, and today, the company is the fastest-selling dragon fruit brand, with volume growth that outperforms avocados and the total tropical category. These are the results of long-running investments in brand, consumer education and merchandising support that planted seeds for future trends.

Frieda’s has an entire line of branded dragon fruit designed to keep consumer curiosity high, with innovative branding that makes them easy to recognize and add to the cart.

• Frieda's Snow Dragons® have pink skin and white, seed-speckled flesh that come to mind when most shoppers think of dragon fruit. Snow dragon fruit’s mild and refreshing flavor makes it perfect for salads, salsas and smoothies, and as garnish for cocktails.

• Frieda’s Honey Dragons® are the sweetest dragon fruit, with a brix level of 23. They feature vibrant yellow skin with white flesh, and a flavor that enhances desserts, snacking and other dragon fruit recipes.

• Frieda’s Fire Dragons® fruit have juicy, bright-magenta flesh and a sweet, slightly earthy flavor. They make an appetizing addition to salsas, fruit salads, smoothies and cocktails.

Each dragon fruit variety also has a whimsical, otherworldly beauty that makes it an eye-pleasing and edible table decoration.

“Dragon fruit is trending now, but this category has been a long game for us,” said Alex Jackson, Frieda’s Vice president of sales and marketing, in the recent release. “We’re here to help our customers create repeat purchases through consistency, turning short-term wins to long-term consumer habits.”

As dragon fruit grows as a category, Frieda’s stays focused on buyer priorities: dependable performance, practical category guidance and planning that sustains demand over time. Its full category support model combines variety, continuous supply, and high quality, along with strategic, shopper-facing brand identity and education.

Frieda’s has built a strong reputation as a dragon fruit pioneer in the U.S. For retailers, its credibility is built on years of successful dragon fruit programs and ethically sourced fruit. Frieda’s invests in grower relationships for the long term. With years of steady, fair partnership behind them, these growers know the value of consistency over short-term market spikes. The resulting discipline in Frieda’s dragon fruit programs brings consistency. That provides valuable predictability for retailers who can commit to having promotable dragon fruit on shelves every day.

Advance pricing isn’t easy when categories are still developing, but Frieda’s stability in quality, fill rates, and in-store program performance make it possible. Their dragon fruit continues to outperform prior year sales volume. Frieda’s track record for advancing consistency, rotation, and supply chain fundamentals ensures that retail partners can count on continued sales growth.

Looking ahead, Frieda’s expects healthy dragon fruit growth in 2026. Retailers who want to convert consumer interest in dragon fruit into repeat sales should reach out to their Frieda’s sales representative. For more information on our branded dragon fruit lineup, visit Friedas.com.