Why your grocery store produce aisle now feels like a high-end fashion boutique

Produce is undergoing a transformation. From trademarked apples to branded tomatoes, fruits and vegetables are increasingly marketed as premium, protected products. This shift changes how we shop and what we pay for our daily greens.

The modern produce section is defined by superstar items like Honeycrisp apples, Cotton Candy grapes, and Cuties mandarin oranges. These products often carry trademarks or patent-like protections, allowing them to command higher prices than their generic counterparts. This branding trend has expanded beyond fruit, now dominating the tomato bin with varieties like Sugar Bombs, Flavor Bombs, Lolli Bombs, and Sprinkles.

Cornell agricultural economist Miguel Gomez examines the implications of this shift, specifically questioning whether the market for these branded fruits and vegetables is approaching a point of saturation. The evolution of these products includes notable developments like the Cosmic Crisp apple, which was created by Washington State University.

Source: Branded fruit: How produce got “Honeycrisp-ified" | Planet Money