You might be inclined to skip past them. Probably because you assume they “look great but taste like a chunk of wood,” as Shawn Baldwin, Walmart’s senior vice president of produce and global food sourcing, told Bloomberg.
But Walmart believes you’d be missing out if you decide to pass on them this winter.
That’s because the retail giant spent the last six months narrowing down its top 20 selections from roughly 100 cantaloupe seed varieties, and after careful taste trials, staff picked one expected to taste as good as a summer melon even in the dead of winter.
The newly chosen cantaloupes, which are not genetically engineered, were selected to withstand a long trip to U.S. stores while still delivering the flavor of melons grown in-season domestically.
Walmart even christened the melons with a special name — Sweet Spark — which prevailed over the alternative title, Winter Wonder.
But Walmart, Were the Cantaloupes Really Worth the Effort?
The specialty melons, roughly 40% sweeter than Walmart’s current winter cantaloupe offering, will be exclusive to Walmart locations. The chain will initially stock the fruit in 200 stores with a broader rollout scheduled this fall, according to Bloomberg.
It’s not yet clear how the price of this new cantaloupe will compare to what Walmart previously offered, though we don’t get the sense it will be drastically different for shoppers’ budgets.
Still, I have a couple of questions:
Why devote so much time and resources to cantaloupes?
Doesanyonereally enjoy cantaloupes?
Let’s be frank. Aren’t cantaloupes mostly the filler fruit we toss into a fruit salad to bulk it up, then grumble when they block the way to the grapes or strawberries?
Walmart, I respect the effort to bring sweet fruit to winter months, but I’d argue that energy might have been better invested in ensuring my pineapples stay sweet all year. Just a thought.
Jordan Meyer is a staff writer at Savinly. They’re ready to take a firm stand against cantaloupes and much of the melon family, even when those fruits are in season.
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