“The Delite mandarin brand is defined by very stringent product specifications,” explains George Haggar CEO at Nutrano Produce Group. “The heart of the specification is that it is seedless with a certain juice content and sweetness of the fruit must reach the specification. These specifications ensure consistency for consumers who are very discerning about brands in all sectors of produce. Peelability, seedlessness and sweetness are the Holy Grail in the mandarin game, and we think we are close to achieving this.”

Nutrano has been growing and marketing the Delite brand for six years and this season a 20% uplift in production is forecast on last year.  Nutrano is forecasting 22 million individual Delite mandarins will be sold this year. The increase comes from orchards coming into mature production and culmination of hard work from Nutrano’s Delite grower base. “We are very passionate about our alliance with Woolworths and excited by the increase in consumer following for the Delite brand. Year after year we find we have more orders than we have supply and when you have that situation you need to keep investing to give consumers what they want."

2/3 of production comes from Nutrano’s own orchards in Sunraysia and the other third from our strategic partners. “The mandarins are grown across three regions, Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia, this helps with timing but also with logistics to reach consumers across Australia starting through to November. Supply will come from the US when Australia is out of season with programs from Delite brand founder Mulholland Citrus.