Marketing functional fruit…The Truth About Acai

Acai Berries

With so much hype about anti-oxidants and the importance of incorporating fruit into your diet, I’ve noticed an influx of “super fruits” everywhere I go — at the grocery store, juice bars, sporting good stores and even the gym. These “functional” fruits marketed in fruit juices promise to get rid of cancer, prevent heart disease, help you loose weight, etc.

 

One of the more popular fruits right now is the Acai berry (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) from Brazil.  This little berry claims to kill pain, disease, and even malnutrition (seriously?). You may have first spotted the berry introduced in brands like Naked, Odwalla, Xango or Mangosteen. And brands like Bossa Nova market pure Acai juice in a small bottles you can chug.

This berry is causing quite the buzz and as a PR practitioner I was in awe, when I recently read an article in Newsweek on this simple berry’s latest high-end look and feel.  At a price point of $40 a bottle, a company called Mona Vie has packaged Acai’s juice like wine and markets to high profile executives.  Talk about marketing!

What is interesting is that apart from the followers who believe in this products health promoting value, there is a groundswell of controversy surrounding the berry and some folks are raising a red flag. In fact so vehemently, that they’ve created their own site against the berry – www.purplehorror.com.

To read the full Newsweek article click here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/150499?GT1=43002

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