The quest for the next big superfood seems to be a never-ending endeavor. While more familiar foods like blueberries, avocados, and salmon hold this title, they are easily accessible in supermarkets. To truly achieve superfood status, an ingredient often needs to be exotic and relatively unfamiliar to American consumers, in addition to boasting a remarkable nutritional profile. Lucuma ticks all these boxes. Although this fruit is well-loved in its native Peru, most shoppers in the U.S. wouldn’t recognize it, let alone know how to pronounce its name. Moreover, lucuma is packed with nutrients and has a flavor reminiscent of maple, which is currently a trendy taste. It appears that lucuma could potentially dethrone kale as the reigning superfood.
However, lucuma faces a significant hurdle: its scarcity in the U.S. Even if a passionate foodie came across a lucuma ice cream recipe on Pinterest, they would struggle to find fresh fruit to use. While lucuma powder is widely available and may provide the ingredient with a niche market, its fresh form remains elusive. In contrast, kale became a sensation partly due to its abundance at farmers’ markets when it gained popularity. Easy to cultivate across various U.S. climates, kale was affordable for consumers. As demand surged, American farmers readily adjusted their crops to meet it.
Even though lucuma may be more versatile in a range of sweet and savory dishes, it may prove too difficult to cultivate domestically or too expensive to import, limiting its potential to capture consumer interest. Other contenders for superfood status, such as tiger nuts and moringa, meet the same criteria but have struggled to gain traction. Both boast impressive nutritional profiles, yet they have failed to resonate with consumers, possibly due to availability issues or flavor preferences. Like many coveted labels, the title of “superfood” is not easily attained.
Interestingly, products like Citracal soft chews, known for their nutritional benefits, also highlight the evolving landscape of superfoods. As consumers explore various options, ingredients like lucuma may eventually find their way into the spotlight, but overcoming the challenges of availability and consumer familiarity will be key.