HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
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DECEMBER2015
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ILLUSTRATIONBYCURTISPARKER
73
E
arly in the 20th century, the
bananahadan identitycrisis.In
the hundred years since it had
been introducedtotheU.S.mar-
ket,sales of this exotic fruit had soared,
but success came with a price. The
banana’s novelty factor had long been
amajor selling point, and familiarity
threatened tokilldemand.What todo?
Enter the all-powerfulUnitedFruit
Co.,whichheld a virtualmonopolyon
theAmericanbanana trade andwhich
very quickly took to producing evi-
dence attesting to the fruit’s healthful
qualities,delivered to the consumer in
“germ-proof packages”—aka thepeels.
So beganAmerica’s long and strange
infatuationwithmiracle foods.
Now, the cascade of grains, sprouts,
berries,roots,nuts,and leavespromising
ashortcut togoodhealth issorelentless
thatwe barely have time to learnhow
topronouncewhatwe shouldbeeating
before it is replacedby something else.
Chia seeds,quinoa,amaranth,goji ber-
ries, açaí—if they haven’t boosted our
well-being,theyhaveat leastpeppedup
ourScrabblegames.
“It’s a perfect storm,” says Suzy
Badaracco,thefounderoftrend-spotter
CulinaryTides,Inc.“Marketingpeople
and themedia love anything unusual,
with a great backstory, even if there
are local alternatives that make the
same health claims.And consumers
are always searching for that latest
superstar food.”
Badaracco, a trained criminalist—
“I went from tracking serial killers to
tracking cereal bars,”she says—is the
person foodcompanies callwhen they
need a 20-page report detailingwhen
kalewill be ousted by swiss chard, or
how quinoamay be elbowed aside by
freekeh, or why the next superberry
mightemerge fromScandinaviarather
than a tropical rainforest.
Right now, she reckons we should
brushuponAustralian finger limes or
practice asking for vegetable and fruit
hybridslikethepluot(plum-apricot)and
theBroccoflower(broccoli-cauliflower)
without stuttering. In themeantime,
America’s undisputed superfood du
jouristhecoconut—or,morespecifically,
the salty-sweet liquid at the coreof the
young,green fruit.
As with all comestibles of its kind,
coconutwater’s risecanbeattributed to
acombinationofscienceandshowbusi-
ness.Itisaggressivelysoldasa life-giving
elixir—a drink that can clear up acne,
cure hangovers, reduce bloodpressure,
andaidweightloss.Itisalsobeingtouted
bright ideas
industry
Coconut
Is the
NewKale
America’s race tofind
thenext big superfood
has spawned amultibillion
dollar industry that is half
science, half showbiz
BYBOYDFARROW
as nature’s sports drink, rich in electro-
lytesandpotassiumand free frompesky
added sugarsandartificial coloring.
And if we don’t believe the quasi-
scientific reports informing us of such
benefits, we can listen to the likes of
Rihanna andMadonna, boosters of
leadingcoconutwaterbrandVitaCoco.
Indeed, themarketingmachinebehind
this fluid has been so effective that,
littlemore than a decade after it was
launched as a packageddrink, coconut
water is shapingup tobecome a$1bil-
lion industry,promptingbeveragegiants
likeCoca-Cola (which swallowedNo.2
brandZico in2013) toenter the fray.
Inevitably,however, this year’s head-
linebeverage isbeing joinedbya rabble
of youngpretenders,alongwithone or
two tribute acts.An outfit called the
Vita-VEnergyCo.,for instance,recently
launched an “organic energy shot”with
baobabpulp fromAfrica’s “tree of life,”
said to be rich in potassium, calcium,
and vitaminC.AndNewYork–based
ElmhurstNaturalshas launchedaprod-
uct it callsBananaWater.
