Braspberries, Blueberry-Stuffed Raspberries, Are Very Real
Fruit brand Driscoll’s is bringing Justin Timberlake’s berry creation to the grocery store.
From boy band hits to motion picture stardom to solo Super Bowl performances (and scandals!), Justin Timberlake already has plenty of recognizable achievements to hang his hat on. But in the world of fruit, his legacy may just be starting. Last year, the pop star when viral with an Instagram video praising the simplicity of shoving a blueberry into a raspberry and eating them together—a concoction he dubbed a “braspberry.” Now, one of America’s best-known fruit companies, Driscoll’s, has made brasperries a prepackaged reality.
This week, Driscoll’s turned to the same social network that Timberlake used to make braspberries famous—Instagram—to tease its latest creation. “New berry launch!” the brand wrote. “Fresh from the farm, #Braspberries are an out of this world flavor combination! @justintimberlake, be on the lookout in a grocery store near you.” Indeed, the corresponding image showed a plastic container full of raspberries with an individual blueberry delicately stuffed within each one.
With April 1 clearly in our rearview, the immediate question became, “Is this for real?” and yes, Driscoll’s confirmed that though this berry mashup isn’t on the market yet, they are currently being packaged for promotional purposes. “From a social media perspective, we saw the braspberry craze take off, and it was only logical that Driscoll’s as the berry market leader would innovate the opportunity,” said Frances Dillard, the company’s director of marketing, global brand lead. “Driscoll’s commands 90% market share of raspberries and is the trusted brand for all fresh berries.”
As for how these braspberries are created, for now, each batch is being handpicked and hand-created. Clearly, it’s a labor-intensive job which likely explains why they haven’t made it to market (and who knows what the pricing would be like). However, a Driscoll’s rep said that the company hopes to make this more than just a promotional stunt soon. “Driscoll’s is working quickly to look for ways to scale for potential retail sales,” a spokesperson told us.
Turns out that though the braspberry might have been a no-brainer, inventing a machine that can make braspberries is far trickier. Why don’t you get on that one, Timberlake?!
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