The €400 pineapple comes packaged in an ornate red box that opens like origami and is perforated for air.
A €200 melon wrapped in foam netting grew alone on a watermelon tree from which all the other fruit had been pruned, with the aim of leaving it as a very sweet fruit.
The premium fruit, which has a long history in parts of Asia, is gaining popularity in the United States, with new varieties being grown and imported, including those developed over several years by companies aiming to market products with a unique appearance and flavor.
Some of these products have long been given as gifts, especially in Japan and Korea. Produce experts say the trend is spreading to the United States, much like the taste of flawless fruit that tourists might experience abroad.
As the luxury goods sector grows, interest in luxury fruits has increased.
Sweet and fragrant, the crown melon is a melon from Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, an area with a hot, sunny climate. Each melon tree is pruned so that only one fruit grows, concentrating the flavor.
A pound of strawberries usually costs just a few dollars. A single unit of premium fruit can cost more, with a single unit costing around 30 euros.
Ikigai, a luxury fruit importer, sells a variety of red, pink and white strawberries imported from Japan in boxes priced between 90 and 800 euros.
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