I've been a fan of pomegranates for years and my family has been telling me about its health benefits since I was a child.

Now it seems pomegranate juice is becoming popular in the US.

My questions:

1. Do you feel the pomegranate juice sector is a lesser exploited area and there are opportunities for new entrants?

2. Why in the world pomegranates are so expensive in the United States? The juice, of course, is also expensive in proportion. But why? If we, in this globalized market, can get grapes from Chile for 99 cents a pounds, why do pomegranates continue to be so expensive? If for example, they are difficult to raise here, why aren't companies importing pomegranates (or the concentrate) from abroad, from places where pomegranates go for a few cents a pound? Is there some kind of pomegranate monopoly enshrined in the laws of the United States?

Well for one thing, one pomegranate doesn't yield that much juice.

I think pomegranate everything has been flying under the radar for years. Now that schools are getting healthier and society as a whole is becoming more health concious, drinks containing pomegranate juice/flavor are popping up to exploit the benefits of the product. Take SoBe Essential Energy for example. Two flavors, Orange which is quite common and Berry Pomegranate which most likely would have just been Berry had the Pomegranate craze not hit.

One thing I know is, PomPom is blowing up! they seem to be the only company supplying the demand on fruit and juice. I remember walking home from school in Vegas and collecting 10 or 15 of them on the way home. Mom use to get mad because we would stain our school clothes, but we still loved them just the same. Now in AZ there at $2.99 each and the juice is 4.99 to $6 per 32oz bottle.

Hello, thanks for the replies.

One thing I know is, PomPom is blowing up!

What do you mean by "blowing up"? Do you mean they are doing very well or do you mean can't meet the demand?

My question remains, why the number of pomegranate suppliers remain limited and the price high?

If it was you, where would you research this question? Do you know of a board that discusses fruit, like bevnet discusses juice?