300,000 VND for a mini grapefruit with Tai Loc gold bar

Weighing only 100-200 grams, each mini gold bar grapefruit engraved with the word "Tai Loc" attracts customers thanks to its unique shape.

This year, on the Tet At Ty 2025 market, a new type of shaped fruit appeared - mini gold bar grapefruit, attracting the attention of many people thanks to its small size and unique shape.

These grapefruits only weigh about 100-200 grams, are engraved with the words Tai and Loc on the skin and are shaped like gold bars, giving a new feeling compared to the large shaped grapefruits from 800 grams to more than 1.2 kg as before.

Mr. Huynh Huy Khang, a gardener in Ben Tre , shared that to create these mini gold bar grapefruits, he had to start shaping them when the grapefruits were just starting to bear fruit, just the size of a thumb. Small fruits make it more difficult to put into the mold, and are more likely to be damaged or develop unevenly. However, thanks to many years of experience, this year he was successful with a fruit rate of about 70%, higher than previous experiments.

Each gold bar mini grapefruit costs 300,000 VND and was sold out immediately upon its launch. According to Mr. Khang, this type of grapefruit is suitable for the Tet fruit tray because of its small size, easy to display, and symbolizes wealth and luck. In addition to mini grapefruit, he also produces regular shaped grapefruit with a larger weight, about 800 grams to 1.2 kg, and it has also been sold out.

Tiny gold bar grapefruit in Mr. Khang's garden. Photo: Provided by the character

In Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Chau, a fruit-shaped business owner, said that mini grapefruits have surpassed other products to become the most popular item this year. Ms. Chau said that consumers are looking for beautiful fruits, prioritizing convenience. This product at her store has also been almost completely ordered by customers.

However, the market for shaped fruits this year is not as vibrant as before. According to gardeners, production costs are increasing, while purchasing power is decreasing due to consumers tightening their spending. Large shaped fruits, which were once very popular, are now difficult to sell, forcing many growers to reduce their acreage or produce only small quantities to serve regular customers.

In the market, the supply of shaped grapefruits has decreased by about 30-50% compared to last year. Of which, large products are sold for 600,000 VND to 1 million VND per fruit, depending on size and design. Besides shaped grapefruits, the market also has peaches, coconuts with letters, gourds with gold leaf...

Huynh Thanh Tam, a famous grapefruit grower in Ben Tre, said he did not make large-scale shaped products this year, partly because the old models are no longer as attractive to customers as before. Many other growers in Ben Tre and Hau Giang are facing a similar situation. High costs and unstable success rates make them hesitant to make large investments.

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