Piñata Farms has finalised its most commercially successful Honey Gold mango season date, reporting a 5 per cent volume increase on last season.
Sales and marketing manager Rebecca Scurr said the business supplied mangoes nationally for 16 weeks from November 2025 to February 2026 – about two weeks longer than usual.
The harvest from growing regions in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia was the least disrupted by weather in 17 years of production, she said.
“One of the biggest challenges we often face in Queensland during summer is that the main freight route, the Bruce Highway, is impacted due to cyclone or tropical low activity. This season, while Mareeba and Dimbulah had a lot of rain, growers managed their harvests around this to ensure supply was unaffected. Ideal weather conditions also meant excellent external fruit quality could be maintained all season long,” she said.
She said season highlights included exceptionally strong prices for the mango positioned in the premium retail space, and the biggest consumer demand on record, contributing to an above average tray return to the grower.
“There was also small crop growth from our farms in the Northern Territory, and at third-party farms at Mareeba, Bowen and Rockhampton as trees came into full production.”
Some 25 third-party growers supply to Piñata Farms which starts the harvest at its own farms in Darwin and Katherine in the Northern Territory in November.
Honey Gold mangoes are distributed nationally to major retail outlets, Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and Harris Farm Markets and select independents.
Consumer awareness fueled by TikTok
“December is always tough for prices because it’s the peak of mango season and competition is heavy, but we were able to weather the storm that the whole industry faced and achieve a significant premium. One of our customers has been trying to retail (another mango variety) at $20 a tray during Christmas week for 20 years and this was the first season he did it. It was a very good outcome for consumers,” Ms Scurr said.
“As the Honey Gold is a late-season variety, January is the time to shine. There’s less competition from other mangoes and prices reflect this. Honey Golds tasted incredible all season long, retail displays were excellent and all retail customers reported demand was up.”
She said consumer awareness of Honey Golds was also higher than ever after a new generation of consumers discovered the variety via her growing TikTok presence.
Ms Scurr, who used TikTok to share mango content throughout the season, including varietal and harvest information, in-store, selecting and cutting tips, said anecdotally more than 2,000 of her 30,000 followers told her they had tried a Honey Gold mango for the first time.
What’s next for Honey Golds?
“We have an experienced and committed growing group, proven ripening partners and an established customer base. Post-harvest, we now look at the variety itself and the nutritional nuances of each growing region to grow it even better,” Ms Scurr said.
Piñata Farms will host the annual Honey Gold Congress in Yeppoon, Central Queensland on April 21-22. Third-party growers will gather to celebrate the season's success and share insights. A highlight is the announcement of the Honey Gold Grower of the Year award.
Piñata Farms will also launch a full Honey Gold brand refresh ahead of next season.
2025-2026 season highlights at a glance
- 16-week retail campaign
- 5 per cent more mangoes on shelves
- 2,000+ new fans discover Honey Golds via TikTok
- Record price per tray for growers
- Record premium percentage packout