How Dragon Fruit Became India’s New Favourite Healthy Fruit, From Farms to Fitness Bowls |
At first glance, dragon fruit looks less like something you’d slice into a fruit bowl and more like a prop from a fantasy film — bright pink skin, green spikes, and a name dramatic enough to breathe fire. But behind its quirky appearance lies a fruit that has quietly become one of India’s fastest-growing food obsessions.
From smoothie bowls on Instagram to supermarket shelves in tier-2 cities, dragon fruit — also known as pitaya or “kamalam” in India- is no longer an exotic rarity.
Over the last few years, it has gone from niche health-store curiosity to a mainstream favourite among health-conscious Indians, fitness enthusiasts, and even farmers looking for climate-resilient crops.
How dragon fruit found a home in India
What makes this fruit especially interesting is that India’s dragon fruit story is still relatively young.
Native to Central America and belonging to the cactus family, dragon fruit first entered India in the late 1990s. For years, most of the fruit sold in Indian markets was imported from countries like Vietnam and Thailand.
But........