A hefty price tag, but the $400 pink pineapple is still sold out

A limited-edition pineapple is the latest crown jewel of a booming luxury fruit market, but the price tag can leave a bitter aftertaste.

The Rubyglow pineapple, bred in Costa Rica after sixteen years of scientific research, hit the shelves last week at Melissa’s Produce, a specialty store in Vernon, California.

Despite an exorbitant price of $395.99 – close to what the average American family pays for a month’s worth of groceries – the red-capped fruit, which weighs less than 2 pounds, has already sold out.

The pineapple, a hybrid between the traditional and Morada varieties, was previously only available in Asia. According to Del Monte Foods, the company that buys them, only 5,000 Rubyglow pineapples will be available in North America this year.

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