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Label Rouge — Réunion
Smaller than its imported cousins, sweeter, more fragrant — the ananas Victoria de La Réunion is the only pineapple in the world to bear a Label Rouge, and Queen Victoria herself adored it.
Fruit from Réunion, Label Rouge since 2006.
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The pineapple is native to South America — its name derives from the Tupi-Guarani term naná, meaning "the fragrance of fragrances". It was Christopher Columbus who introduced it to Europe, bringing it back from Guadeloupe. Pineapple cultivation gradually spread to tropical colonies: the Dutch introduced it to Île Maurice in 1606, and the first plants arrived on La Réunion — then Île Bourbon — in 1668.
On the sunny slopes of the island's lowlands, the pineapple thrives. Over the generations, Réunion farmers selected and adapted the Victoria variety, which became exceptionally well acclimatised to the volcanic soils and subtropical climate of the island. In the 19th century, this variety was named Victoria because the Queen of the United Kingdom was a devoted admirer of it.
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La Réunion offers the ananas Victoria particularly favourable conditions: rich, fertile soils of volcanic origin, intense sunshine, in the growing zones of the lowlands — up to around 1,000 m in altitude, with temperature influencing the length of the growing cycle (the fruit takes longer to ripen at altitude). The main production areas are concentrated in Petite-Île, Saint-Benoît, and along the Rivière Langevin.
This unique terroir gives the ananas Victoria de La Réunion a renowned concentration of sugars and aromas — to the point where Victoria pineapples produced on Île Maurice are sometimes sold in mainland France under a misleading "Réunion" origin. This confusion over origin led the Réunion sector to strengthen its quality approach and traceability.
In 2006, the ananas Victoria de La Réunion was awarded the Label Rouge, an official sign of superior quality granted by the French Ministère de l'Agriculture — to this day, it remains the only pineapple in the world to bear this label, and became the first fruit to obtain it in an overseas department. The initiative, launched in 2002, is spearheaded by the Syndicat Qualité Fruits Réunion (SQFR), which unites producers around strict specifications — no chemical induction of flowering, full traceability, unannounced inspections by the certifying body Octroi974 — and notably brings together the island's exporting cooperatives, including COOPANANAS Réunion.
Annual production in La Réunion is most often between 7,000 and 8,000 tonnes, with more favourable years exceeding 12,000 tonnes, of which around 2,000 tonnes are exported each year to mainland France and internationally. Since 2024, the sector has been going through a difficult period: the passage of Cyclone Belal in January 2024 forced growers to delay their planting, and the drought in the second half of 2024 exacerbated plant health issues and impaired yields, calibre, and quality. Exports to mainland France consequently fell to 1,302 tonnes in 2025, which was 456 tonnes less than in 2024 — a drop of 25%.
Appearance
Small, compact pineapple (export size 500 g to 1 kg), stockier than large imported varieties. Golden to orange skin when ripe, crown of firm, upright leaves. Golden-yellow to pale yellow, uniform flesh.
Aroma
Intense fragrance, highly fruity and sweet, with pronounced tropical notes. Distinctly more aromatic than imported pineapples.
Taste
Very sweet (16–18 °Brix, compared with around 12° for an industrial pineapple), with a restrained acidity that does not mask the fruitiness. The core, unlike that of other varieties, is tender and fully edible.
Texture
Melting flesh, virtually devoid of a fibrous core — a notable advantage over large industrial varieties such as Cayenne or MD-2.
The ananas Victoria de La Réunion is a single variety (Ananas comosus var. Victoria), distinct from industrial varieties such as Cayenne lisse or MD-2 (Sweet Gold) cultivated on a large scale for long-distance export. Variations in size and aromatic intensity can be observed depending on the season and the production area, but the variety itself is fixed. Part of the harvest is channelled into local processing — preserves, juices, and jams.
checking sugar levels, removing non-compliant fruit, and packing into crates for dispatch.
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The ananas Victoria is best enjoyed plain, at room temperature, without dipping in sugar — its tender core can be eaten entirely, unlike that of large imported varieties. For dessert, thinly sliced and sprinkled with grated vanille Bourbon and a dash of lime, the contrast of sweetness, vanilla, and acidity works wonders; macerated with vanilla and local white rum, it features in one of the classics of Réunion rhum arrangé. In savoury dishes, it can be prepared as a carpaccio marinated in vanilla syrup, as a chutney to accompany foie gras, cooked with duck, filet mignon, or goat's cheese, or flambéed with rum.
Since: 2006
Area covered: La Réunion (974) — lowland areas
Key requirements: Victoria variety; ripeness at harvest; controlled minimum sugar content (Brix); no chemical induction of flowering; mandatory producer traceability; unannounced inspections by the certifying body Octroi974
Lead organisation: Syndicat Qualité Fruits Réunion (SQFR), which unites the cooperatives committed to the scheme — including COOPANANAS Réunion. First fruit to be awarded the Label Rouge in an overseas department; only Label Rouge-certified pineapple in the world.
Cooperative
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The Société Coopérative Agricole Ananas Réunion (COOPANANAS Réunion) is one of the producer organisations (POs) in La Réunion's fruit and vegetable sector listed by the DAAF, the decentralised service of the Ministry of Agriculture. Alongside other groups such as ANAFRUIT and SCA Fruits de la Réunion, it is federated within AROPFL (Association Réunionnaise des Organisations de Producteurs de Fruits et Légumes), founded in 2009.
These producer organisations share a common goal: to defend growers, improve product quality, protect the environment, and structure the island's fruit and vegetable sector.
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2019. |
