South African-grown Kiku apples have been promoted in Taiwan for the first time this year, courtesy of a new campaign from Metspan.
The Hong Kong-based Capespan subsidiary is the marketing agent for South African-grown Kiku apples in Taiwan and Hong Kong, with supplies coordinated by licensed distributor Top Fruit.
Production of the high-colour Fuji variety is beginning to build up in South Africa, with growers getting their quality up to the high standard required for marketing under the Kiku brand, according to Metspan’s Erik Stroebel.
“With Taiwan being the main market for Fuji apples in Asia, it was decided to start an active brand awareness campaign now in anticipation of the future volumes,”’ he said.
“It’s really important to distinguish Kiku from the myriad Fuji apples available in Taiwan. Kiku – through a globally agreed set of standards for marketing destinations – is a perfect apple for the Taiwanese consumer. The colour, general appearance and juiciness really set it apart.”
To raise awareness of the variety, Mestpan has sponsored the Best Pals triathlon series, an annual family-based event comprising a 400m swim, 7km bike ride and 2.5km run. The Best Pals series is made up of three events – taking place in the cities of Yilan in May, Taipei in July and Kaoshiung in October.
“The focus of the event is to promote a healthy lifestyle amongst children through active participation in sports,” said Stroebel. “The event is not so much focused on winning – rather enjoying and sharing in the fun of engaging in sporting activities.”
Metspan’s promotion is being conducted in conjunction with its import partner in Taiwan – Overseas Fruit Trading Co, and entails a number of activities. Each participant in the Taipei event received a Kiku swimming cap and a Kiku apple while the winners in each category received a Kiku-branded cycling helmet and the main winners in Kaoshiung will receive a Kiku-branded portable MP3 Headset player. Metspan also had a Kiku booth at the event in Taipei where all participants, particularly smaller children, were encouraged to complete a Kiku puzzle in less than 90 seconds to win a prize.
“The interest in the Kiku apple [at the Taipei event] really blew us away – every 15 minutes someone wanted to know where they could buy these apples,” Stroebel said.
As well as sponsoring Best Pals again next year, Metspan plans to conduct some in-store promotions.
Metspan expects to market around 20-25 containers of South African-grown Kiku in Taiwan this year, but he expects volumes to double each year for the foreseeable future. Kiku-branded apples are also entering the market from other origins, notably New Zealand, which has separate marketing arrangements.
