Japan’s morning banana diet craze which has seen the fruit flying off retail shelves for eight months now is an intriguing story. While there is something uniquely Japanese about the phenomenon, it has a broader relevance when it comes to marketing to consumers in Asia. The diet craze shows the extent to which fruit is part of people’s lifestyles in Asia and how consumers are more engaged with dietary concerns. Clearly if marketers can identify specific health benefits in their product that respond to these concerns and can promote them effectively, there are major gains to be achieved with this receptive audience.
Having said that, the banana diet craze occurred more due to luck than design. And it was via Japanese social networking site ‘Mixi’ that the word spread so fast. Copycat diets launched for other fruits have yet to achieve the same impact, and engineering such a craze is a hit and miss business.
Other methods of marketing to consumers in Asia have a more consistent success rate, such as training retail store managers on how to handle, display and promote your product or in-store tastings. This is the type of work the California Table Grape Commission conducts in many Asian markets, and a case example is with the Indonesian retail chain AlfaMart, which saw a substantial growth in California grape sales last year.
AlfaMart operates convenience stores, and is adding new ones at a rapid rate, with more and more of them stocking California grapes. Indeed, with a profusion of convenience stores opening across Asia and many carrying produce in their range, there are opportunities for suppliers to extend their consumer reach by working with such chains.
Without doubt the Asian markets offer important growth opportunities for global suppliers, particularly in the current economic climate. And there is significant latent consumer demand in the region to be tapped through marketing and promotion. Alas, this is a much-neglected area for most suppliers and supply countries to Asia.
A fragmented supply base and budgetary constraints are the often-cited reasons for this lack of activity. The reality is that all too often suppliers show no interest in following their product through the supply chain, and prefer to divest ownership at port of arrival. With a more structured approach, they would begin to open up a whole new market that comes from getting closer to the consumer. But first they must find the right trade partners and understand the market. Events like ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA and Asiafruit Congress are the best place to start.
