New guidelines for Pink Lady were published recently as part of a brand manual aimed at bringing uniformity and recognition to the brand and its trademarks across all territories in which it is marketed and sold. The brand is applied to high-quality production of Cripps Pink apples in a number of markets worldwide and is owned and licensed by Apple & Pear Australia Ltd, except in the US.
The Pink Lady brand continues to build a strong reputation among the world’s leading apple marketers and buyers. Alejandro Fresno, a leading member of the International Pink Lady Alliance (IPLA), which brings together APAL’s master licensees as well as other supply chain operators working with those companies, told delegates at the recent Eurofruit Southern Hemisphere Congress in Santiago, Chile, that Pink Lady is expected to enter the top ten most recognised fresh produce brands by 2012.
“There are strong indications that Pink Lady is becoming recognised and accepted as a top apple with good visual appearance and the right quality,” said Mr Fresno. Registered in over 70 countries with around 100 filings worldwide, the brand’s master licensees are located in 10 main territories: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Continental Europe, Japan, South Africa, New Zealand, the UK and Uruguay.
Pink Lady-branded apples are the taken exclusively from production of the Cripps Pink variety that meets the quality specification laid down by the trademark owner for use with Pink Lady trademarks. As Mr Fresno explained, “Global trade in Cripps Pink apples is likely to exceed 400,000 tonnes in 2008, although not all Cripps Pink gets to carry the Pink Lady brand”.
Driven by a price premium in the UK and mainland Europe, the branded apples are supplied to a number of European markets from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with a sizeable programme of marketing and promotional activities helping to generate increased demand and returns. A total of 60 per cent of the total royalties earned from selling the Pink Lady brand is applied to promotion, according to Mr Fresno, bringing strong brand recognition. The brand’s European promotional budget currently stands at over €6m.
At the heart of the business lies the licensing of a range of Pink Lady trademarks, including the three main trademark forms: the word mark itself; the flowing heart device; and the Pink Lady figurative mark. There are currently around 100 registrations for the various marks, some of which are translated into the language or script of individual countries or regions. Unique, peer-to-peer licensing between exporter and importer protects against infringement of trademarks and plant breeder’s rights.
“Pink Lady is a strong, well-recognised brand, especially in Europe,” said Mr Fresno. “Pink Lady has a personality. It’s a beautiful, young, sexy woman with a personality of her own.”
According to Mr Fresno, the main objective of the Pink Lady brand is to confirm that it is the best apple in the world. “For us, the reaction to eating a Pink Lady apple always has to be ‘wow’. The essence of the brand is about motivating the Pink Lady partners to generate a ‘wow’ response from consumers.”
