The launch of a new super-sized premium line helped Chilean cherries become the biggest selling item on Alibaba-owned T-Mall Fresh and Mr Fresh during this year’s Singles Day celebration in China, according to Asoex.
The exporter association teamed up with Alibaba and Chinese distributor Frutacloud to promote Chilean fruit, including a new premium line of jumbo cherries, at this year’s shopping festival, reflecting the retailer’s move away from its traditional discount theme towards a more premium offering.
With Alibaba’s sales reaching a record US$17.8bn of gross merchandise volume, Singles Day has become the largest online shopping day in the world.
Following the successful start to the 2016/17 marketing campaign, representatives from Alibaba-owned T-Mall travelled to Chile in November to learn more about the blueberry and cherry production and packing process and find new opportunities to promote the products through its online sales platforms.
Ray Ho, general manager of T-Mall Fresh and Shawn Liu, operations specialist at Mr Fresh, visited farms in Placilla and San Fernando belonging to Hortifrut and Frusan, together with representatives from Asoex and Chile’s blueberry and cherry committees.
“The aim was to see first hand how our blueberries and cherries are cultivated so that they can convey to their customers the freshness, safety and quality of our fruit and the natural environment in which it is grown,” said Asoex’s deputy marketing manager Ignacio Caballero.
