The late mandarin brand ClemenGold has for some year’s now been recognised as one of the most successful new fruit brands in the citrus category. This past season, the mandarins sold under the brand again proved to be very popular with consumers in South Africa and abroad.
Despite drought and heat in some regions of South Africa the country exported fruit of excellent internal quality. “The extreme drought and exceptional heat conditions experienced by the citrus growing regions of South Africa leading into the citrus season, had a positive effect on the internal quality of the fruit,” confirmed Marius du Plessis, ClemenGold CEO.
“This season’s figures reflect the huge success surrounding the marketing of a premium selection of mandarin. The main attributes for inclusion in the easy-peeling ClemenGold brand are virtual seedlessness (a maximum of 5-10 out of a 100 pieces of fruit could carry a seed), and superior appearance and flavour, and ClemenGold actually exceeded our clients’ expectations,” he said in the ClemenGold end of season report.
Du Plessis noted that, in terms of internal quality, ClemenGold fruit, at optimum maturity, adheres to a well-balanced sugar to acid ratio, high sugar levels (11 per cent to 14 per cent TSS) and moderate acid content of 0.8 per cent to 1.4 per cent.
ClemenGold said that following extensive promotional programmes, consumers increasingly elected to buy ClemenGold in the soft citrus category for its convenient easy-peeling and seedless attributes, and were waiting in anticipation for the start of the season.
“Feedback from retailers and consumers confirm that the ClemenGold brand values (excellence, care, innovation, delight and convenience) resonate positively with fruit enthusiasts across the globe,' the group said.
In South Africa, the retailer Woolworths, which exclusively carries the brand in the country, recently honoured ClemenGold with The Difference Award for an Elevated Supplier Experience.
“At the moment ClemenGold is the market leader in the easy peel quality fruit category – not just from South Africa, but also from our supply partners from Morocco, Spain, Chile, Australia, Peru and Argentina who realize the potential and value of marketing a premium quality product with guarantees on taste and consumption attributes,” explained Du Plessis.
“We’re also seeing that, whereas ClemenGold was once categorised as a late mandarin, clients are asking for ClemenGold right through the year. For this reason we’ve been developing new varieties with similar attributes, like the Leanri, to extend the season.”
South Africa will now hand the baton to the Northern Hemisphere when ClemenGold fruit produced in Morocco, Spain, Chile, Australia, Peru and Argentina become available on shelves throughout Europe and all other main destinations from January 2017.
