For García Ballester, 2013 can best be summed up in one word: renovation. The company – one of Spain’s oldest citrus producers – has just undergone a complete image overhaul, covering everything from corporate branding to its packaging and website, proving that traditional need not mean outdated.
As chief executive Jorge García Vicent explains, it’s all about bringing freshness, dynamism, and evolution to the brand.
“As a pioneer in citrus exports, our outlook has always focused on expanding our horizons,” he says. “Last year, for example, we started importing Costa Rican pineapples into Europe, and our aim is to extend our pineapple programme throughout the Spanish market in 2014.”
The company’s strategy is based on building up market share gradually by offering a new service supplying pineapples alongside citrus to supermarkets and to small and medium-sized centralised purchasing organisations.
“We have our own office in Costa Rica which enables us to source first-rate pineapples at an extra competitive price,” Vicent continues. “Having achieved excellent results last year in countries such as Russia, we’ve now decided to introduce the programme to the domestic market.”
In citrus, meanwhile, Vicent says the production season so far has progressed fairly smoothly with no major climatic incidents with the exception of the occasional hailstorm. Volumes are expected to be slightly up on 2012/13, which would put the company’s output at around 60,000 tonnes.
“In terms of size profiles, a lot depends on the weather in the coming weeks, but the indications are that it is shaping up to be a normal year,” he says.
Demand in Europe is reportedly strong on the market with prices rising in recent weeks as the Southern Hemisphere deal winds down.
