Worldwide Fruit’s commercial director Hannah McIlfatrick describes apple range as “unique” and “truly different”
Apple brand Kissabel says it will target young consumers with a love for all things new and exciting, as sales of its Northern Hemisphere crop gets underway in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the US.
Production of five different pink- and red-fleshed varieties with different coloured skins has increased steadily in recent years.
And according to the consortium of companies licensed to grow and market them, the plan is to “contnue laying the foundations” for strong demand in the near future.
In the UK, homegrown yellow and orange varieties will return to supermarket shelves from the end of September, followed later by red varieties that extend the season to the end of February.
A marketing campaign in stores and on social media will highlight Kissabel’s “personality”, its amazing red flesh colour, and its fantastic flavour.
“We are very excited about this new campaign,” comments Hannah McIlfatrick, commercial director at licensee Worldwide Fruit. “We believe the introduction of Kissabel will grow total apple sales and attract new consumers.”
She adds: “In the short term, we aim to take the UK campaign to 6-7 months, with the ambition to sell over 12 months when our Southern Hemisphere partners have volume. We see Kissabel as a unique apple, offering something truly different to the category.”
French forays
In France, partners Blue Whale and Mesfruits are developing strategies to grow the market with both orange and red Kissabel apples.
Mesfruits will concentrate on the domestic market, with promotions planned over Halloween, and aims to expand its sales in Israel.
Blue Whale, meanwhile, will target in-store initiatives in selected urban areas of France. It will also run further test campaigns in partnership with customers in Shanghai.
“Our ambition for the next five years,” comments Blue Whale marketing and communication director Christelle Bertin, “is to continue to grow demand in Asia and build a solid brand reputation in France, with our target consumer groups firmly in mind.”
Red alert
In Germany, Red Apple Germany (RAG) will start its Kissabel campaign in October and lasts until early 2025, with red varieties targeted primarily at major supermarkets.
A Halloween retail campaign will be followed by repeat of last year’s Baking Red Event cake and confectionery contest for in-store and online consumers.
“Baking is trendy in Germany, and Kissabel’s incredible appearance gives it unique appeal,” explains RAG spokesperson Jens Anderson. “What’s more, cakes and confectionery are very important around Christmas, when we’ll be selling red-skin Kissabel apples.”
Alpine appeal
Swiss partner Inoverde and Italy’s NovaMela Consortium – Melinda, La Trentina, Rivoira, Vip and Vog – both concentrate on varieties with red flesh and skin, which means their sales start from the second half of October.
In Switzerland, an in-store promotional campaign with commercial partners is planned, as well as activities in the gourmet channel with specific distributors.
In Italy, cool nights over the past few weeks are said to have “greatly enhanced” the fruit’s flavour and flesh colour. A joint campaign run by all consortium partners will attempt to capitalise on those marketable attributes.
Second season
Finally NBT, the Kissabel project’s North American partner, began to sell its crop at the start of September in partnership with Stemilt Growers.
Varieties with yellow and orange skin and red flesh lead the way, to be followed at the end of September by those with red skin and flesh.
This is the second sales season for US Kissabel production, and a slight increase in volumes is expected.
According to those involved, the strategy is to deploy marketing devices that introduce Kissabel to consumers and build awareness of the product and brand.
