Hooking up with Chinese online produce company FruitDay.com has allowed US fresh fruit groups to harness the power of the Internet and TV retailing to good effect, according to Keith Schneller of the US Agricultural Trade Office in Shanghai.
“Last year, we introduced Fruitday.com to several US producer associations who promote fresh fruit in China,” said Schneller. “As a result, FruitDay.com integrated US fruits into its online inventory. This decision led to increase sales for both FruitDay.com and US exporters.”
The Washington Apple Commssion, the California Table Grape Commision, the California Cherry Advisory Board, Northwest Cherries and Sunkist all participated in a FruitDay.com online promotion last year.
“With the addition of US fruit, FruitDay.com’s sales during the peak season promotion were an impressive 180 per cent higher than expected,” Schneller noted.
The success of the US fruit in online sales led Fruitday.com to expand to Chinese television via shopping channel OCJ. “FruitDay.com sold 3,500 boxes of Sunkist oranges within 30 minutes on OCJ in early 2011,” Schneller said. “This August, they had similar success when Chinese consumers bought 1,900 boxes of Northwest Cherries worth more than US$100,000 in less than 30 minutes.”
Although TV and Internet sales remain a niche segment of China’s fresh fruit market, they are gaining momentum. Sunkist oranges are already a significant seller through such channels, reportedly earning around US$1.4m in total sales via TV home shopping, and other items are seeing increased penetration.
According to the USDA, Chinese consumers bought US$310,000-worth of California grapes through TV home shopping channels between October 2010 and August 2011.
Susan Day, vice-president of international marketing for the California Table Grape Commission, told US publication the Business Journal that retail stores continue to account for the majority of sales in China. Online sales make up a small percentage of total sales volumes at present, but they’re showing promising signs of growth, she added.
“Online purchases of grapes from California this season in China have already doubled the total seen last year,” Day told the publication. “We see online and television purchasing as an opportunity the commission is continuing to monitor.”
Schneller said that online and TV sales allowed Chinese consumers to access US produce more quickly and conveniently than other channels. “We believe that by using these innovative sales and marketing techniques, US produce exports to China will only continue to grow,” he commented.
US fresh fruit exports to China and Hong Kong have increased by some 17 per cent in the first eight months of this year, garnering US$247m, up from US$211m in the same period of the previous year.
Oranges, apples and grapes are the leading product lines among US fresh fruit exports to China.
