Pink Lady bucks downward trend in Europe

Pink Lady Europe has released the results of its 2023/24 campaign, which it said was marked by “positive performances and momentum to be maintained” at a time of “contrasting dynamics” in the European fruit and vegetables market.

“The European fruit and vegetable market is experiencing contrasting dynamics, with growing demand for sustainable products, but constant pressure on prices,” the company said.

With consumers paying ever closer attention to quality, product origin and the sustainable practices of growers, Pink Lady Europe stated, the company was doing its best to meet expectations by maintaining high quality standards and pursuing its efforts in terms of responsible practices.

In terms of volumes, sales rose 18 per cent year on year to reach 211,000 tonnes of Pink Lady and PinKids apples, the company revealed.

“The analysis of Kantar EU consumer panels has revealed increasing penetration of most European markets by Pink Lady, despite a fall in overall apple consumption due to the decline in purchasing power,” Pink Lady Europe stated. “Pink Lady is making an increase in profits in all its main markets, with performances that contrast positively with the apple category as a whole.

“Thanks to the quality of its apples, Pink Lady Europe’s strategies are paying off, with performances to match. Pink Lady Europe has maintained its momentum throughout the campaign, with a very dynamic start and spring, and Valentine’s Day recording its second best performance ever.

Pink Lady achieved its targets in all key markets, it said, including Germany (49,230 tonnes), the UK (38,800 tonnes) and France (31,140 tonnes).

“These results have been made possible thanks to the solid partnerships forged with the retail sector and the efforts made by the association and its collective to continue to boost the category,” Pink Lady said. “900 operations to promote the brand were carried out with trade marketing support tailored as closely as possible to the needs of retailers, thereby enabling them to perfectly control the positioning of Pink Lady in stores.”

Advertising in the media focused on promoting the brand’s values, helping to generate, along with influencer marketing strategies, over 300m contacts around the “What will Pink Lady do for you today?” brand platform.

The company said it was preparing for the next five years with an action plan covering issues related to the Pink Lady Commitment Charter, including production, quality, societal expectations and collective organisation.

“A voluntary analysis of Double Materiality is underway, which will enable the company to structure its commitments even more strongly to meet the challenges of the coming season, without neglecting other fundamental commitments that are now 100 per cent integrated into the Pink Lady minimum standards,” it stated.