Leading seedless watermelon producers’ group AGF, the owner of the Sandia Fashion watermelon brand, has this week officially launched its sales and marketing campaign for 2009, amid expectations that the association can increase sales for the seedless variety.
AGF last year produced and marketed over 40,000 tonnes of black-skinned seedless watermelons under the Fashion brand and the group’s sales manager, Crisanto Ampuero, said this total is expected to increase by 15 per cent this year.
At a presentation in Madrid’s Mercamadrid wholesale market, Mr Ampuero told growers and members of the press that Sandia Fashion was now the leading seedless watermelon brand in both Spain and Europe, with some 62 per cent of the domestic market.
Mr Ampuero said this year’s marketing and publicity campaign aimed to build on last year’s successful activities, which included spots in 15 cookery programmes.
For this campaign, the brand will also be featured in product placement slots in two leading Spanish television programmes, ‘Escenas de Matrimonio’ and ‘Yo soy Bea’.
Product tastings will also take place in major grocery retail outlets and wholesale markets across the country, while the group will mail publicity materials to grocers in Spain’s largest towns and cities.
Mr Ampuero told Fruitnet that 2009 would also mark the first time that AGF has been able to offer close to 12 months, with the coming on-stream of production operations in Brazil and Senegal. He said the new farms were expected to produce close to 500,000 kilos of watermelons this year.
