Good weather has been favourable for crop yields and quality, while wide-reaching marketing campaign will seek to reactivate consumption
Anecoop, Spain’s biggest watermelon producer, says the 2024 is shaping up to be a positive one with good commercial prospects for its Bouquet seedless watermelons. The company is on course to market 145,000 tonnes of the fruit this year.
At a meeting with growers in Murcia on Wednesday to analyse the new campaign, commercial director Miguel Abril said: “to date, the plantations have developed well, especially in areas where the drought has been less punishing.
“We hope that the weather continues to be favourable for both crop yields and consumption. If volume forecasts hold up, we will have enough watermelons in quality and quantity to face the season”.
Anecoop’s president, Joan Mir, stressed the need to focus on raising consumption levels. “Two seasons ago, average consumption of watermelon in this country was 9.5kg per person. In the last two years, lower availability, due to climatic reasons, together with an increase in production costs, caused sales prices to skyrocket, leading to a significant fall in consumption,” he explained.
“We hope that this season, with the normalisation of volumes and prices, this average annual consumption per person can be recovered.”
President Alejandro Monzón explained that Bouquet watermelons were the first seedless watermelons to reach the European market. “Since 1992, we have renewed our leadership as the first Spanish watermelon operator in Europe, consolidating our position as a pioneer company in the category,” he said.
Looking ahead, Carlos Nemesio, commercial manager of Anecoop’s watermelon programme, said the company would continue to focus on diversifying its growing areas in order to extend its production calendar, while also looking for varieties that require less water and are more able to withstand adverse weather conditions.
Once again, Anecoop is planning a far-reaching marketing campaign which this year will emphasise seasonality and national production under the strapline “Everything in its time”.
Presenting the multimedia campaign, marketing manager, Piedad Coscollá explained that it will feature a strong online presence featuring well-known influencers, as well as focusing on specialised and general press, consumer magazines, local radio, and regional, national and cable TV. For the first time, the Twitch platform will feature as part of the online campaign.
Outdoor advertising is another mainstay of Anecoop’s campaign strategy. This will include aerial advertising on the Mediterranean over the summer and activities in Spain’s main AVE rail stations, highlighting the association between Bouquet watermelons, the summer and good weather.
The final plank of the campaign, will see the group focus on supporting different sporting events including sponsorship of the AVAPACE Association of Valencia and the URA Clan de Rugby Foundation in Almería.
Outside Spain, Coscollá said marketing activities will focus on France and the Czech Republic in coordination with Anecoop’s subsidiaries in each market.
