Leading Malaysian fruit importer Euro-Atlantic plans to make Italian kiwifruit brand Sweeki a market bestseller following its official launch in Malaysia last week.
Euro-Atlantic says it is “going all out” to introduce this premium brand, supplied by Italy’s Origine Group, to the Malaysian fruit trade.
To that end, Euro-Atlantic and Origine Group organised an educational workshop, The Kiwi’s Sweet Heart, on 28 November at the Aloft Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Italian ambassador to Malaysia Cristiano Maggipinto, trade commissioner Dr Samuele Porsia, together with around 80 selected Malaysian retailers, wholesalers, hoteliers and restauranteurs, attended the event, which was “a great success”, Euro-Atlantic and Origine Group said.
Nutritionist Alexandra Prabaharan ran a special demonstration to educate participants on Sweeki’s nutritional benefits, how best to handle the premium fruit and position it in stores to boost sales.
“Most consumers have their own brand preference, but through The Kiwi’s Sweet Heart workshop, we are confident that demand and sales for Sweeki kiwi will increase and ultimately be the bestseller in the market,” said Ebby Loo, founder and managing director of Euro-Atlantic, who gave a speech during the workshop.
At the event, Origine Group general manager Alessandro Zampagna and sales manager Reen Nordin underlined the value of Sweeki's commercial proposition, which guarantees constant high quality thanks to the production capacity its grower members in Italy and Chile.
'Thanks to the fruitful partnership with Euro-Atlantic, a leader in importing and distributing fruits in Malaysia, Sweeki is present both on the wholesale market and on several supermarket chains,' Origine Group's Zampagna said. 'Malaysia represents a relatively small (32m inhabitants) but modern market, with good spending power and a strong focus on quality and health.During the season, promotional actions for Sweeki will be carried out both on supermarkets and wholesale market.'
According to Euro-Atlantic statistics, New Zealand kiwifruit exports to Malaysia have grown from NZ$720.2m in 2005, to around NZ$1.7bn in 2017. Origine Group is hoping to capitalise on this growth and woo Malaysian consumers to purchase Italian and Chilean kiwifruit from their outstanding young brand, Sweeki, Loo said.
