Florette is to enter a new field with a range of pre-packed fresh fruit, building on its position as the UK’s number-one salad brand to inject growth into the prepared fruit category.
The launch of the range has been brought forward from 2010 to this autumn, following huge customer interest since the firm’s initial announcement that it was to enter the fresh-cut fruit sector.
This has already been a significant year for Florette, which acquired fellow prepared salads producer Salads To Go in the spring. Mark Newton, managing director, believes that this next chapter of Florette’s story is very much a natural one.
He said: “Consumers trust the Florette brand because they know it delivers superior quality, natural taste and longer lasting freshness - vital requirements for prepared salad and fruit alike. As we are already well aware thanks to our heritage in prepared salads, convenience is a key consumer driver and this is especially the case when it comes to fresh fruit, because it is more often than not consumed as a snack. With so many natural synergies across salads and fruit, we felt there was a strong opportunity to leverage the Florette brand to inject growth into the prepared fruit category.”
Although the prepared fruit category is worth almost £200m, only one in three consumers buy prepared fruit compared to prepared salad, which is purchased by three out of four shoppers. These figures suggest there is a huge opportunity to drive consumer penetration in a category that is ripe for development, according to Florette.
Newton said “This is a hugely significant opportunity for Florette, as we believe we can offer real value to the prepared fruit category thanks to a loyal franchise of five million consumers and 82 per cent brand awareness amongst ABC1 housewives, combined with a track record of employing product innovation, consumer insight and marketing investment to drive category growth.”
Traditional hand-cutting methods are being used for the new fresh-cut fruit range to ensure careful handling and fresher, better-quality product, says Florette.
Newton added: “We have already had positive feedback on the range, and plan to support its launch with price promotional and in-store demonstration activity to raise awareness and drive purchase and we are currently reviewing plans for more media investment.”
The new Florette fruit range will offer three different pack formats to meet snacking, on-the-go and family sharing needs. Florette Fresh Pineapple, Melon Medley and Fruit Medley will be available in both a 170g snack pot with fork (priced from £1.49) and a 350g family sharing pack (from £2.49), and the range will also include an apple and grape 80g snack pack at 65p.
A host of other fruit type and pack options are already in development for launch later in the year and throughout 2010.
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