In the 52 weeks to June 20 2004, Tesco and Sainsbury’s tightened their grip on the UK retail mango market, by significantly outperforming the overall year-on-year jump of 20 per cent in value.
According to TNS figures, Tesco can now claim a 33.4 per cent share of the £30.7 million market, while Sainsbury’s slice increased by 46 per cent in the 12-month period, to 23.4 per cent. The other performer of note was Waitrose, which expanded its share to 9.4 per cent with a 34 per cent individual uplift.
Asda, Morrisons and Safeway all registered a year-on-year drop in market value share, albeit it from a far lower base than Tesco and Sainsbury’s. The UK’s second largest supermarket retailer Asda sold £1.6m worth of mangoes in the period, which amounts to a 5.2 per cent market share. This is almost identical to that of Safeway, and both saw a three per cent decline in the 12 months to June 20. Morrisons saw TNS-recorded sales drop by £47m and its share recede by 2.3 per cent.
Volume-wise, the picture changes, reflecting the different price expectations and merchandising techniques of the different retailers. Asda and Morrisons were the only major multiple chains to register a decrease in volumes, as the overall market increased by 11 per cent. Morrisons in fact saw its volume fall by 26 per cent, and its volume share of the market stood at 2.4 per cent on June 20, compared to 3.6 per cent a year earlier.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s remain dominant in volume terms, but the figures are more broadly in line with their overall market shares. Tesco has a 26.5 per cent volume share of the UK retail mango market, while Sainsbury’s slightly overtrades, at 19 per cent.
While registering its huge increase in value, Waitrose only expanded its on-shelf volume by two per cent. The top three performing retailers are all said to have increased shelf space for the fruit, recognising the shift in consumer perceptions of the mango and its imminent move from exotic to mainstream line.
Marks & Spencer has increased its share of both mango volume and value, but may only just be catching on to the new band of consumers demanding the product. Its volumes rose by 20 per cent year-on-year for the period, but M&S still represents just 1.1 per cent of the retail mango volume.
Market penetration is increasing, but despite consistent year-on-year growth of 20 per cent plus, it still stands at only 17 per cent in the UK. The multiple retailers account for 83.3 per cent of the retail mango market, but it should be noted that importers believe that as many as 50 per cent of the mangoes sold in the UK are traded outside of the multiple retail sector, many in areas that slip the net of market analysts. The ethnic independent retail market and the foodservice sector are hugely important to the mango industry and both have shown encouraging growth in recent times.
Innovation at multiple retail level is attracting more supermarket shoppers into the mango category and the TNS figures undoubtedly reflect which retailers are taking up the gauntlet with most vigour.
Demand for larger sizes, better merchandising techniques and perhaps above all, the use of Near Infra-Red technology to gauge the internal consistency of product that makes it onto the shelves, have all played a role in moving the mango job on.
The question now is whether, as it reaches tipping point, one of the star performers in the fruit category can avoid being enveloped in the destructive price war that is reducing the development potential of so many of the other mainstream categories. Retailers at the top-end of the price scale have evidently grasped the potential of the fruit.
But will they resist the temptation to drag mangoes from calmer exotic streams into the muddied mainstream waters?
ABRAMS PLEA FOR MANGO TO RETAIN EXOTIC APPEAL
“We want mangoes to be mainstream, but at the same time, we still want them to remain slightly exotic,” says Chris Abrams, chairman of the Mango Association. “At the moment around one in five people are buying mangoes, so that means we’ve got another four out of five to go for.”
Launched in 2002, the association is formed of a group of growers, marketing companies, importers and distributors who joined forces to help promote and grow the UK mango market.
Abrams says the main, and only aim of the association is to drive sales and consumption of mangoes by generating as much awareness about the fruit as possible.
So far the campaign is going well - penetration is now up to around 20 per cent while sales are growing by around 17 per cent year on year.
“Those who are already mango customers are eating more and we’re getting increased penetration as new people come into the market. Getting new people into mangoes is important. The good thing is the taste of mangoes hooks people as they come in.”
Abrams attributes a lot of the growth in the market to the work the association has been doing to raise consumer awareness of mangoes.
“Awareness is growing and that’s down to a lot of hard work by the association, we’ve managed to get a lot of coverage, particularly in the consumer lifestyle press and particularly during National Mad 4 Mango Week. We’re trying to get as much exposure for mangoes as we can.”
This year, the association also ran a highly successful Valentine’s Day promotion, pushing the mango as a ‘food of love’. The consumer PR proved a big hit, generating a great deal of coverage in the months running up to February 14.
The fact mangoes are beginning to become more mainstream is reflected in the changing demographics of its consumers. Abrams says: “According to TNS, we are seeing a lot of growth coming from family purchases and now seeing them entering the market, whereas traditionally its been mainly older people.”
Of course key to getting new people into the market is price, and Abrams says its vital to make sure the price point is right. “People might be prepared to risk a pound on something new and unknown, but they might not be so keen to risk £1.50 or £2.”
Another important piece of the puzzle when it comes to encouraging consumption is gaining consumer understanding and the association is working, through pr activity and its website, as well as with retailers, to give consumer the information they need to prepare mangoes properly and how to know when the fruit is ripe and ready to eat.
The retailers are beginning to respond to consumer needs on mangoes as well, says Abrams, with more added value and prepared products beginning to hit the shelves as well as ripe and ready pre packed products. “We’re seeing considerable growth in the prepared sector.”
Another emerging trend in the mango market is a shift towards larger mangoes, which Abrams attributes to growing consumer confidence. However he warns retailers against shifting entirely towards the larger fruit.
“It’s important that we keep the smaller varieties in the mix as they work extremely well as a key entry point for new consumers and we wouldn’t want to lose that.”
He says there has been a definite shift across the board towards the smoother fleshed mangoes, such as Kent and Keitt, away from the more fibrous Tommy Atkins. “They’re a better eating mango,” he says, and more and more growers are switching production to follow the demand.
He says retailers in general are certainly taking the mango more seriously than ever before, for one clear and obvious reason: “There are not many areas that can guarantee almost 20 per cent growth.”
Its not just the fresh sector that provides opportunity for promotion either, and this year the Mango Association has managed to broker a linked promotion with yoghurt giant Muller and Sainsbury’s, which offered consumers the chance to buy a mango and get a Mullerlight Mango yoghurt free.
The key issue is getting people to try mangoes, says Abrams. “Getting people to pick up a mango for the first time, take it home and enjoy it. If we can do that we’ll get people coming back for more.”
CONSUMER MANIA
Promoters are hoping to drum up a frenzy of mango mania next week with the arrival of National Mad 4 Mango week.
Organised by the Mango Association, the week, which has been renamed this year to fit in with the group’s website, Mad 4 Mango, is designed to boost awareness of what is already one of the fastest growing fruits in the market.
Last year saw consumers buy around 33 per cent more mangoes than in 2002, the association claims, and Mad 4 Mango week is hoping to boost that number further.
Chris Abrams says: “We want consumers to go mango mad during this week and cook the unthinkable with the fruit.”
A series of ‘mad’ recipes has been dreamt up by the group which include mango fries with raspberry dipping sauce and vanilla cream, black pudding and mango tower on rosti potatoes, and spiced prawn and mangoes.
Abrams adds: “This is our third successful year of promoting the week and we’re hoping all mango lovers will get involved.”
The week is also being supported by the main multiples and will see a number of activities and promotions being held in stores across the UK.
Damien Sutherland, Tesco’s buying manager for exotics, says: “We always aim to have mangoes on promotion throughout the year, but we’ll be stepping up that activity for the duration of the week and putting out some really strong offers.”
The campaign will also aim to generate considerable coverage across the media, in the consumer lifestyle press but also on regional radio.
The Mango Association says it will be working with local radio stations in a bid to find the UK’s biggest mango fan with a series of interviews.
The main point of Mad 4 Mango week is to boost the profile of the fruit, as Abrams says: “The key thing will be getting as much radio and press coverage and working with the retailers instore as well. We’re hoping to get a lot of people involved to publicise the week.”
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