raeburn, Jazz, Pink Lady, Bramley, Granny Smith, Conference and Comice - all of these names are well known with consumers, but growing the category overall is proving difficult for the top-fruit sector at present.
According to data from Kantar Worldpanel, in general shoppers are making fewer trips to purchase top fruit, though they are buying more per trip. The overall result is a decline in value of 0.8 per cent - a £7.5 million drop - and a volume decline of 2.1 per cent year on year.
The pear sub-sector has been the driver of the overall decline, according to Kantar Worldpanel, as consumption of the fruit continues to fall despite varietal work and ripening improvements. “You sell one box of pears to 10 boxes of apples because the products are not comparable,” says one importer. “An apple is consistent and remains the same for weeks, whereas a pear can be hard or soft. Also, no variety of pears can be grown in the volume of Gala or Pink Lady.”
Continued promotional activity at retail level, however, is also having an effect on the apple sector.
“The top-fruit market has been this way for four years now and it’s not changed,” says one insider. “Apples are on promotion from one week to the next for a quick return on sell and no progress is made. Trip volume and frequency of purchase are down but more worryingly, so is penetration.”
Looking at the individual varieties and brands in the apple industry, there are some star players still reporting very positive growth. For example, Pink Lady has seen its sales increase by 15 per cent and a price rise of 2.2 per cent year on year.
“We’re lucky to have a good apple inside and out, and we go through more checks than ever,” says Andy Macdonald, MD of Pink Lady’s UK master licensor Coregeo. “You have to invest in a brand and keep demand ahead of supply. That’s how you maintain a premium,” he adds.
So what is going wrong elsewhere? It’s hard to invest when promotions are high and financial returns are low. Outside of the retailers, the industry has very little power over the way fruit is marketed towards consumers, but could more be done to get overall topfruit sales moving upwards again?
“Considering all the work that goes into producing the fruit it’s a shame to see such a decline in price at times,” says a source. “The presentation at selling point could be tarted up a bit, but we don’t have the staff that major brands across food and drink do to keep on top of it. It arrives at the retailers in pristine condition because it has to, but consumers mishandle the apples.”
According to some, a responsibility towards growers and the fresh produce supply chain in general from retailers is becoming more commonplace and there is an understanding that profits have to be made throughout the supply chain for supply to be sustainable. But perceived value continues to be affected by promotional activity and as the southern hemisphere brings a new season, insiders are worried that consumer perception in the UK may be tainted by a ‘buy British’ attitude and bring further price decline.
New Zealand-grown Jazz apples are set to make an appearance on the UK marketplace by mid-April and Brazilian and Chilean Gala are already in store. There are still northern stocks available, with French apples and UK Braeburn in storage. Demand is tipped to be stronger than supply with Gala, and a shortage of red apples has been predicted over the summer months, suggesting prices will be high.
According to the 17th annual comparison of major apple producing countries published earlier this month by Belrose Inc in its World Apple Report, Chile is once again the clear leader in overall competitiveness while New Zealand has pushed the US and Italy aside to regain second spot. The study examined 32 countries’ apple sectors, scoring them for production efficiency, industry infrastructure and inputs, and financial and market performance. -
POWER TO PINK
The Pink Lady brand is flying at present and has reached number three in UK value sales. Elizabeth O’Keefe talks to UK Pink Lady marketing manager Michelle Toft
How long has it taken to get the brand to the number-three apple slot?
We are celebrating 20 years of Pink Lady in the UK this year and, in 2000, we sold just over eight million kilos; in 2005 it went up to 25m kilos and last year we went over the 37m kg mark. This means the value of Pink Lady apples sales has now tipped into £100m per annum.
Pink Lady has repeatedly and consistently invested in the brand and created clear, dynamic marketing strategies to position it as the premium apple brand in the UK.
The taste, texture and overall quality of the product keep people coming back - tasting is believing. Our job is to encourage people to taste it and become smitten.
As part of a new Pink Lady advertising campaign in the consumer press, a one-off ad is being created for the inside back cover of the Jubilee edition of Hello! magazine. Which audience are you particularly focusing on and why?
In terms of Hello!, their reader profile is very similar to our target audience, which is ABC1 well-educated women with kids, aged 28-44. It is seen as a quality magazine, which matches the premium positioning of our brand, but the real benefit is threefold; it is also the increased circulation that the Jubilee issue offers, the ‘keepability’ of the collectors’ issue.
You’ve decided to promote the apple as both culinary and eating. What’s the thinking behind this?
The basis for the idea stems from the qualities of the apple itself. Everyone knows Pink Lady as a great eating apple, but in fact it holds its texture really well when cooked, is naturally sweeter than other varieties and therefore needs less sugar added, browns less quickly than other apples when cut (making it great for things like salads) and if you leave the skin on when making things like pies and crumbles it gives a beautiful pink hue to the food when cooked. We wanted to promote this to encourage increased trip frequency and trip size. The consumer foodie media have adopted the message with enthusiasm and last year (the first year of really pushing the ‘culinary apple’ message) saw around 170 separate articles focusing on Pink Lady as a cooking ingredient.
How has social media helped the campaign?
Pink Lady is about more than just an apple - it’s about creating a brand experience for consumers. Social media (in the guise of Facebook and Twitter in this instance) has really helped by deepening the level of engagement with consumers and strengthening the relationship. It offers the brand an opportunity to have a two-way dialogue with consumers, rather than relying only on communicating messages outbound. Through social media, Pink Lady has been able to hear and respond to feedback from consumers, offer a wider range of messages and react quickly to news and trends that could be amplified by the brand.
We also believe that consumers appreciate being listened to - whether they have something good or bad to say. Via social media, we can amplify the good, and respond to the bad. We’ve sent out boxes of apples to individuals who have had bad experiences and changed their minds, turning them into positive brand ambassadors. -
No comments yet