Foods from Spain gained useful insight into public perception of Spanish exotic fruits when it gave demonstrations of cherimoya and persimmon to members of the public at the Taste Spain festival at Borough Market.
Sampling is a key part of Foods from Spain’s integrated promotional push on fresh produce, particularly on products that may be new to consumers, such as the cherimoya and persimmon.
During two days of demonstrations, several thousand samples were given to visitors at the market, who were encouraged to give plenty of feedback.
The vast majority of British visitors to the market knew little or nothing about cherimoya, but the lion’s share of those who tasted it said they liked or loved the fruit when they tasted it. A few had already seen the fruit in supermarkets - and their most commonly asked question was “what do I do with it?”.
Persimmon was slightly more recognised, although most people thought it was a sharonfruit and worried it would be astringent because it was firm to the touch. However, most people enjoyed eating the fruit.
Foods from Spain provided information sheets on the two fruits and also used the Taste Spain event to display entries from its National Primary Schools Competition, run earlier this year.
The two campaigns to promote cherimoya and persimmon feature tasting events across the country, as well as articles in the consumer and trade press.
