The Beautiful Country, Beautiful Fruit promotional drive to raise the profile of South African stonefruit and top fruit was launched in 2009 by Hortgro, the association representing the two sectors, in partnership with South Africa’s DTI, following deregulation of the country’s fruit business a decade earlier. Now in its seventh year, it is one of the longest-established campaigns in UK fresh produce.
Jacques du Preez, general manager for trade and markets at Hortgro, says: “The South African fruit industry has a longstanding relationship with the UK. It has the scale, soils and climate, coupled with the infrastructure and proximity to market, needed to produce and deliver large volumes of exceptional-quality fresh produce. As single-desk marketing made way for many competing companies under deregulation, we had begun to ask how to highlight the advantages of South African fresh produce to the benefit of everyone involved. We set up the market development campaign as the answer to this question.”
From its inception, the campaign has engaged people the length of the supply chain, communicating to retailers, importers, journalists and consumers the specific USPs of purchasing fruit from South Africa. For the trade, these include the comparatively short shipping time to market and adherence to international standards; for shoppers, the focus is on the taste and seasons of headline varieties such as Flavorking plums or Forelle pears. There is an emphasis on eating quality, freshness and the role that South African fruit has played in the development of the country throughout the promotion.
The strategy is integrated, working to inform shoppers through a variety of print and online advertising and editorial media, and ensure they understand why to look for South African fruit. Activity inside supermarkets then centres on signposting with point of sale and logos on, or visible inside packs, to make it easy for shoppers to find, as well as giving opportunities for them to try the fruit first hand. Meanwhile, Hortgro works collaboratively with stakeholders in the trade, inviting input from retailers and importers on the activities run at each planning stage.
The campaign was launched with a pilot on the plum category in 2009, which set out to road test the approach and tools. The positive reaction and, critically, early impact on sales led to full rollout into peaches, nectarines, apples and pears the following year. At the same time, Hortgro launched a related promotion focusing on plums, apricots and pears in Germany.
Verbatim feedback from retailers and importers at the end of each yearly cycle forms a vital part of judging the success of the campaign and planning for the next season. However, growth in South African fruit is the definitive measure. In the five years from 2009-10 to 2013-14, volumes of the country’s stonefruit grew by more than 50 per cent. Anecdotal evidence suggests sales have continued to build in 2014-15. In spite of a difficult weather-struck season in 2014, South African top fruit has also enjoyed overall growth in the UK.
As Hortgro plans the next stage it is working with retailers to include a mix of activities that will maintain this momentum. Meanwhile, it is looking to build awareness of the South African fruit brand in the catering sector, with its Cook South Africa! young chefs’ competition, and direct to children, parents and teachers with the Help A South African School initiative, which includes a charitable drive where UK schoolchildren donate books to schools in rural areas of South Africa; this has run for four years.
