In recent years pineapples have undergone a revamp. Sure, they may look the same, but go beyond the exterior and you will find that many pineapples are sweeter tasting these days. In addition, effective promotional campaigns and pre-cut pineapples are lifting the sector and bringing in the sales.
Marketing whole pineapples still requires some initiative though, especially in these busy times when many consumers want a convenient fruit that they can eat on the run. A tough shell and prickly leaves are not exactly good selling points. However, producers readily report that sales are climbing.
Fyffes and its partners source pineapples from a number of different countries, in particular Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala and Ecuador.
“We deliberately multi-source, as we feel that this makes us less vulnerable to fluctuations caused by poor weather,” says Fyffe’s business development manager, Andrew Denham-Smith.
“It also allows us to use more than one shipping line, which improves the flexibility of our service for our customers in the US and Europe. In keeping with our philosophy, we have a number of joint ventures with growers in our supplying countries.”
Fyffes also buys pineapples from independent growers, which, according to the company, provides flexibility and reduces financial risk.
The Fyffes Gold Super Sweet pineapple was introduced to the UK a couple of years ago. Since its introduction, the company claims it has been gaining popularity at the expense of others such as Champaka and Cayenne Lisse.
“The Super Sweet variety gives the consumer a far better experience than traditional varieties,” claims Denham-Smith. “As Super Sweet volumes continue to rise, so availability will drive consumption.”
Fyffes expects to import more than five million cartons into Europe this year, the majority coming from Costa Rica. “Our widespread network of partners makes it possible to market pineapples in almost all European countries, ranging from Scandinavia to the Czech Republic,” says Denham-Smith.
The company notes that as supplies for super sweet pineapples continue to rise, prices will inevitably come under pressure.
“We have seen this already in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2004,” says Denham-Smith. “With improving availability, we expect Super Sweet volumes to increase - in part, at the expense of varieties such as Cayenne Lisse.
“As sales prices decrease, Gold Super Sweet will become even more financially attractive to a wider range of customers and further increases in consumption are expected.”
Dickon Poole of JP Fruit/Dole is also optimistic about the pineapple market. “We are handling increased volumes due to our customer demands and we see a dramatic increase.”
According to JP Fruit figures, up to April 2005, there had already been a 42.8 per cent growth over the previous year, with the month of April alone registering a 52.5 per cent increase.
JP Fruit markets the Smooth Cayenne pineapples and sources from the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras and Brazil.
According to Poole, there is virtually no demand for the Champaka variety, but further education and promotional activities are needed to boost pineapple consumption.
Indeed, research has shown that the consumer’s main concern is how to prepare the exotic fruit and this can frequently prevent purchase.
One option, Fyffes believes, is to promote pineapple corers at a very competitive price, which will enable consumers to enjoy the fruit with minimum inconvenience.
Recognising a ripe pineapple at retail level can also be an issue, notes Denham-Smith. “We attempt to overcome this by explaining that Fyffes Gold Super Sweet is ready to eat whatever the shell colour,” he says.
To further boost consumption, pineapples must deliver not only sweetness, but flavour and consistency, believes Lewey Hook, Utopia UK’s technical development manager.
He says that with better consistency of arrivals and non-invasive methods of testing internal quality, they can ensure better fruit reaches the consumer.
Utopia, similarly to Fyffes and JP Fruit, is also reporting rising orders for customers and consumers, and according to Hook, there are a couple of new varieties in the pipeline including an MD2 mutation.
Currently, the importer primarily deals with the MD2 and smooth Cayenne varieties.
“We source from Costa Rica and Ghana and we are adding new production sources to get an even supply throughout the year, to iron out the peaks and troughs caused by climate/geography/season and other market demands on existing suppliers,” Hook says.
“There are many peaks and troughs in the Costa Rican growing season which are mainly weather related, but this is also affected by how much fruit there is in the US market and where suppliers wish to send their fruit to get the best prices,” he notes.
“The only way I see to change this is to develop close relationships with growers and be tuned to their volume fluctuations and also to be their first export choice - every time.”
Compagnie Fruitiere UK’s supplies are mainly made up of its own production.
It says pineapple consumption is increasing (and not just in the UK) as quality levels have achieved a high degree of consistency, prompting more frequent purchasing and customer satisfaction, says Compagnie Fruitiere's Nigel Law.
“Varietal innovation will continue to stimulate demand, as will the high quality levels of products being delivered,” he continues, adding that volume has increased by approximately 20 per cent year on year.
The Compagnie Fruitiere group grew over 65,000 tonnes of pineapples last year. With the introduction of Fairtrade pineapples and more range diversification to come, the company expects more interest will be created at retail level.
“As soon as we can offer continuity and consistency of product quality in line with our customer expectations we will extend the range to include organic,” Law says.
Meanwhile, transporting pineapples is a large undertaking and getting space on vessels can be restrictive if containerships are busy working other routes, observers say.
Fyffes has two direct weekly arrivals with its own vessels in Europe - one in Antwerp and the other in Portsmouth.
It also uses container lines for direct arrivals in Rotterdam and Spain. “This makes for shorter transit times which is beneficial in terms of taste and freshness,” Denham-Smith says, adding that in compliance with the general food law, Fyffes has a system in place to ensure tracking and tracing of every carton.
He notes that all Fyffes’ pineapples are EurepGap-certified and that its packhouses are all recently built and state-of-the-art. “We are continuously evaluating and developing our processes to ensure that we can deliver the best quality to our markets,” he says.
“Fyffes’ inspectors regularly check the facilities and records at each farm to make sure that only authorised farm processes are used. In addition, to ensure product safety, we regularly send random samples of pineapples arriving at all ports in Europe to be tested by ISO17025 laboratories for broad-spectrum analysis.”
And with more firms taking the sweet route, pineapples may win over previously reluctant consumers.
No comments yet