The California Table Grape Commission is set to ramp up its UK focus as it works to boost consumption of the state’s 2009 table grape crop and prolong its marketing campaign.

The organisation will continue the worldwide campaign launched last year to establish brand awareness for the California table grape, and is targeting the UK as a major market.

The commission has drawn up a varietal chart, available on its website, displaying the 15 types of grapes available for export including Scarlet Royal and Red Globe, which will hit the market later this month.

Susan Day, vice-president of the California Table Grape Commission, told FPJ: “Our promotional programme in the UK will include in-store sampling promotions at the point of sale. We have found that these promotions lift consumer purchase significantly, as they have the opportunity to taste the sweetness of California grapes.

“We also provide those consumers with information about California grapes - the numerous varieties of white, red and black grapes and the perfect growing environment of rich soil, clean water and long, hot summers that are ideal for table grapes. We will also have some on-pack promotions offering consumers prizes, such as a trip to California. We have done these in the past and have had a tremendous response.

“The last on-pack promotion we conducted resulted in an unprecedented 14 per cent response. This year, the commission’s variety chart of the top 15 varieties shows a number of varieties previously unseen on the chart - the production of these varieties reached their high volume levels in 2008, so the chart represents a big difference to previous commission variety charts. The varieties on the chart are of a great deal of interest in the UK market.”

In the US, the commission is looking to make the fruit synonymous with baseball through a promotional push. It is giving away 20,000 t-shirts carrying its logo to help raise awareness of the product.

This follows a rebrand and revamp of the commission’s website last year.

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