Prospects high for Pink Lady this apple campaign

Following a successful summer of sales, Pink Lady growers are anticipating an “excellent” season, according to the Pink Lady Europe association.

This year’s harvest is expected to reach 220,000 tonnes of Pink Lady and PinKids apples, the association said, “a crop that will maintain the brand’s high-quality standards, and which will be a record in terms of volume, with a ream of controlled size for the three producing countries of France, Spain and Italy”.

At 10.2m tonnes, the European apple harvest is one of the smallest in a decade. But with volumes of Pink Lady forecast to grow by 5 per cent and quality expected to be high, this season appears full of potential for the brand.

“So far, the weather has been rather mild in the plots dedicated to Pink Lady this season, and the cool nights forecast should boost colouring potential: quality is on the cards,” the association said.

Pink Lady will be at Fruit Attraction on 8-10 October with a stand designed by Italian artist Francesco Poroli, whose work also adorns the brand’s tote bags distributed across Europe this season.

Poroli said his aim with the design was to “illustrate how there’s a whole world behind a simple apple. In this virtuous ecosystem, everyone plays their part, a metaphor for the unity and sustainability essential to the whole world”.

“Pink Lady’s presence at Fruit Attraction represents an excellent opportunity to strengthen its international business relationships and share its values and commitments,” the association confirmed, “but it’s also a good opportunity to present the work of the network that supports it and its objectives for the coming season.”

One of the attractions this year is the presentation of a new licence for the brand. “This season, Pink Lady is teaming up with Disney,” Pink Lady said. “The partnership will be twofold, with the first collaboration between PinKids, the little Pink Lady for children, and The Lion King, one of the group’s most popular licenses.

“In the spring, Pink Lady packaging will take over from the iconic Mickey license. A partnership that makes sense: the coming together of two strong, premium brands, adored by families and sharing the same enduring values.”

This season, promotional campaigns Adopt a Tree, Pink Chefs and Bee Pink are set to be renewed “with a new artistic direction”, as the brand aims for an ever closer connection with consumers, while highlighting the brand’s values and commitments.

Events and tastings at points of sale are designed to increase the brand’s visibility and attract new consumers, while sustainability efforts remain a top priority.

“Partnerships with local chefs and influencers, as well as two media campaigns for November and February, are also on the agenda to support the brand’s ambitious objectives of recruiting new consumers, building loyalty and increasing brand awareness to support its evolution.

“Pink Lady remains firmly committed to sustainable production, quality, societal expectations and collective action. The brand remains committed to research into biodiversity and to reducing the carbon footprint generated by the industry, issues which are now 100 per cent integrated into Pink Lady’s minimum standards.”