The Chilean Fresh Fruit Association works with retailers if they need or want marketing support. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic the organization is bolstering its efforts to strengthen consumer communication, both on its social platforms and through the media.
Karen Brux, managing director of the CFFA, said there are a great many opportunities to expand Chilean stone fruit sales in the North American market.
“I have tasted lots of super sweet, juicy, flavorful peaches, plums and nectarines from Chile this year. Our quality just gets better and better every year, and when retailers promote, they see double- or triple-digit increases in sales,” she said. “No retailers are currently engaging in any type of in-store demos, but we will definitely continue to increase our focus in this area next season.”
March and April are CFFA’s biggest months for promotions in the grape market, with Chile having dominant market share.
“Chile is supplying more of the newer varieties that importers and retailers are requesting, so we’re seeing big volume jumps in varieties like Timco, Allison, Sweet Celebration and Timpson, just to name a few,” Brux said. “At the same time, volumes of lower-demand varieties like Flame Seedless are rapidly decreasing.”
Between the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, exported volumes of this variety to North America decreased by 66 percent and are continuing to fall this season.
“The challenge that we now face is communicating about these great varieties to consumers,” Brux said. “When shoppers are walking through the produce department of their local supermarket and see different grapes on display, it’s crucial that there’s some information to help guide them in their purchasing decisions. If retailers want to encourage sales, they need to inform their shoppers about the fruit that’s on their shelves and give them reasons to buy it.”
In-store, Brux said retailers tend to like the 11x7 point of sale card as it doesn’t take up too much space, but communicates some key information about the fruit.
“Danglers/wobblers also work well,” she said. “We’re looking at producing a Chilean fruit bin next season.”
One of CFFA’s strengths is the flexibility to support retailers with the programs that are most effective for them. This could be anything from a Facebook Live program with a supermarket dietitian to a chain-wide display contest.
For example, it offers demos to showcase the great taste of Chilean fruit.
Brux noted that though many of these demos have now been cancelled due to current circumstances, the CFFA will continue to expand on this program next year.
“Unfortunately, there are still some retail chains who are missing out by either displaying tiny volumes and not promoting or just not selling stone fruit during our season,” Brux said. “Having worked with the Chilean fresh fruit industry for eight years, I’ve definitely seen huge improvements in the eating quality of our stone fruit and I think it’s great that we can enjoy high-quality peaches, plums and nectarines in the U.S. during the heart of our winter.”
She added that demos always result in double-, or even triple-digit sales increases.
Another successful initiative is offering digital coupons. Both regional and national chains are embracing this option, and the CFFA has supported them for all Chilean fruits.
“We like how measurable it is, as we can see exactly how many coupons were downloaded and how many were redeemed,” Brux said. “It’s also easy to test different things, whether different offers, different regions, etc.”
