STONEFRUIT
Indonesian promotions wrapup
T
BY SHAY CROUCH VALUE CHAIN FACILITATOR, STONEFRUIT WA
This was conducted in March/April of this year through three major retailers; Ranch Market, KemChicks and Food Hall. Unfortunately, this activity was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic as it raced across the globe. However, this did not diminish the good impression our WA plums were making in the retail market.
Point-of-sale material and in store tasting were conducted over these weeks, with many observations made along the way. As the first international campaign carried out by our industry, there was lots to learn and takeaway from the project. • Feedback was positive with many customers commenting that our plums were sweet and had a great texture • In times of COVID-19, prepacked fruit is preferred by consumers. Similar trends seen here in Australia • Tasting reinforced that besides price, people buy for sweetness
PHOTOS © MoreLink
he final part of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Asian Market Success funding was implementing a marketing campaign at retail level in Jakarta. 3 POINT-OF-SALE material on display in a Food Hall shop in Jakarta during March/April season.
3 LARGE display of WA plums in Jakarta with Sales Promotion lady handing out tasters.
• Plums are still an exotic fruit and more information on Red and Black plums is needed • Ranch Market still prefers larger size plums for its premium locations • Fruit quality was high with all stakeholders having no issues
• Freight and supply were severely impacted by COVID-19 as access to some markets was restricted, creating an oversupply in other markets, such as Jakarta. This promotion work should be viewed as a scoping exercise, as it wasn’t large enough to generate a huge increase in sales. However, it has shown where future funds can be best spent to generate those increases. We have started to build upon those relationships and can now see potential for the WA industry in developing further into this market. ●
WA plums
making a great impression in the retail market.
• Point-of-sale material was well received with clear imagery of friendly Aussie kids enjoying a plum • To keep up with consumer buying trends growers should look at growing sweeter plum varieties such as Honey Punch and the Candy series
MORE INFORMATION For more information contact Shay via email shay.crouch@perthnrm.com or phone (08) 9374 3306.
WA Grower WINTER 2020
67