In 2009, a group comprised by the main importers of kiwifruit in Latin America travelled to New Zealand, where they visited the most important regions of fruit cultivation, the port of Tauraga and the city of Auckland.
The objective of increasing imports of the brand Zespri into Latin America was achieved. That same year Brazil increased its number of importers by 60% and the general program of Latin America increased by 40% in comparison to the previous season.
The contest was directed to Zespri buyers at Costco. The participants had to send the proof of payment and a creative recipe using Zespri kiwifruits.
Silvia was the winner of the contest with a delicious recipe of caramelized Linguini containing Gold kiwifruit. After its trip she delivered a testimonial which was published in the membership club’s magazine, making her a loyal consumer and ambassador for Costco and Zespri.
The gathering of data from competitors was fundamental to create a data base which was used to prepare the communication strategy for the next season of Zespri kiwifruit.
Thanks to the information that was provided to Litehouse Dressings, the company explored all its candidates and in 18 months Litehouse found its best partner with GAB, known for its brand Mr. Lucky.
With the joint efforts of both companies, 8 SKUs have been introduced in the Mexican market with a growing distribution in the retail sector.
During a limited time, Imagination Farms together with Disney, launched a program in Mexico integrating exporters, importers and distributors with the objective of showing the fun side of produce through the alignment of already known Disney characters and selected fruits such as apples, pears, grapes and citruses.
The materials were developed with high care regarding the uses of licenses and promotions in point of sales were undertaken in Chedraui stores as they became the Ambassador Chain of the program. This exercise was a temporary program to explore the potential of licensed products in the fresh department; and part of the learning included the development of packaging and seasonal activities with supermarkets.
As part of the trade mission of the western United States, four produce exporters from New Mexico, Montana and Colorado participated in the trip to visit customs agents, the frontier’s inspection zone and the bonded warehouses to understand all the requirements and steps to follow when successfully exporting to the Mexican market.
After the visit, direct imports in the region with supermarkets increased by 50% including of yellow onions, pumpkin and pinto beans.
The Idaho Potato Commission elaborated a market research in frontier states with the United States in order to explore the positioning of Idaho as the main origin of potatoes and the use of Russet potatoes in comparison with other varieties.
The conclusion showed that there exists a big opportunity to communicate the presence of different varieties of potatoes other than the white potato, especially in the eastern region of Mexico; as well as communicating the high-quality standard of Idaho as an origin which is recognized in the United States.
A two-week promotion was undertaken in stores of Gigante in Reynosa and Matamoros. The program included a massive exhibition of potatoes in the produce department where a free potato and educational materials were given away to each client who visited the store. Sales increased to double digits.
In coordination with the store supervisor and the department of marketing of the supermarket chain HEB, it was possible to introduce an exhibition during the Chilean festival.
With this event, Chile reaffirmed as a reliable supplier of summer fruits.
With the motive of the World Cup of Soccer in Germany 2006, Costco’s magazine Contacto published an announcement, showing the two varieties of Zespri kiwifruits as fans in the stadium.
The announcement invited the reader to contact Zespri to receive a special spoon (spifes) to eat their kiwifruits.
The campaign was one of the most successful for the magazine in terms of direct marketing as in total more than 6,000 spifes were sent to the whole Republic.
A national contest in 2006 with Chilean peaches, plums and nectarines in Soriana supermarkets with ASOEX transformed the life of a loyal customer.
The contest, sponsored by LanChile, consisted in sending a recipe with the fruits, a reason to travel to Chile and a purchase ticket. This contest granted the winner, María Eugenia, a 2 weeks holiday in Chile, who moved after falling in love with the country.
Sales during the promotion increased by 65% compared to the previous year.
Due to the great influence that trainers have and knowing one of the main targets of Zespri, an alliance was created between Les Mills, an specialized company in exercise routines and conditioning and Zespri kiwifruit to train the coaches about the nutritional benefits of consuming Zespri kiwifruit and its importance of making it part of a healthy lifestyle.
More than 1,000 instructors, gym owners and nutritionists from all the country participated and became the official spokesmen of Zespri. In addition, the trainer with the highest “Zespri passion” travelled to the Les Mills corporation located in Auckland, New Zealand.