Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
On the Market Floor
The fresh produce industry must be a world leader when it comes to finding niche markets for products. I’m constantly intrigued by what I read and see of new products and new packaging.
The mainstream products that are moved in huge volumes remain dominant, but their offshoots seem almost endless. Take avocados, for example.
small is beautiful
Once upon a time, all you could buy in South Africa was the green, smooth-skinned avocado. Older readers will recall that there was simply nothing else available.
Then along came the Hass variety, with its dark, bumpy skin, and today, with its various permutations, it is probably the world’s most widely grown avocado. More recently, marketers have introduced convenient ‘ripe and ready’ fruit, much to the delight of consumers.
I read recently in FreshPlaza.com that small avocados are becoming all the rage. A European company is offering these types, with counts of over 20 fruit, as a tasty, creamy fruit that’s easy to use.
The traditional counts (10 to 16) remain the market leaders, but small fruit is being pushed by enterprising marketers, and bought by more and more consumers. This is commendable as it improves overall sales and reduces potential waste.
vegetables
Mini vegetables are a standard offering on retail shelves nowadays, but there was a time when they were discarded by growers who had limited marketing and packaging options.
These days, even the watermelon is sold in a smaller, sweeter, seedless version.
the future of fresh produce
Retailers tell us that they are responding to consumer needs, but sometimes the initiative comes from a niche-marketing approach born around a marketing department table.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who is first to come out with a new idea. The important point is that niche marketing of fresh produce is clearly the way to go to boost future sales.
• Michael Cordes is an agricultural journalist, consultant, trainer and former farmer. Email him at farmersweekly@caxton.co.za. Subject line: Market floor.