The supermarket and the supplier can sometimes be diametrically opposed to each other, so the big supermarkets are often under close scrutiny. Driscoll's is working together with Danish retailer Dansk Supermarked to promote soft fruit. In the United Kingdom, British Summer Fruits is investing in the promotion of berries. During the Global Berry Congress last Tuesday, Wyard Stomp (Driscoll's), Susanne Hounsgaard (Dansk Supermarked) and Laurence Ollins (British Summer Fruit) talked about their approach.
Time for coffee and networking at the Global Berry Congress.
"Soft fruit still has a lot of potential," Wyard Stomp argues. That's because soft fruit naturally evokes an emotion in the consumer. "Everyone has nostalgic memories of a moment when strawberries were eaten, for instance." To make full use of this potential, companies have to work together with the supermarkets towards one goal.
Wyard Stomp (Driscoll's): "soft fruit evokes emotion in consumers."
Lack of knowledge
One example is the partnership between Driscoll's and Dansk Supermarked. Susanne Hounsgaard says the chain has 35% of the Danish market in hands. Together with Coop, Dansk Supermarked, with various retail formulas, controls most of the market. "We are looking for partners in the supply chain," Susanne says. "There is more knowledge in the chain than we have about the products." The partnership with Driscoll's focuses on the promotion of soft fruit in different areas, with in-store promotion campaigns, providing consumers with information, and giving a taste guarantee on the berries. The campaign was a success."
Susanne Hounsgaard: "There is more knowledge in the chain than we have about the products."
The figures, based on a study within a retail formula, which Susanne presents, underline this view. The results show that soft fruit achieves the highest revenue, more households are buying soft fruit, and off-season sales increased. Driscoll's and Dansk Supermarked are working together on cross-overs into other segments. One of the ideas is to also put blueberries in the dairy department. "And we want to use the blueberries during a campaign for beauty products," Susanne says.
Laurence Ollins (British Summer Fruit) talks about the promotional campaigns in the United Kingdom.
British promotional campaign
In the United Kingdom, British Summer Fruit accounts for roughly 98% of the soft fruit sold through the supermarkets. The organization gathers market data, provides growers with information about things like diseases, and maintains relations with supermarkets. The organization's year-round promotional programme is also important. No distinction is made between import and British produce.
Around 350 people from 32 countries visited the congress in Rotterdam.
"For instances, we had a campaign in conjunction with Asda, with schools being supplied with fruit, challenging the school children to come up with new recipes," Laurence says. "That was a success, and we could actually use a number of recipes."
Wyard Stomp (Driscoll's), Susanne Hounsgaard (Dansk Supermarked), Laurence Ollins (British Summer Fruits) and Robert Verloop (Naturipe) continue discussing promotional campaigns for soft fruit with moderator Chris White.
A second example is last year's promotional campaign. Through the digital campaign, which cost around 100,000 pounds (about 130,000 Euro), advertisements were directly linked to a webpage with soft fruit in the web shops of various retailers. That way, the berries could be ordered directly from the favourite supermarket.
Yesterday we reported on the challenges in the soft fruit sector, as observed by Robert Verloop, and the new markets that are apparent from a Eurofruit study.