"This was more an evolution guided by modern branding principles," explains Craig Chester from Pink Lady/APAL. "The last update to the brand was in 2008 and branding has become more sophisticated since then. So the design may have evolved, but not at the expense of our heritage Pink Lady® elements."
"It was time to come back to the principles of consistency, and a unifying consumer first approach, common to the most successful global brands"
Craig said that despite all the new brands around, Pink Lady has managed to stay ahead in the market through a ‘brand first’ focus. "We have confidence in our brand. You can licence and trademark, and it is important to have this protection for your brand and IP, but you have to continue to invest in your brand. The partners which we have had over many years have been exceptional, they have put a lot of their time and investment into the brand, so when we are challenged we feel we have a sophisticated brand with a strong network of committed licensees, passionate about seeing off those challenges. We feel this makes us unique and part of why we continue to be so successful."
Pink Lady is not a club or a managed variety, but an open variety which is managed through IP licensing and distinctive branding. Craig believes that by investing in this model they have been able to create a business which is both inclusive and expansive. It is always a challenge in fresh produce to keep a constant 12 month supply, especially in current climate conditions, but the 1st goal of Pink Lady has always been to have high quality branded apples on the shelves 365 days a year.
"We do this by encouraging the best growers and marketers from a broad number of origins to take part in the business. We work with growers in South America and South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and all over Europe. Our success is in the brand and our adherance to global quality standards, not the country of origin. South Africa has been a very popular source of Pink Lady apples, especially for the Asian markets, but when the volumes are lower they tend to ship to their traditional markets such as Europe. This means that some of the emerging Asian markets have found it hard to get enough supply to develop the brand. This is our challenge in this region, but APAL and its partners accept the challenge and maintain our conviction in a system which has delivered us the #1 produce brand in the world.
Craig Chester next to the Pink Ladys at Asia Fruit Logisitca
Climate change is becoming more and more apparent and the supply of agricultural produce is becoming harder to accurately predict.
To try to overcome this, many growers in warmer origins are transitioning to the new EDVs (Essentially Derived Varieties) such as Rosy Glow and Lady in Red. Selected for their performance to the original Cripps Pink, these varieties have brought higher colour opportunities in regions where this has been traditionally difficult for Cripps Pink, and it has made it possible to get more product into the market of Pink Lady standard.
South African growing regions are faced with continuing drought conditions which will make apple production challenging. "They are still highly invested in the Cripps Pink variety, but are in transition. Many growers have started to invest in Rosy Glow and Lady in Red which colour easier that Cripps Pink, but we acknowledge this takes time."
Asia traditionally likes a nice sweet red apple, so how does Pink Lady fare there?
"There are a lot of red apples on the market but there is only one Pink Lady," says Craig. "We have unique background colours and we are proud of our distinction. We know we have enough colour for the Asian market to trial us, and once tasted we see strong repeat purchase – so like always, we trust our numbers and not opinions. When supply is good, we continue to grow in this region."
For more information:
Craig Chester
APAL/ Pink Lady
+61 3 9329 3522
Email: cchester@apal.org.au