3rd Annual Kinnow Exhibition in Rotterdam
Besides an attractive display of the Pakistani kinnow set up at the exhibition, the fruit was available for tasting along with its freshly squeezed juice. The buyers were impressed with the taste and the juice-yield of Pakistani kinnow.
The Kinnow exhibition, organized for the third consecutive year in the Netherlands, has become a regular annual B2B event. The event has snowballed and the number of buyers attending has gradually increased.
The event was divided into three distinct sessions –the first session was exclusively for the buyers (fruit importers); in the second session, a reception was held wherein the functionaries and diplomats were invited; in the last session the exhibition was opened for the consumers.
Mr. Tariq Iqbal Puri, Chief Executive TDAP, in a statement from Karachi, stated that the Netherlands is the gateway to Europe for the trade of fresh produce and TDAP has been implementing a comprehensive plan for promotion of kinnow on the Dutch market. The plan includes a kinnow exhibition in Rotterdam, POS promotion of the fruit and taste development campaign in Hanos, the leading Dutch supermarket chain.
Speaking to the buyers and other guests during the event, Mr. Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Ambassdor of Pakistan, said that the consistent strategy to promote Pakistani kinnow in the Netherlands has started bearing fruit and the juicy mandarin from Pakistan has established a strong foothold in the Dutch mainstream market. He thanked the buyers for reposing trust in Pakistani products.
Mr. Nick, the buying manager of Hanos Amsterdam, stated that Hanos had introduced kinnow in its assortment in 2010; due to the encouraging response from consumers they have decided to extend its availability to the other stores.
Mr. Jeroen Knikkink, Managing Director, Solfruit Interntional, one of the leading importers and distributors of fresh produce in Europe, said that his company has imported kinnow for the first time on the recommendation of the Commercial Wing of the Pakistan Embassy. “We have test marketed the product and it has good acceptability in the market. We have conducted tests on the product itself and found it to be almost organic. We have received the first trial shipment of four containers during the current season but due to the encouraging response, have placed order for another 11 containers”, he added.
Muhammad Ashraf, Commercial Counselor, made a presentation to the buyers on Pakistani kinnow and its strengths. He stated that the kinnow, with the highest juice content in any mandarin variety in the world, is an ideal product for the citrus juice segment. Accordingly, we have positioned kinnow as a “persmandarijn” (juicy mandarin) in the Dutch market. In 2009, we employed a three-year market penetration strategy for kinnow: (i) push marketing in trade channels; (ii) positioning kinnow in the market as a “persmandarijn”, (iii) pull marketing through taste development amongst the mainstream consumers, and (iii) consolidation of ethnic segment of the market. The consistent marketing efforts have started bearing fruit and the juicy fruit is now pouring in the Dutch market. The kinnow exports have increased by 53% in the Dutch market during the last two years. TDAP’s support has been playing a vital role in these market penetration efforts, he added.
For more information:
Muhammad Ashraf
The Hague, The Netherlands
Tel: +31-70-3625075
+31-70-3648948
Fax: +31-70-3658474
Email: commercial@pakembassy.nl