The Red Moon® commercial campaign started at the end of October 2019 and has already been successfully completed. Richard Clementi, sales manager of Clementi srl and responsible person for the red-fleshed apple project, analyses: “Despite a 50% higher harvest compared to last year, today we are sold out and only second-choice apples left in the cool stores, shortly used for the production of our Red Moon® Sparkling juice."
"In fact, in just over two and a half months, the 1,500 tons of Red Moon®, some organic and some biodynamic, were sold out. We owe this to the initially strong demand due to Halloween and the generally very high demand from abroad. Our strongest customers come from Germany, the Benelux and the Scandinavian countries, where we sell both in the traditional and the modern market. In Italy, we only worked with wholesalers, as it is a very complex niche market that places particular emphasis on size and colour. We sell the large quantities to Northern European countries. There is such a high request from these and non-EU countries, especially Asia, but we cannot satisfy this request at the moment. It will take a few more years for plants to go into full production of the 100 hectares existing in Italy till now."
Luis Clementi, technical manager of the licensee Clementi srl and partner of the Red Moon Company, adds: “The season 2019 was not easy to handle in the fields: the bad weather during the sensitive pollination phase and the heavy rain during the harvest of the later variety RM1, made work difficult. Nevertheless, the results were very satisfactory both with regard to the colouring of the skin and the fresh, and with regard to the Brix grades achieved, the crunchiness and the shelf life. In particular, this year we observe a very good storage in the cool stores.”
“Now that the sale of fresh products has ended, we will focus on processing,” says Jürgen Braun, co-owner of KIKU Variety Management, a partner company of Red Moon Company, responsible for marketing activities. “We currently market Red Moon® Sparkling mainly in South Tyrol, especially in hotels and delicatessens, in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic. Our non-alcoholic drink with its natural red colour will be offered at Fruit Logistica together with a taste of fresh apples."
In this context and due to the sensation around the red-fleshed apple, it is reported the Red Moon® has already been analysed in a master thesis (Red flesh apples innovation in the fruit sector: an exploration of consumer’s perceptions and market potential in Italy and New Zealand).
The work comes from Moritz Zanetti and deals with the acceptance and appreciation of the innovation of red-fleshed apples by consumers and market participants in Italy and New Zealand, carried out at the course for “Horticultural Economics and Marketing” at the University of Bologna. It shows a higher acceptance by the Italian traders, while Italian consumers are more conservative and cautious compared to New Zealanders.
For all those who are looking for an apple that combines hedonism, health and sustainability, the next appointment at Fruit Logistica in hall 6.2, booth A-11 is essential.
For more information:
Monika Giuliani
Red Moon Ltd
Tel: +39 0471 661 734
Email: monika@kiku-apple.com