"We have always prepared ourselves for a constantly evolving market. Today the overall situation is very uncertain, not to say hostile, due to serious international tensions, severe disruptions in the logistics sector, cost explosion and market volatility. But we are confident that we will get through this difficult time and emerge stronger. Every company has to find its own solid place in this new and difficult context, and we are ready,” explains Martin Pinzger, CEO of VIP, the Val Venosta Fruit and Vegetable Producers' Association.
VIP means 1,600 passionate and experienced fruit cultivators, a total production of almost 340,000 tonnes of apples, a homogeneous territory with excellent environmental characteristics in the unique context of the Alps. Val Venosta is therefore legitimately considered Europe's “Apple Paradise”.
"Every successful company - emphasises VIP's CEO - produces by responding to the needs of its target market, and for decades our Consortium with its Cooperatives and farmers has operated with a single objective: to offer its target the right products. A simple and effective strategy that translates into a placement based on solid pillars, which make VIP a reliable and proactive reality, even in an international context of general concern".
Apple marketing in the 2021-22 season The marketing of apples in the 2021-22 season is facing a number of developments that reduce accessible market opportunities and negatively impact the profitability of production. Ever since Prognosfruit's forecast in August 2021 and then with the autumn harvest, it was clear that this season would see significant volumes available in Europe, with greater market tension than in the last two years.
This has unfortunately become a reality and the presence of large volumes of small sizes has put pressure on these references for most varieties, a situation progressively aggravated by logistical tensions and persistent export difficulties.
In recent months, a barrage of geopolitical factors has hit the market, once again reducing outlets for European production. The embargo on food products from Belarus from the first of January 2022, followed a few weeks later by the introduction of new payment/exchange methods in Egypt (L/C) had slowed down the decumulation of Eastern European production. The recent war between Russia and Ukraine has caused further severe logistical, price and raw material availability tensions, as well as a lack of consumer confidence in future economic developments, with a consequent reduction in consumption to counterbalance inflationary tension.
In particular, the issue of rising costs is having a strong impact on the sector, and production will not be able to fully absorb the inevitable increases, having to carry them at least partially to distribution and consumption.
So, if the overall picture is unfavourable, sales are in any case proceeding along the lines of the destocking schedule planned by VIP at the beginning of the season, with different dynamics for the various references.
"Regarding conventional fruits – affirms the Commercial Manager Fabio Zanesco – the varietal picture is diversified, considering that the Gala season is now over, with a trend that was generally dynamic. For the rest, we are a couple of weeks behind the original schedule, due to the events of the last few months and less than enthusiastic consumption, but we are confident that we will be able to regain this during the high season and in the coming months. What is certain is that the medium-large sizes have a regular and satisfactory trend for all varieties, while on the small and second-class I am concerned that there will not be sufficient outlets for all the apples that are on the market today. One positive fact is certainly that we expect fewer apples arriving from the Southern Hemisphere in Europe, due to logistical complications and high costs; we notice that our customers are focused on European product at the moment, which can definitely provide some interesting business opportunities. Outside Europe, some destinations are performing well, such as India with Red Delicious, but most markets are stagnant and the very expensive freight often knocks us out of the market or severely reduces the volumes we can load".
"Now we are starting, with April, an interesting two-month period, also in terms of references – points out Fabio Zanesco – mainly destined for the European market, such as Pinova and Bonita, and we will complete the campaign of the main Club apples, namely Envy™, Ambrosia™ and the great novelty Cosmic Crisp®, launched at the end of February and which has covered a first 'test' commercial season on the main markets. Kanzi® will continue to be marketed until mid-June, in line with expectations. Regarding club apples, we can say that the campaign was satisfactory, although it cannot be denied that the market was partly weighed down by an excess of small sizes, which do not find the right value in the premium segment.”
“The consumer in this segment expects a perfect product in terms of size as well – VIP's Commercial Manager emphasises – and as important as it is to focus on taste, we notice that it is difficult to find new commercial space at the top of the price scale. We will certainly have to work better on segmentation and involve our customers and consumers more strongly in varietal innovation projects".
Moving on to the organic market, the picture is partly different, although the events and difficulties impacting on consumption, costs and distribution are the same.
Gerhard Eberhöfer, the Organic Product Manager, emphasises: "For the first time we have exceeded the important threshold of 50,000 tonnes of production and this certainly represents a considerable challenge, but the current specific conditions of the European organic market make me moderately optimistic for the second half of the season. More than half of our production was sold as planned by the end of March, and apart from Golden and Red Delicious (which represent a lower overall share compared to conventional, but currently do not have sufficient outlets in the fresh market), plans for the coming months are higher than expected.
It must be said that, also thanks to the reduced harvest in Germany and Switzerland, demand is sustained, and we also note a positive re-orientation of European retailers towards continental organic rather than looking at imports from Southern Hemisphere countries. Since a few days we have started marketing Topaz, Pinova and Bonita, which we are saving for spring-summer in order to guarantee continuity and the right product for the improving climate".
"We are working daily to ensure the best quality up to the new harvest – Eberhöfer points out – in the short but especially in the medium-long term, thanks to the choice of varieties suitable for keeping and storing until August. In this context, it is obvious that the window of business opportunities for organic productions imported by ship from more distant countries will progressively shrink in favour of regional and European products. The organic market is progressively segmenting and therefore we are also introducing innovative apples such as SweeTango®, Kanzi®, envy™, Ambrosia™ and Cosmic Crisp®. The Cosmic Crisp® is an absolute newcomer and the marketing will start at Easter with a portfolio of very few selected customers and will gradually expand in the coming years."
With the innovative and newly developed training app "VIP Academy", VIP communicates important knowledge about apples and the Val Venosta growing region to the specialist staff in fruit shops. VIP's new training app trains employees in the fruit departments to become real apple connoisseurs who skilfully communicate the values of Val Venosta apples to apple consumers.
"For VIP, this innovative app also makes it possible to train an unlimited number of people and get them excited about our products from Val Venosta," explains Benjamin Laimer. Once again, VIP proves itself as an apple specialist and first-class apple partner for its customers.
In addition to communicating with trade customers and consumers, it has been equally important for VIP for years to specifically reach the specialised staff in the food retail trade and to inform them about the Val Venosta growing region: "The fruit sellers are in daily contact and exchange with the consumers. They are an important voice for VIP, telling consumers about our values. Therefore, it was important to us to create a tool with which we can inspire the professionals for our products and at the same time convey important information. To achieve this goal, we created our own training app, which we are launching online these days," explains Benjamin Laimer.
The "VIP Academy" app is a self-guided online training course for apple sellers in food retail shops. It is divided into five knowledge areas and imparts exciting knowledge on the following topics: variety theory, the path of an apple, the values of the Val Venosta apple paradise, cultivation methods and easy copy. Ten multiple-choice questions on each topic help the app user to test the newly acquired knowledge. With each correct answer, the user receives one point, and with a sufficient number of points, he or she receives a prize.
In the topic area "The perfect apple presentation", the fruit seller is also encouraged to put into practice what he has learned about the product characteristics: An appealing product presentation should be implemented and photographed directly in the shop. For each uploaded photo documenting an appealing product presentation, the user in turn receives up to 10 points. A total of up to five different photos can be submitted. The points collected from questions and photos are then added together and with the help of 3 point levels, the user receives the respective prize.
For more information:
VIP
www.vip.coop