Small boxes of fresh-cut fruit are a new craze in China and the market is rapidly growing. Seedless pomegranate cups, fresh-cut jackfruit... shops everywhere offer a rich assortment of fresh-cut, ready-to-eat fruit in small packages. Jiangsu Jieguo Agricultural Science and Technology Co., Ltd., is a specialized supplier of fresh-cut fruit products. Company spokesperson, Mr. Wang Genzu, recently talked about developments in the industry.
Manager Wang first talked about the impact of several recent outbreaks of Covid-19 on the company's regular services. "The demand for fresh-cut fruit products does not change much as a result of these outbreaks. Demand for fruit is inelastic. Many consumers simply switch to delivery services such as Dingdong Maicai or Miss Fresh. We also adjusted our retail strategy. We have increased our supply volume for online sales platforms."
"The biggest impact of the recent outbreaks for us has been a problem with the delivery of certain fruits. For example, the jackfruit we import from Vietnam is not coming through. There are countless jackfruits rotting in delayed shipping containers. Wholesale dealers are suffering significant financial loss," said manager Wang. "Although the import volume of jackfruit has drastically declined, other import fruits such as Southeast Asian coconuts, are still able to reach China by sea, so these are still available in the Chinese market. We also changed our strategy on time to deal with this situation. We now focus on processing strawberries and Chinese bayberries. These fruit varieties are not affected by shipping problems because they come from domestic production areas."
According to manager Wang, the fresh-cut fruit market has huge potential, which will reassert itself once the pandemic is over. "First, the pace of life is quickening and people do not have the time to cut all their own fruit, especially difficult fruits such as jackfruit, durian, and pineapple. Second, some of the larger fruits begin to rot before consumers can finish them. They have to throw some of the fruit away and that adds to the cost price. Many consumers prefer small amounts of fresh-cut fruit instead. Large fruit is inconvenient, but consumers can take small amounts of fresh-cut fruit anywhere, for example to the cinema or the playground and other places of entertainment."
Fresh-cut fruit offers an advantage for consumers, but there is also a benefit for the supply chain. "Take jackfruit as an example. Consumers love fresh jackfruit, but whole jackfruit sales only account for 3%-5% of the market. The rest is fresh-cut jackfruit and frozen jackfruit pieces. The traditional supply chain of fresh-cut jackfruit starts when wholesale dealers purchase the fruit from production areas and transport them to the wholesale market. Retailers purchase the jackfruit from wholesale markets, then transport the fruit to processing factories, before shipping the fresh-cut jackfruit to retail markets. But this supply chain is changing," said manager Wang.
"Our processing factories purchase jackfruit directly from the production areas. After processing the fresh-cut jackfruit is distributed to wholesale markets and retail markets. In this way we eliminate one intermediary step in the supply chain, which helps us cut down waste along the way. And as an added benefit, consumers enjoy fresher fruit."
Manager Wang also shared some recent developments at Jieguo Agricultural Science and Technology: "Last year we set up a research institute at Jiaxing Wholesale Market. Our aim was to improve our connection with consumers in the Shanghai area and respond to their feedback. We will also construct a retail center and customer experience center at Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai. We are currently designing the interior of the customer experience center. We hope to soon open the doors to the public," said manager Wang.
"In addition, we have always supplied large-scale chain supermarkets like Sam's Club, but this year we also connected with some of our suppliers who specialize in the stimulation of fruit ripening, and we will add fruit ripening to our services. We have already begun to promote ripening in avocados, mangos, and pineapples. I think that we can guarantee higher rates of commercially viable fruit if we are involved in the ripening process. And this will help improve the flavor of our fresh-cut fruit."
For more information:
Mr. Wang Genzu - CEO
Jiangsu Jieguo Agricultural Science and Technology Co., Ltd.
Tel.: +86 18606112777
E-mail: thomas.wang@jgroup360.com