The Dutch crowdsourcing platform, Roamler has launched a follow-up to its soft fruit and tomato monitors: the Exotics Monitor. This device gives a complete overview of exotics in European stores. It is a monthly monitor for avocadoes, mangoes, and possibly pineapples, and kiwi, with photos and data. It is available in 12 countries, which now include Norway, Sweden, and Ireland.
Roamler has been providing parties throughout the fruit and vegetable chain - from breeders to retailers - with detailed information and photos via a smartphone community for ten years. But now, it has a subscription option specifically for the exotics category. "This monitor, too, was born of market demand," says product manager Marielle de Jong.
Detailed reports
"We already provide data to many parties in the exotics chains. However, with this monthly monitor, we can offer these overviews at an attractive price. Companies don't have to contact us every time either, which saves time and money. The Exotics Monitor offers our clients monthly detailed reports with unit, price, and promotion information, including pictures of price tags and each product's country of origin."
"Compared to the soft fruit monitor, for example, kg prices aren't as relevant in the exotics category. So, we also offer data on the unit price, the number of units per package, and if the exotics are ready-to-eat. We've now visited 11,500 stores with our soft fruit monitor, and it contains data from 63,000 SKUs. We're reaching similar figures with the exotics monitor," Marielle explains.
"Our subscribers know exactly which supplier serves which retailer, which varieties and brands the stores stock, and in which package sizes. The photos make all this clear, as does, even more so, the information our 'Roamlers' collect. Sometimes parties will say they already buy retail data. But they can't use that to explain sales patterns."
"For example, by tracking suppliers and countries of origin, our monitor offers detailed information on seasonal transitions. All the photos are easy to view and download from the environment. By investing in image recognition, the images are loaded even faster," Marielle continues.
"There's interest throughout the chain, from seed breeders and growers to importers and retailers. These are often companies that already focus on their 'value proposition' and have, say, an in-house data analyst. And the exotic fruit category has grown tremendously in recent years."
"We're starting this monitor with avocados and mangos, but if there's market demand to add pineapple and kiwis, we can quickly do that," the product manager says. "We've launched the Exotics Monitor, and it has completed its first rounds at 800 locations of European supermarkets, including Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Carrefour, and E-Leclerc."
Will they be adding more fruit and vegetable categories to their Tomato, Soft Fruit, and Exotics Monitors? "That depends on the market," says Marielle. "'You ask, we deliver'. Our monitors provide relevant data. We've extended the tomato monitor into a complete fruit-vegetable monitor, but new sectors will certainly follow. I visited Fruit Logistica and the Global Tomato Congress. When I see how our overviews help our customers improve their propositions, I'm sure a top fruit or citrus monitor will follow," she concludes.
For more information:
Marielle de Jong
Roamler
20-26 NDSM-Plein
Amsterdam, NL
Email: marielle.dejong@roamler.com
Website: https://roamler.com/uk/clients/solutions/retail-monitors