Conference Pears catalyzed by Expo launch with sales accelerated
China has a 3,000 year long history of eating pears and is the world's largest pear-eating and pear-producing country; China's per capita consumption of fresh pears exceeds 12kg, far above the world's average.(2020 FAO data). There are many varieties of pears grown in China, and unlike imported pears, most domestic pears have a crunchy texture. As one of the leading brands in the fruit industry, Dole strives to enrich the pear eating experience of Chinese consumers. In addition to operating domestic pears such as Autumn Moon and Snow white and other high-quality pears, as early as 2011, Dole was the first importer to introduce the TRUVAL Belgian Conference Pears to the Chinese market.
Since the first CIIE in 2018, Dole has been exhibiting with TRUVAL pears every year, and you can see TRUVAL pears at Dole's booth at all the 6 Fairs. In 2021, the fourth CIIE, Dole launched TRUVAL red Conference Pear, a unique variety, which, as a variant of the Green Pear, has been carefully researched and repeatedly cultivated for more than ten years. Red conference pears have the same sweet taste as the green pear. Catalyzed by the CIIE launch, Red Conference Pears have gained hundreds of millions of exposures, and all the import volume was sold out during the exhibition. At the same time CIIE has driven the overall TRUVAL Belgian Conference pear sales and awareness growth.
TRUVAL pears are winning over more and more consumers with their unique taste
As a widely popular fruit in Europe, the appearance and taste of Conference pears is different from the Oriental pears and has lovely sun-kissed freckles on its surface. Different from the crunchy texture of domestic pears, Belgian TRUVAL pears are very delicate and sweet after softening at room temperature, with a unique aroma. Its pit is very small with a high edible content.
At present, Belgium has the highest production of Conference pears in Europe, followed by the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. At the same time, the planting area of pears ranks first in Belgium, exceeding that of apples, strawberries and other fruit categories. As the national fruit of Belgium, Conference pears are seen everywhere in large and small supermarkets; while many hotels and restaurants also have a supply of this fruit. Pears have become the "fourth national treasure" in Belgium after chocolate, beer and diamonds.
After 12 years of hard work, Dole has built the leading brand of Conference pear in the Chinese market
As the earliest brand to introduce pears into China, Dole has been the largest importer and distributor of pears in the domestic market for the past 12 years. With its professionalism in all aspects of the supply chain, Dole distributes TRUVAL pears to Sam's, Hema, Metro, Ole and other high-end superstores, and carries out a variety of sampling and other promotional activities in different channels.
In recent years, CAGR of the sales of TRUVAL pears is close to 20%, and Dole has helped TRUVAL Belgian pears to be more and more known and loved by Chinese consumers. In 2023, TRUVAL pears brand share reached more than 34% against total imported pear, ranking first (source: customs data). China has become the largest importer of Belgian conference pears in Asia.
In 2019, during the visit of Princess Astrid of Belgium to China, the TRUVAL conference pear was even selected as the gift during the mission to China, and made a great splash at the dinner organized by the Belgian government.
Dole honored BFV with the "Outstanding Contribution Award for Dole Strategic Partner"
2023 is the 12th anniversary of TRUVAL Conference Pears introduced in China, "12" symbolizes a cycle, meaning harmony and prosperity. During this year's Expo, Dole and BFV jointly organized the "12 anniversary of Belgian pears in China and the release of the New Year's gift box of the Year of the Dragon". TRUVAL is the abbreviation of "True Value". Less than a quarter of the high quality pears will be listed under the TRUVAL name. Over the past 12 years of cooperation, BFV has ensured that the supply chain is highly efficient, and has made every effort to deliver fresh pears from the source to the shopping baskets of Chinese consumers. Dole China presented BFV with the "Outstanding Contribution Award for Dole Strategic Partner" in recognition of BFV's 12 years of cooperation with Dole China, and looks forward to another 12 years of fruitful cooperation.
Dragon-year Pear Giftbox Released, Offering More High-end Gifting Options for Chinese New Year
Meanwhile, in order to cater to the Chinese consumers' New Year gift-giving custom, Dole, together with the TRUVAL team, customizes distinctive Chinese New Year holiday gift boxes for the market every year, adding a new high-end gift-giving option for Chinese consumers during the festival. This year, the two companies are working together again to launch the Year of the Dragon Gift Box, aiming to expand the consumption of Belgian pears to more occasions.
With its world-renowned influence, the China International Import Expo (CIIE) attracts thousands of exhibitors from around the world every year. As a leading company in the fruit industry, Dole has been exhibiting for six consecutive years since 2018, and the Import Expo has helped several Dole exhibits become household products among consumers and helped Dole penetrate to the national market for TRUVAL pears over the past several years.
The 12th anniversary celebration of Dole's partnership with BFV during the 6th CIIE will be a good opportunity to further promote the cooperation between Dole and TRUVAL as well as further deepen the Chinese market. In the future, Dole and BFV will work more closely together to optimize and upgrade all aspects of product operation; at the same time, Dole will promote TRUVAL pears on more platforms, expand more deeply into China's market, and further increase the penetration rate of conference pears, so as to jointly open up a new round of "12 years" and let more people know and love this unique and delicious pear.
Data source: Dole internal data