New pear brand Xenia© is making waves with an unannounced PR stunt at the international confectionery fair in Cologne, positioning itself with cheeky-provocative mobile billboards as a smarter alternative to the industry competition. This might not sit well with some exhibitors at the international confectionery fair in Cologne: In a place where big names in the industry such as Nestlé, Mars, and Storck shake hands and present their innovations to the world, a fruit now takes the stage, drawing the attention of around 38,000 visitors.
Photo: German Fruit Variety Consortium
On grand, mobile billboards, right in front of the gates of the international confectionery fair (ISM), the Xenia© pear brand points out why it is often smarter to opt for a treat from nature instead of a highly processed industrial product. With slogans such as "Vitamins and snacking. From Mother Nature", it deliberately provokes large manufacturers who have to deal with discussions about a potential advertising ban for their brands.
The debated law concerns an advertising ban on foods that contain too much sugar, fat, or salt and specifically target children. Nutritional profiles of the World Health Organization (WHO) serve as a benchmark for the ban. Health and consumer experts broadly support these plans. A representative survey by the market research institute Kantar on behalf of consumer organization Foodwatch found that 66 percent of the German population support Özdemir's plans to significantly restrict advertising around schools and kindergartens as well as on television and the internet.
"The new products of the sugar industry are usually ultra-processed, with questionable additives, elaborately packaged. With the Xenia pear we want to show that a particularly delicious, sweet and sustainable snack has already been 'launched' by Mother Nature."
"Every year, innovations in sweets and snacks try to outdo each other. They should be more colorful, crazier, and healthier. Unfortunately, these novelties are usually ultra-processed, with questionable additives and elaborately packaged. We instead say: What's good and simple is really very close. We want to show with the Xenia© pear that a particularly delicious, sweet and sustainable snack has already been "launched" by Mother Nature," says Janina Bembenek, marketing director of Obst vom Bodensee and responsible for the Xenia® brand at the German Fruit Variety Consortium.
The Xenia© pear has been available nationwide in Germany since October 2023 - including in all Globus markets, at REWE and EDEKA - and deliberately positions itself as a challenger between categories. With eye-catching visuals and cheeky punchlines, Xenia© advertises in the style of other provocative food brands like True Fruits and Oatly - with the aim of giving consumers a completely new and fresh perspective on the supposedly boring natural product.
The development of the Xenia© brand was carried out with the brand owners Xenia Europe from the Netherlands, as well as the German Fruit Variety Consortium (DOSK), a merger of eight German producer organizations under the leadership of the marketing duo Dr. Inga Mohr and Janina Bembenek from the sales company Obst vom Bodensee.
For more information:
www.instagram.com/xenia_birne