APAL reached an exciting milestone for branded pear varieties from Australia by launching the first exports of Rico® branded pears to Thailand.
On the 29th of November, APAL officially launched the pear brand Rico in conjunction with TOPS supermarkets in Bangkok. APAL Head of Quality and Innovation Andrew Mandemaker is enthusiastic about the potential of the Rico brand in premium markets.
“The success of the launch was attributed to the commitment and vision of the TOPS team and to Cameron Carter and his team at Seeka Australia,” he said. “While Rico was only officially launched in 2018, this launch caps off a journey of more than 10 years from the initial breeding program to numerous growing and consumption trials.”
APAL Industry Services and Export Manager Justin Smith attended the occasion and spoke to the Thai market. “Apple and Pear Australia has a strong connection to the Thai market through its ownership of the Pink Lady apple, which, just like the Rico Pear, was proudly born and bred in Australia,” said Justin.
“Thailand is a natural choice for an export market. In the last 12 months alone consumption of Pink Lady apples has increased over 200%, which indicated that the Thai market is one where high-quality pome fruit has a strong place in the shopping basket.”
The pear, ANP-0131, is a cross between Corella and Doyenné du Comice was breed in Tatura, Victoria by the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources. Branded and commercialised by APAL as ‘Rico’, the pear has a fine texture with no grit, deep green colour and attractive blush, sweet juicy flavour and can be eaten firm or softened to appeal to a wide range of consumers.
The bold branding is intended to invigorate the pear category with a contemporary, disruptive and, memorable brand designed to cut through the noise of the modern shopping space with branding that positions it as slightly irreverent, of superior quality, and full of personality.
For more information:
Andrew Mandemaker
APAL
Email: amandemaker@apal.org.au
www.apal.org.au