The European pear market is currently quite tumultuous because of the Belarusian import freeze. But, according to Raymond van Ojen, Xenai pear sales are still satisfactory. "We didn't experience any significant benefits from the good market at the beginning of the season because Xenia is considered a premium article. So, we, fortunately, aren't experiencing much of the difficulty so far," he says.
"Our sales begin calmly in October and run through to June. But Xenia pears are positioned after the Doyenne du Comice. Our season, therefore, doesn't truly start until after the new year." Xenia being a premium pear, has both advantages and disadvantages, Raymond says. "Supermarkets' premium segments often carry the more exclusive lines. That's why, due to the supply of regional pears, sales lag somewhat from October to December. From January onwards, those regional pears slowly disappear, and we scale up sales."
This year's Xenia pear season will likely end in May. Yet, in the future, the focus will increasingly shift to the second's second half.
"We want to eventually extend the season into August. We've been doing storage tests for the last two years that show that Xenia pears store just fine until August," explains Raymond.
"Still, we have the expected challenges this year too. The cold spring means the Xenia is bronzing slightly more than in previous years, so it's losing a bit of its premium look in stores."
"That makes it somewhat tougher to introduce these pears to new market areas. However, demand is increasing in our existing sales markets in Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia," says Van Ojen. "Also, the smaller pear harvest in Italy and France is gradually increasing our brand awareness. There's particularly good demand for the larger (75mm+) pears."
Organic Xenia sales have been an outright success this year. "The harvest was double that of last year, while in Europe, organic pear harvests were almost halved. So, that was a nice coincidence. By now, all organic Xenia have been sold, mainly towards the German-speaking countries. There, two large supermarkets have carried organic Xenia pears almost nationwide. This puts us two months ahead of the market with organic Xenia compared to last year," Raymond concludes.
For more information:
Raymond van Ojen
Xenia Europa bv
16 Kantsingel
5349 AJ, Oss, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 623 177 152
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.xeniapeer.nl
