This year, the proudly South African ClemenGold premium mandarin brand celebrates its 20th anniversary. From humble beginnings in Letsitele, Limpopo where the first trees were planted, to sitting proudly on the shelves of Woolworths, citrus lovers in over 45 countries can now purchase the fruit with its distinctive black teardrop-shaped sticker – its symbol of quality.
“When the ClemenGold mandarin brand was established in 2003, branding fruit was still in its infancy,” says Abs van Rooyen, whose brainchild it was to name and trademark the very special mandarin variety, Nadorcott, when fruit were still mostly sold as commodities. “Marketing is all about storytelling, and I just knew that the Nadorcott had a story to tell. But a story needs to be backed with something substantial to gain the consumer’s trust and earn their loyalty. For ClemenGold, this is its consistent quality promise.”
History of the variety
The first Nadorcott mandarins originated in Morocco. In 1964, in the fertile valleys surrounding the town of Afourer, at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, Dr El Bachir Nadori further developed the natural mutation. The brand-new variety was called Nadorcott, honouring Dr Nadori for his contribution. Abs van Rooyen obtained the rights to this variety, created the first 10 000 trees at the Du Roi Nursery in Letsitele and, with a few other early adopters, established the first orchards.
Branding based on consistent quality
For a consumer brand like ClemenGold, providing consistently good eating quality fruit is the cornerstone in the growth and sustainability of its business model. Adhering to this principle creates long-term consumer loyalty, and in return, some stability in the value chain. Crops vary from year to year for many reasons but adhering to a minimum quality standard ensures that the consumer is never left with the proverbial ‘bad taste in their mouth’.
Adéle Ackermann, marketing manager. “As the brand’s presence grew and consumers came to increasingly ask for it by name, we’ve strategically moved the brand into the lifestyle space.”
Abs van Rooyen
The importance of having passionate partners
Indigo Fruit Farming, ClemenGold’s largest supply partner, prides itself in its ability to successfully produce, pack and match available fruit to the different markets and the various countries’ consumer needs. Says Indigo CEO AJ Esser*, “One of our strengths is the ability to develop and adapt farming practices that specifically meet different market requirements in terms of external appearance, fruit size, residue, and phytosanitary regulations and most importantly, internal quality or tasting experience.”
Indigo’s range of climatically diverse production regions spanning three provinces, stretches its South African premium mandarin supply season to around 24 weeks of the year. The use of netting structures, pioneering tree spacing, industry leading water-conscious irrigation practices, and precision orchard management enable us to produce fruit that adhere to our strict quality standards.”
For more information:
www.clemengold.com