© Soleil SitrusInadvertently, a very auspicious year has been chosen to launch a promotional campaign around South Africa's Star Ruby grapefruit crop, and today sees the launch of the campaign website and social media pages (TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn).
"We're hitting a very good market because there was quite bad frost that ended the Turkish season earlier. So our grapefruits are arriving in an empty market - it's been a good year to launch this campaign," Nicci Stewart from brand marketer Stardust Global says.
South Africa's grapefruit growers are contributing to the campaign through a voluntary special levy administered through the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA). The campaign will have its pilot in Germany, thereafter possibly moving to other European countries.
The SummerStar Ruby campaign differentiates South Africa's pink grapefruit from other origins by positioning it in a carefree, sun-drenched European summer. "We want to largely target a younger audience and change the perception of bitterness and show that actually, our SummerStar Rubies have a sweet and tangy flavour profile," she says.
© Summerstar Ruby
"We want to get grapefruit onto restaurant menus"
Their social media influencer campaign in Germany kicks off by mid-June and will run through July and August, while user-generated content will be feeding into the campaign, with a focus on how consumers are using grapefruit in new ways and telling them about the health benefits.
They are still negotiating retail activation, Stewart says. In-store tastings and campaign material emphasising the health benefits of grapefruit, along with the message of its versatility in the kitchen and at the bar, will form part of the campaign.
"Through the hospitality media, we want to get grapefruit onto the menu at hotels and restaurants onto the menus, targeting a broader hospitality segment across Europe because people are travelling during the summer and we want to reach them where they are, so that's why we're going broader with that. Experiencing a product in restaurants and bars is a great way to get people to start experimenting with it in their own homes."
The hope is that the SummerStar Ruby campaign becomes an ongoing annual investment, she says, in future seasons reaching out to grapefruit consumers in Asia and the Far East, broadening the campaign while keeping it specific to every market's cultural and culinary tastes.
For more information:
Nicci Stewart
Stardust Global
Tel: +27 82 820 1712
Email: [email protected]
summerstarruby.com
