UK: Pink lady top of mind for women, as sales increase
The research by Ipsos MORI reveals that top of mind awareness of Pink Lady has increased significantly among the brand’s core market of women, with 20% of the nation recalling Pink Lady over its competitor varieties, Granny Smith (19%) and Cox (13%).
In addition, awareness among all consumers (male and female) has increased three-fold from 6% in 2010 and 13% in 2011 to 18% this year. The brand has overtaken Cox (13%) to the number two position, challenging Granny Smith (21%) for the top spot.
This news comes as Coregeo Ltd, master licensor of Pink Lady in the UK, has announced a significant boost in sales – data from Kantar shows total sales volume is up by 19.3% in 2012. Set against a backdrop of a 1.6% fall in overall apple sales this year, this is a remarkable success story for a fresh produce brand. And while household penetration across all apple varieties has dipped slightly by 0.4% this year, Pink Lady has managed to increase its penetration by 5%, bringing it to 27.8% overall.
As other apple varieties lose market share, Pink Lady is making considerable gains, with a 10.6% share by value up from 9% in 2011. This compares to declines for Granny Smith, which is down from 9.1% in 2011 to 7.9% in 2012, Gala, down from 27% to 25% and Braeburn, down from 17.9% to 17.5%.[i]
Andy Macdonald, managing director at Coregeo, Master Licensor for Pink Lady in the UK, comments:
“We are delighted with the continued success of Pink Lady – particularly in the face of incredibly tough market conditions. There is no doubt in our minds that much of this is down to the product – consistently high quality and premium taste sets Pink Lady apart from other apples. Our unique marketing infrastructure is also important. We are supported by licensees, who are dedicated to the brand’s future growth.
“That Pink Lady is now the number one most recalled apple amongst UK women – and one of the top two amongst all consumers – is no mean feat. We’re particularly pleased to see that our marketing and communications are absolutely hitting the mark, with not only our overall awareness on the up, but a significant increase in that of core segments of our target market.
“It has not been an easy couple of years in the marketplace and we are not expecting much to change as we move into 2013. We see our on-going investment in a solid and strategic marketing campaign as being crucial to our continued success.”