Paul Ras has been active in marketing and communication within the fresh produce sector for 25 years now. “Marketing is everything that’s needed to optimally fulfil the customer’s need, i.e. what is needed to position products or services in the market. It’s about filling in the traditionally known P's of product, price, place, promotion.” This article focuses on the most visible P: promotion. That means branding, communication, advertising, promotions, packaging, etcetera.
What product is seeing the most promotion?
In the unprocessed products, bananas. I think that’s because the banana is a mono product. A good product with the same taste will need to stand out in different ways. For Chiquita, that’s a good, consistent and abundantly available product with the story surrounding the banana. In promotion, a lot is invested in creating a brand.
How is digital and social media used in the fresh produce sector?
Six years ago, I researched the use of social media among growers. Already, about two thirds of the interviewed growers were using social media, but mostly for personal use, to gather information. The idea is to interact though. On the one hand, a planned approach is needed, in which you not only send, but also receive and react to that. In general, Dutch fresh produce companies should give that a bit more time and attention. Many entrepreneurs see it as something fun on the side. It’s not their core business, and they don’t know how much money they can make with it. Clubs like HelloFresh were set up by large internet companies, and are very aware of the importance of social media. Although they put a lot of funds and manpower into that, one can definitely learn from them.
The rise of online ordering shows that the digital world is not just something on the side. For fresh produce, it’s still a bit difficult though. Looking, feeling and picking fruit will not, despite all the possibilities, be taken over by online just like that. Delivery and the need for a story behind the products is, in principle, the need for a small scale. The consumer really actually longs for the return of a local greengrocer who delivers the products to your door. E-commerce for fresh produce will grow slowly but surely, but the consumer getting used to it and the solving of logistical challenges will take time.
Is it good to measure what promotion yields?
In terms of interpreting the actual online promotions, there’s still a long way to go. That still costs too much time and too much money. It’s logical that the clusters have more means for that. How many ‘likes’ a Facebook page gets is easy to measure, just like the number of visitors that come to a certain event. But it’s more difficult to determine to what extent an increase in sales is thanks to a certain promotion. It is when a sales action is linked to a promotion though. Sales is the direct result of the total marketing, i.e. a combination of a good product, price, store, the new packaging, etc. You’d have to measure among a group of people what the reason is for buying a product in its new packaging. But that isn’t done all that often. Perhaps that’s also a matter of money or time, or rather the priority and the lack of both means.
More information:
Sense Marketing
Paul Ras