The green-gold colour of Australian table grapes is being turned from a point of resistance to a promotional element for Korean consumers.
An Austrade and Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA)-led campaign, hopes to turn around a slump in Australian grape exports to Korea, a result of Koreans primarily purchasing by sight.
The export sales of Thompson seedless grapes fell by more than 50 per cent to 256 tonnes in 2016 compared to 545 tonnes in 2015. That prompted the rebranding and promotional campaign, highlighting the taste and colour differences, plus the sweetness and freshness of the product.
Austrade’s Seoul-based senior trade commissioner for Korea and Mongolia, Amanda Hodges, said Korean consumers hesitated to choose Australian green grapes because of their golden-green colour compared with other green grapes.
"We needed to educate the Korean consumer, and wholesaler, to say the yellowy golden colour of the Thompsons is because they are sweeter," Mr Scott said.
Thompson seedless grapes were rebranded to “Tams Gold” – a combination of Korean and English words, "tams-rubda" (the Korean word "Tams-rubda" means attractive, nice and ripe and delicious-looking) and "gold".
