Just under a quarter of South Africa's Pink Lady® export crop is destined for Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. Combined with the domestic market, the figure comes to just under 40%.
"Pink Lady exports to Africa have considerably increased over the past few years," says Corné Grundlingh, pomefruit business unit manager at TopFruit, license manager for the brand in South Africa. Last year had been a good colour year - the average Pink Lady packout was 64% - making it, she says, an exceptional season for the brand in South Africa. The varieties marketed as Pink Lady have been grown in the country for the past 32 years.
"From a marketing perspective, South Africa achieved a major milestone: for the first time, our total Pink Lady exports surpassed five million cartons," says Liza Matthews, marketing manager at TopFruit. In week 45 of 2025, their export volume was reported at almost six million cartons destined for the UK, the EU, Africa (including South Africa), the Far East, and the Middle East. Matthews continues: "It is a remarkable achievement and a collective effort by all behind the Pink Lady brand."
Activation among children in Africa builds Pink Lady brand
Growing Pink Lady sales in Africa has since the start loomed large in TopFruit's strategy. In Kenya, Pink Lady has for several years been the most preferred apple among consumers in market research trials; the conversion rate from tasting it to buying it is very high, Matthews says,
© TopFruit
A Pink Lady activation at a primary school in Kenya
Nigerian apple consumers, though, prefer the stalwarts Granny Smith and Golden Delicious, but they rate Pink Lady third and are very likely to purchase the apple after tasting it. "Our Nigerian marketing campaign focused on wholesale market activations, school activations, and a consistent social media presence," says Matthews. "The focus of school activations is to encourage kids to eat apples and, specifically, to get to know Pink Lady apples and share this with their parents."
Pink Lady lifts Joya's boat
Joya® is becoming better known to African buyers, and it owes its growing popularity also to its proximity to Pink Lady. "Joya comes in just after Pink Lady," Grundlingh says, "consumers have become very conscious of the Pink Lady logo on the apple, on the bag, or on the carton. They transfer the expectation of a superlative fruit to the brand that follows, which is Joya®."
© TopFruit
"South African consumers are starting to understand that fruit can be branded," adds her colleague, marketing manager Liza Matthews, "and that this means that they will be getting a quality product that they can trust. Branded fruit also provides the customer with more information by way of its website and social media channels, thereby earning more trust and a sense of safety."
African consumers are very quality conscious, Matthews says, leading them to be brand conscious because they trust the quality of fruit with the Pink Lady and JOYA logos.
For more information:
Corné Grundlingh
TopFruit
Tel: +27 21 874 1033
Email: [email protected]
https://www.topfruit.co.za/
