February 2012 - No 3 - Cherry Growers Australia

HORTICULTURE AUSTRALIA
The 2011/12 Australian Cherry season is performing well comparing to the season prior. The industry has access to a
number of evaluation tools to track consumer cherry purchase behaviour and other consumer insights such as the number
of Australian households that have bought cherries, how often they buy and how much they spend each time when they
buy.
Typically, around 20% of the Australian cherries consumed during the summer are sold in a single week inclusive of the
Christmas Day. Based on the homescan data that the industry subscribes to; there were an additional of 771,000 Australian
households that bought cherries in just that week comparing to Christmas 2010. Furthermore, there were more consumers
buying cherries and they were also buying the fruit more often. In fact, the frequency with which the average
household that bought cherries from the beginning of the season to Christmas represented a 20% rise.
The 2011/12 season also started earlier than the previous season. More cherries were available from the beginning of the
season and the supply situation as well as the quality of the fruit was more consistent as well.
The industry ran a national cherry category management program for the second season in a row. This program mirrored
the pilot program that started over the 2010/11 season. The findings from the pilot program were presented to the retailers
and proved that when cherries are properly category managed, the category profitability increases substantially. This
is largely because cherries are an impulse buy, in fact based on the consumer research conducted post the 2010/11 season,
we know that around 70% of the consumers buy this fruit on impulse. Therefore, when cherries are presented properly
and when the quality of the fruit is good, consumers are enticed to buy cherries. Additionally, category management
also helps reduce wastage and improve the quality the fruit, as our category team reinforces the best practice principles to
the retailers.
The 2011/12 cherry category had an even greater coverage of the retail chains as well as the independent green grocers.
Woolworths, Coles, IGA and the independent green grocers all participated in this season’s cherry category management
program.
The industry is also achieving a number of wins with its newly launched brand positioning “Cherish the Moment”. The new
brand positioning coupled with the industry’s new ambassador, the young Australian sailing sensation Jessica Watson; the
industry’s PR program outperformed previous season. Jessica has proven to be a great spokesperson for the Australian
cherry industry, the media were extremely receptive to her as she has a broad appeal across different age groups and
demographics. Jessica encompasses a number of great qualities that people aspire to and a number of parallels can be
drawn between her and the industry.
The PR program has focused on fresh consumption of Australian cherries and also the health benefits associated with
cherries without losing the special appeal (fun, holiday, summer) of this wonderful fruit. In order to attract the food media’s
attention, the industry has also developed a range of usage ideas that have been featured across all different media formats
covering print, online and TV. This year, with Jessica being the ambassador, the breadth of media of has also increased.
A long term consumer research framework has also being put in place to continue to track consumer cherry purchase behaviour
over time. The industry’s marketing program is also being evaluated at different phases to ensure that it is hitting
the industry’s strategic objectives.
A final season’s report will be available in April given the data update lag.
Elisa Tseng
HAL Marketing Manager for Cherries
Elisa.Tseng@horticulture.com.au