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Andalusian Fresh Produce

Hortyfruta is a new trade organisation representing 18,000 fruit and vegetable growers in Andalusia, Southern Spain. The organisation appointed Impact at the beginning of 2009 to help put Andalusian fresh produce on the map in the UK. Despite Andalusia being the most important agricultural region in Spain and one of the biggest exporters of fresh produce to the UK, initial research showed that most UK consumers were unaware of which fresh produce came from the region. Andalusia is known as Europe’s orchard as it basks in an amazing 330 days of sunshine every year and offers productive agricultural land mainly due to the combination of long, hot summers and mild winters. The problem was simple - consumers couldn’t identify with the region because the packaging of the products in the supermarkets always stated Spain and not specifically Andalusia. Our job therefore was to change the UK’s perception of the Andalusia region from a holiday destination to that of a quality food producing region in terms of fresh produce. Put simply – to strengthen the identity of the region and its products in the market. While quality and availability of Andalusian fresh produce were an obvious selling point a major focus of our messaging was to highlight that all of the producers represented by Hortyfruta are committed to providing the highest standards of production, food safety, innovation and traceability. The region is the world’s largest fruit and vegetable producing area which employs biological pest control systems. This drastically reduces the need for pesticides, as the farmers introduce alternative ‘good insects’ to the environment to control ‘bad’ crop damaging bugs. This ensures that Andalusian fruit and vegetables reach consumers more or less as nature intended and not only eliminates the need for pesticides but also helps increase yields. On top of this the region’s warm winter climate also sees it fills a gap in the European market for a wide range of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers from October through to March, with melons and watermelons replacing them under the greenhouse roofs until June. The climate means there is no need to heat greenhouses like elsewhere. So from October to May (the UK off season for salads and vegetables) any UK grown produce will have been grown in heated greenhouses and will not have the sunripened qualities of in-season Andalusian produce. Our marketing and communications strategy therefore comprises of implementing a major educational campaign in three stages; 1. To reinforce the credentials of Andalusian fresh produce with the UK trade. 2. To educate UK consumers about the variety, quality, availability and ethical credentials of Andalusian fresh produce in the UK. 3. Over time to influence trade buyers of the value of branding their produce as ‘from Andalusia’ to indicate where it comes from. Our trade strategy was carried out first and aimed to reinforce the credentials of Andalusian fresh produce to the UK trade media. This included a press trip, the targeting of the fresh produce buyers at the major UK retailers and the setting up and running of two sampling days at both the ASDA and Waitrose UK head offices, which enabled us to reach over 3,000 staff including the influential category buyers. Also the sponsorship of the Fresh Produce Retailer of the Year category at the prestigious 2009 Retail Industry Awards to further strengthen the credentials of Andalusian fresh produce within the trade. Our consumer campaign aims to reach 3 million UK consumers in the first year. To achieve this, so far in 2009 we have commissioned an Andalusian chef to create a number of recipes that have been sold into the foodie and women’s lifestyle press. The running of 4 separate tasting dinners, at Spanish restaurant Iberica for the food and lifestyle press and a consumer product sampling activity at the Taste of Spain event at Borough Market. The creation and launch of a new Andalusian Fresh Produce UK consumer website and monthly email newsletter enables us to continue to interact with a growing database of consumers. To prepare for all eventualities we also created an issues management plan which covers possible questions from the press with regards to environmental care, health and traceability and immigration. A dedicated phone line has been put in place to respond to press enquiries at any time. This has proved to be both an interesting and challenging account to work on and to-date Andalusian fresh produce has received a very positive response from both the trade and consumers alike.

Staff Profile: Steve Clarke