Branded fruit has ever more value in a high-volume market

In 2023, mandarin brand ClemenGold celebrated its 20th anniversary, quashing sceptics and proving that fruit branding does provide good returns. Lindi Botha spoke to Nico van Schalkwyk, marketing executive at Fruitalyst, the company behind the marketing of ClemenGold, about why this brand continues to be successful in a crowded citrus market.

-  Lindi Botha

How are premium fruit products faring considering the global economic downturn?

Quality will always sell. This goes for any product that has a good brand and delivers on the quality promise. As such, all our brands are doing well. But strategic marketing also plays a role and if you place a product in the wrong market, you are likely to receive an invoice rather than income.

The local market has been under pressure because of bottlenecks at the ports.This was especially the case in 2022, but there has been a price recovery since.

The citrus industry is expanding rapidly. With bigger volumes coming to market and costs increasing, how do you maintain market share and profit in a crowded market?

There is concern within the wider industry that the Nadorcott volumes have, and continue to rise substantially, but for ClemenGold it is a benefit. We know our brand gets a premium because we have been investing in it for 15 years, and this investment will continue to pay dividends going forward.

Looking ahead, we see a circular economy developing where more farmers will become part of the ClemenGold programme because of the better returns the brand offers. This then ensures a more structured marketing environment where marketing channels are better managed and we can get a premium for the farmers, who then have more confidence in the brand.

This is a success model we have seen in many other brands. Increasing production costs remain a concern and it costs so much more to get a box of fruit on to a supermarket shelf in Europe than before.