A chief goal of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association is to partner with retail chains across North America to set up savvy promotional campaigns for their shoppers. That dedication has helped the summer citrus category see strong growth.
“In 2017, we ran promotions in more than 40 retail chains across the U.S.,†said Karen Brux, managing director of the CFFA, based in San Carlos, CA. “We expanded our marketing support to nationwide chains and, for the first time ever ran a Chilean citrus campaign in Canada.â€
For mandarins specifically, large marketing campaigns during the domestic season have certainly contributed to increased consumption throughout the year, and Chile has responded by growing more early-season clementines (May-August) and late- season mandarins (August–early November) to satisfy this demand.
“Chile dominates the summer market for mandarins, and the trade looks to us when the domestic season comes to a close,†Brux said.
In 2017, Chile’s total citrus exports to North America — including clementines, mandarins, lemons and navels — increased 18 percent to about 227,000 tons. The largest growth was seen in mandarins, which grew 43 percent to almost 73,000 tons.
“In 2018, this growth pattern will continue,†Brux said. “We expect Chile’s total global mandarin exports to surpass the 100 million-ton mark for the first time ever, with volume jumping 32 percent from 2017. With minimal exports to other markets, the vast majority of Chilean mandarins will come to North America.â€
Brux noted that Chilean clementine volume is also expected to grow by 27 percent, from 41,000 tons in 2017 to about 52,000 tons in 2018, as virtually all of Chile’s clementines are shipped to North America.
“Double-digit increases in both clementine and mandarin volume means we’ll have a strong, consistent supply of easy peelers into early November,†she said. “This gives retailers numerous promotion options, whether cross merchandising with other summer barbecue items, promoting mandarins for school lunches or introducing ghoulish concepts for Halloween.â€
Turning to navels, the CFFA foresees an increase in volume of 12 percent, increasing to about 85,000 tons in 2018 from about 75,000 tons in 2017. Chile exports more than 90 percent of its navels to North America.
“With continued growth across all citrus categories, we plan to increase our investment in the North American market this year,†Brux said. “Our main focus will continue to be on supporting the trade in their promotions of Chilean citrus. Whether offering digital coupons, sales/display promotions, in-store videos, social media campaigns or other marketing tools, our Chilean citrus merchandisers are working with retailers large and small to find the perfect fit for the shopper demographics of each chain.â€
The CFFA has also developed new point-of-sale material, new usage ideas/images and new tasty-style videos to showcase easy, healthy and tasty ideas for lemons, mandarins and navels. Brux shared that these will be used on Fruits from Chile social media platforms, and also shared with retailers so they can incorporate them into their social media programs.
"The usages for summer citrus are somewhat different than what you might see during the domestic season in winter, so we focus on grilling ideas, salads and refreshing drinks,†she said. “We try to incorporate trendy things like tapioca pearls in our lemonade recipe.â€