For a consumer brand like ClemenGold, providing consistently good eating quality fruit is a cornerstone in the growth and sustainability of its business model. "Adhering to this principle creates long-term consumer loyalty, and in return, some stability in the value chain. Crops vary from year to year for many reasons, but adhering to a minimum quality standard ensures that the consumer is never left with the proverbial ‘bad taste in their mouth’,"explains Michelle Kruger, Brand Director at ClemenGold.
Following a successful Northern hemisphere season, which saw Moroccan ClemenGold producers coming on board with their Spanish counterparts, the Southern hemisphere season is looking to be a bumper season of good quality fruit.
"The average fruit size from the North of South Africa is smaller this year because of the dryer conditions, but the internals more than make up for that," said Kruger. "High sugars and acids to match, have presented the market with an excellent ClemenGold ‘vintage’ for 2015. Over a million cartons of ClemenGold from South Africa will find their way into the global market this season. That excludes other supply areas such as South America and Australia."
ClemenGold will be staging various promotional campaigns around the world and works individually with receivers and retailers to streamline the global campaign into something that can work locally in each market.
Nadorcott is currently the only variety packed into the ClemenGold brand. The 2015 Northern hemisphere season saw a drop in some instances of the market prices for generically packed Nadorcott fruit. "It will be irresponsible to think that this will not have an effect on Southern hemisphere prices in the long run. It is thus becoming increasingly important to separate the good quality produce from the rest and to differentiate it for the consumer. Added to product differentiation is varietal innovation - something that the citrus world is very active with at the moment – especially in easy peeler varieties. ClemenGold is privileged to have relationships with various innovative producers and breeders," concludes Kruger.
ClemenGold markets for 2015 SH season are Canada, Ireland, UK, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Austria, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Russia and the UAE.
