UK company Jupiter Marketing was exhibiting at Asia Fruit Logistica (AFL) for the first time this year.
"We were keen to attend AFL because it’s grown to be a leading trade show for the continent, and we therefore felt that it was important for our new companies across Asia to be at such a showcase event,” explains Andrew Grantham, Business Development Manager, Asia.
“In the Far East we now have Thebe Fresh Produce, which from its base in Kuala Lumpur allows us to import directly into the Malaysian market. Also we have Dubai-based Thebe Fresh Produce, Middle East, which enables us to import directly into Jaba Ali too.
"So it’s now becoming more and more important to us to come to events like this, not only because we need to see many of our customers but also meet our key suppliers too, and that’s just what AFL allowed us to do this year. While Berlin Fruit Logistica is very good, realistically, because it's held so close to Chinese New Year, a lot of our customers don't actually go to it, so AFL was a better choice for us."
Although Jupiter Marketing is headquartered in the UK, it imports and exports a wide range of fresh produce from a plethora of countries to locations across the globe and it prides itself on delivering a consistent, outstanding service and product.
And it’s keen to encourage Asian retailers to experiment with the products that they offer.
Andrew added: "We have key areas that we deal with as a company and have offices in South Africa, from where we export to the Middle East and from there on to Asia. But we are also developing new opportunities, especially in terms of seasonality. We are trying a different approach in this area because the seasonality on this side of the world is very different - it's very much Australian led. So to encourage retailers to change their viewpoints, we are able to give them different options so they can vary their selections, because we have such an extensive, and consistently reliable, supply chain. For example, if there’s a problem with citrus in Australia, then retailers know that they can come to us for something different and that we can deliver this to them swiftly.
“This is achievable because we have such a broad range of supply bases – with each of our business partners, and across all the parts of our business, we are able to utilise other sources, and areas, to meet our customers’ bespoke needs."
Grapes are Jupiter’s biggest selling fruit, followed by top fruit, citrus, stonefruit and kiwi. The company’s main source countries are India, South Africa, Chile and Greece, which enables it to supply to customers all year around - with partners in all these countries, Jupiter is able to control everything from the ground up and in India the company also has invested in its own fruit-growing operation.
"We work closely with all our partners because they are the guys who are the experts in growing the products and we’re then able to help them to market their produce in the best possible way," added Andrew.
But in such a business a big problem for many people is credit insurance.
"The Far East just isn't familiar with it. It's normally all about association, so we are happy to take a small part of the business available. Our goal is being able to offer a better option to our customers and in the process protect our suppliers and employees."
Andrew however does not claim to be an expert on Asia. "We're fairly new into this section of the global market, especially with Malaysia, but we do understand it.
What we do find is that there are particular things that are very much in demand that don’t get supplied enough. Lemons, grapefruit are very high in demand for example, but because traders are only looking at one particular region to buy from, they're not really looking elsewhere. You'll have Italian and French kiwis running at the same time, but then you've also got Greek kiwis as well. Greece has never been part of the whole Asia supply network, but nowadays it's becoming more and more approachable.
“We're part of that push, because there are better markets out there waiting to be utilised, and we can grow alongside them. There is certainly demand in the Asian market, but we're also trying to show people how it can be supplied in a different way - by thinking outside of the box, but at the same time obviously utilising what we already know.
“We have been in this business since 2001, when Jupiter started, so we have already got a network of suppliers in place and because Australia and New Zealand are very key to this side of the world as well, we are working hard to increase our supply from this region of the world."
Jupiter also has its own brands, with its leading range being the Elara Gold.
This is a full product range, so it’s made up of around 80 products - from potatoes to grapes and from bananas to citrus. The full range is offered in the UK with key strength lines being offered outside of Europe.
"Jupiter is now a truly global operation with offices established in the Middle East and Far East. We want people to see us as a one stop opportunity as a supplier ensuring a relationship for the long term, and as a customer that we have the ability to offer consistent quality and value because we're buying for a much bigger group of customers on a worldwide basis," concludes Andrew.
