This year Kanzi will be at the Fruit Logistica with its own stand for the first time. "We have been around for more than ten years now. We have grown up and this is why we want to be present at the most important fair in our sector. This is why we are choosing to have our own stand separate from the presence of Kanzi in our partners' stands," says Henry Müller, the new CEO of GKE. He is proud of Kanzi's success. "We are in the top three apple brands in the world."
Rising volumes
Kanzi is grown both in the Northern and the Southern Hemisphere at the moment. "We still notice that the demand is higher than the supply. The production will grow considerably all over the world over the next few years. "We notice that retailers are happy with this. They want to be able to offer the consumer products all year round. The year round supply is increasingly taking shape and is already possible in certain areas." Henry is satisfied with the course of the season so far. "Last season was a generally bad top fruit season, but we can't complain here at Kanzi. We hardly noticed."
Markets
Ten years ago Kanzi had to work hard to win its place on the shelves, and this is still the case in some markets. "Nowadays we see more and more doors opening of their own accord. We are being asked more often and are making good programmes with our partners," says Henry. "But we're not resting, far from it. We are looking forward. We are investing in new markets such as Asia and the Middle East at the moment." Entering new markets takes time. "It's starting to take shape. It's still relatively small volumes at the moment, but we're preparing for growth." He doesn't express expectations for growth in figures. "Of course we have certain goals, but the situation could be different in two years. The fact is that the satisfaction of our partners in the chain is central. Growers, retailers and consumers have to be content. Again and again."
Club varieties
Even though Müller believes in the club varieties, he doesn't believe the free varieties will disappear in the future. "There is space in the market for different varieties and brands. There are a lot of different consumers, each with their own tastes. A different segment is served with each variety. It is possible that the number of club varieties will increase relatively and there will be more shifts in the top fruit market."
Future for Kanzi
It is a fact that the consumer's taste is changing more quickly. Henry doesn't see this development as a threat at the moment. "Of course the consumer could develop a preference for a different taste in the future. The advantage of Kanzi is that they serve different segments of consumers. As our apple has a balanced sweet sour flavour and is crisp, it attracts a large audience. Almost no other variety has this combination of characteristics. A variety like this isn't quick to drop out."
A lot of marketing activity
Kanzi has recently developed a new market strategy. "Together with our international partners we have decided that we are going to spend our market budget even 'smarter'. We are going to bundle our powers even more and organise more cross country, extensive activities. Of course we won't forget the country specific characteristics, but we are more based on one collective idea: 'Seduce Life'." An example of this bundling of powers is the introduction of our new 'corporate' website www.kanziapple.com: an international platform on which people can find all the information on Kanzi. The consumer, retailer, grower and media can go here. Of course the website is available in different languages. We are also very active on social media." Henry believes customer connection can only be made partially through marketing: "The most important thing is that the quality is the same every day. We pay a lot of attention to research in the area of taste and quality. Availability is also crucial. That's where our focus is."
