Cherries From Chile 2020/21 Campaign Focuses on Daily Consumption

Considering the features of the product itself, it should come as no surprise that fresh cherries from Chile have become the star of China’s winter fruit selling season. Sweet, juicy and bright red to match China’s traditional color of wealth and good fortune, they arrive to market just in time for the peak of China’s holiday ritual of fruit gifting.

But the efforts of the Chilean cherry industry have also played a strong role in the rise and continuing dominance of cherries in the China market. For one thing, Chilean packers and exporters have made great strides in the ocean shipment of cherries from Chile to China. That the large majority of the fresh cherries on the market in China during wintertime are Chilean cherries shipped by sea in refrigerated containers means that prices are within reach of more consumers. These fresh cherries from Chile are an affordable luxury increasingly enjoyed in cities and towns across China.

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Another factor underlying the success of Chilean cherries in China has been the persistent and large-scale promotional campaigns carried out each year by the Chilean Cherry Committee of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX). In addition to a wide range of events, in-store promotions, social media outreach activities and e-commerce partnerships, past Chilean Cherry Committee promotional campaigns have also yielded memorable moments such as a Guinness World Records title for the “longest line of fruits” in Shanghai.

For the past several seasons, the Chilean Cherry Committee — operating under the brand Cherries from Chile — has used the tagline “Enjoy the Red Moment” in China. This year Cherries from Chile continues with this tagline and has added the theme of “Caring for Every Healthy Moment.” This theme is a nod toward consumers’ increasing attention to eating nutritious foods such as fresh fruits during the global COVID-19 pandemic, not to mention the extraordinary efforts of the fresh fruit industry in Chile to safeguard the health and safety of its exported products, which have been exported continuously all year without any COVID-related issues.

“The concept behind this year’s Cherries from Chile campaign in China basically is to promote the consumption of Chilean cherries not only during festivities, but also during different meal occasions throughout the day,” said Charif Christian Carvajal, ASOEX’s marketing director for Europe and Asia, who gave a WeChat-based virtual presentation to Produce Report readers on Dec. 23. “Examples include breakfast, lunch, and as an after-dinner treat.”

This messaging will be spread by a variety of advertisements and activities in dozens of China’s biggest online and offline retail channels in cities across China (not to mention wholesale market events). Examples of promotional partners include Hema Fresh, Auchan, Carrefour, Dingdong Maicai, Costco, G-Super, Jingdong Daojia, Meituan, Miss Fresh, Metro, Pagoda, Tmall, Walmart and many others. More livestreaming on e-commerce channels will also be a feature of this season’s official promotions, according to Carvajal. Promotional activities will furthermore take place on major social media platforms such as Tiktok China (Douyin), WeChat, Weibo and Red.

With the support of the Chilean Cherry Committee’s promotional campaign, promising early season prices and anticipated record exports, it looks very possible that this could be the biggest season yet for Chilean cherries in China in terms of volume.

“Many, but not all, of the exporters sending Chilean cherries to China are members of the Chilean Cherry Committee of ASOEX,” said Carvajal, “Should any importers, distributors or retailers in China like to receive a list of those reliable companies that form part of the Chilean Cherry Committee of ASOEX, we have posted one online at the ASOEX website.”

Images: ASOEX