Fresh Solutions Group has sent a spine tingling chill down Australia grocery isles over the last month.
The Sydney-based firm rolled out the Harvest Hobgoblin promotion in supermarkets across the country during the lead-up to Halloween, in a bid to ramp-up exposure for US-grown Dulcich grapes.
The Dulcich family and Sunlight International have run a similar promotion in the US for the past two seasons, which Fresh Solutions Group director of finance and operations, David Carpenter, said had been met with high levels of success.
“With the increasing interest and participation in Halloween activities in Australia it made sense to bring a strong promotion like this across to our shores,” he explained.
The promotion saw Dulcich’s range of red, white and black grapes packaged into specially branded Hobgoblin bags. Stores were also provided with special Hobgoblin display bins and posters. “These increased the visual appeal of the whole promotion and also allowed stores to run special Halloween promotions that complement the Hobgoblin programme,” Carpenter added.
Carpenter said the promotion had a two-tier focus, the first being to provide a point of difference on retail shelves in order to stimulate “additional sales and customer loyalty.” The programme also aimed to offer parents a healthy alternative to confectionary for trick-or-treaters.
“We're still waiting for definitive data back from the supermarkets on how the promotion went, although anecdotal evidence indicates the promotion has been extremely well received,” Carpenter told Produce Plus. “We've also been inundated with positive feedback from consumers, particularly from parents looking for healthy treats for the Halloween period.”
The programme was run throughout all Coles stores in New South Wales, along with Woolworths supermarkets in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Selected IGA stores across the country also took part in the promotion.
Fresh Solutions Group has been the exclusive importer and distributor of Dulcich grapes in Australia for the last three years. Carpenter said his company looked forward to increasing sales for proprietary varieties such as Esteem, Emerald and Red Emerald over the coming seasons. “We will continue to evolve our approach over the next 12 months with many new and exciting promotions to come.”
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