The new LemonGold brand, which follows in the footsteps of the globally successful ClemenGold mandarin brand, is set to launch in one of South Africa’s high-end retailers this month.
The introduction of LemonGold could be the start of an international branding initiative that will take seedless lemons to a new level.
Although seedless lemons are not new to the local or international fresh produce markets, previous offering to South African consumer have not been backed by strong branding.
“Now consumers will be drawn to conveniently seedless lemons by a brand built on the same principles as ClemenGold, promising consistent quality, farmed according to local retailer Woolworths’ Farming for the Future standards and supported by a concerted marketing effort to build recognition and ultimate trust,” said ANB Investments in a statement.
“In the current marketplace success for fresh produce growers does not only rely on good quality fruit or smooth logistics and especially not on low prices. It has increasingly more to do with strong branding backed by marketing excellence and the strength of the complete value chain supporting the process,” said Marius du Plessis, CEO of ANB Produce and Marketing, the commercialisation and marketing arm of South African based ANB Investments which also owns the ClemenGold brand. “Consumers increasingly base their trust and consequently their buying behaviour on reputation and visibility of brands. We are now ideally positioned to handle the distribution and marketing of this innovative brand.”
The brand has already found favour in the German and Irish markets at premium retailers where the seedlessness of the product addresses culinary frustrations experienced by chefs, home-cooks, health enthusiasts, mixologists and lovers of all things lemon.
According to the statement the seedless lemon has been described as the holy grail of the lemon industry. “The global trend highlighting the health aspects of making lemons a part of daily life, has put the spotlight on this zesty fruit that brings flavour to almost any dish.”
According to du Plessis, ClemenGold has trailblazed its path to sit proudly on the shelves of retailers such as Edeka in Germany, SuperValu in Ireland, Spinney’s in Dubai and various significant Chinese establishments.
'Our superior value proposition in conjunction with sound business sense from our export partners Core Fruit give us significant bargaining power,' the statement concluded. 'While the supply of our fruit is backed by marketing excellence and a major investment in a recognisable brand, we remain conscious of contributing to the sustainability of supply and retail partners. We call this our ecosystem where all parties contribute to and benefit from the growth.'
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