The pineapple market in the UK has enjoyed a boom in the last five years. Valued at £10.3 million by TNS raw data in 1998, the pineapple job was registered at £19.1m by the same research criteria in 2002. Expenditure on pineapples increased by 20.25 per cent in 2002 and the volume of packs sold increased by 15.28 per cent. These are figures many other categories would jump through hoops for.
They do of course represent rapid growth from a low base. Pineapples are not seen by too many as exotic fruit anymore, having slipped effortlessly into the mainstream bracket, but the fact remains that the penetration levels for fresh fruit languishes around the 20 per cent mark and the average consumer only purchase pineapple every 16.3 weeks ñ or 3.2 times every year.
The boom in sales coincided, if that is the word, with the introduction by Del Monte of golden pineapples, supplementing the green offer and adding a new dimension to a fairly static marketplace. Happily for suppliers, the price of fresh pineapple has more than held its own. The average price for a whole head in 1994 was 85p and in 2002 it was £1.06. This can be put largely down to the golden influence too, and again draw envious glances from other categories.
“It is interesting how the UK market has changed,” says JP Fruit's Dickon Poole. “It is still small in relative terms, but it has doubled in size since it became active with the introduction of golden pineapples.”
Poole is in as good a position as anyone to gauge the rise in popularity, as he was at Del Monte when it launched golden pineapples into a relatively static UK marketplace in 1996. “We had a lot of fun introducing it and getting it off the ground and after a rapid initial rise ñ 20 per cent plus in year one ñ there has been a steadier increase as suppliers and plantations come on stream.”
At JP Dole, there has been a significant increase in its own pineapple operation since it added golden fruit to its pineapple portfolio. The golden market is now split between JP and Del Monte in the UK, with the small amount of green business that remains largely outside of retail. Poole believes that JP accounts for around 50 per cent of the UK pineapple job now, and supplies most of the top UK supermarket chains, with additional business in the prepared sector.
“We have expanded our business rapidly ñ by bringing in what our customer wants and also, as more suppliers come into play, offering what the rest of the market is demanding too,” says Poole. JP brings in its fruit from Costa Rica and other central American sources, and also works with Compagnie Fruitiere fruit from the Ivory Coast.
“Ivory Coast fruit is generally retailed at around the 99p price point [for a whole pineapple],” says Poole, “and this acts as a good introduction into the market for consumers who want to eat pineapples but are not ready to go up to Gold, which attracts a premium and retails at around £1.49. That is not to say that they are not comparable products. Ivory Coast pineapples were marketed as sweeter than the green Champaka, while Gold is juicier and sweeter again.”
Poole says that the key to marketing pineapple is “keeping it at the top of the consumer's mind. Pineapples remain a spontaneous purchase and penetration and frequency of purchase are still not that high, although it has risen”.
Nigel Law at Compagnie Fruitiere says that “the retail value for money on pineapples (for consumers) has never been better, thanks to cost efficiencies achieved in the supply chain”.
He adds that this is being achieved through close co-ordination and improved performance at every stage of that chain. “Quality of product has also never been better with extremely high appreciation levels among consumers. This has been achieved through the excellence of our production and shipping operations, meaning that product delivered is of optimal quality and freshness. Consistency has been exceptional and is a testament to all the hard work that has gone into this,” says Law.
“The market for convenience continues to expand,” he adds. “This is not taking away from whole pineapple sales, rather it is adding to overall consumption levels. These can grow much further as consumer penetration levels remain modest in the UK. Further developments can be expected in the technical field, both on whole pineapples and fresh-cut, which will further stimulate interest in the product.
“Competition will continue to increase both from new production, sources and other fruits. We think the quality and range of our pineapple offer is such that we will continue to lead from the front.”
There is more to be achieved though, says Poole, and some of that can be done through imaginative merchandising displays. He adds: “If you look at the US market, pineapples are used very much as a focal point in fresh produce displays. There may not always be the opportunity to have huge gondolas of the fruit, but pineapples definitely add to a display and when retailers have been adventurous with the amount of space they have given to the fruit, they have been astonished by the results.”
He adds that intelligent strategic positioning of the fruit in-store along with link promotions and additional education could have a dramatic effect on frequency of purchase. Pineapples of course suffer from the same problems as a number of “exotic” fruits ñ the consumer won't buy them because they don't know what to do with them when they get them home. “There is still a way to go on developments like ripe and ready pineapples and also easy-corers and easy-slice fruit,” says Poole. “People are already prepared to pay a small premium for sweeter fruit ñ that would increase if it was made more accessible.”
This year, he adds, will see growth based on a five-year average, but after a bumper sales year in 2002, the market will register a slight fall in 2003. Year-to-date figures show average prices at £1.02, and volume sales have decreased alongside that.
JP is best known for its role in the banana business and one of the more pleasing aspects about pineapple growth is that it has not been accompanied by wholesale price deflation. “Long-term pricing will come down to supply and demand dynamics,” says Poole. “Everyone needs to keep plugging away ñ there is a lot of room in the market for further growth and particularly for those who can offer something different.”
Law says: “There is a greater range of options for “Gold” or “Yellow flesh pineapples” coming through ñ including our own Ivory Coast. “Ana'Dou branded production. But the demand is increasing too, as well as the number of consuming countries. As demand continues to outstrip supply, prices have remained buoyant.
“Our sales in the UK continue to grow, both on our Cayenne fruit and the Ana'Dou product. The latter has already gained a number of retail accolades in the EU.”
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