Dole and BFV celebrate the 12th anniversary of Belgian Conference pears

China has a 3,000-year-long history of eating pears. It is the world’s largest pear-consuming and producing country with per capita consumption of fresh pears exceeding 12kg, far above the world’s average according to 2020 FAO data.

There are many varieties of pears grown in China, and unlike imported pears, most domestic pears have a crunchy texture.

Dole is one of the leading brands in the fruit industry and provides the China market with domestic pears such as Autumn Moon, Snow White and other high-quality pear varieties. In 2011 Dole became the first importer to introduce Truval Belgian Conference pears to the Chinese market in order to enrich the pear eating experience of Chinese consumers.

Dole has been exhibiting at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) since the first edition in 2018 and every year Truval pears have featured on Dole’s booth. In 2021, the fourth CIIE, Dole launched Truval Red Conference pears, a unique variety, which, as a variant of the green pears, was been carefully researched and repeatedly cultivated for more than ten years.

Red Conference pears have the same sweet taste as green beer pears. Catalysed by the CIIE launch, Red Conference gained hundreds of millions of impressions, and all imported volume was sold out during the exhibition. At the same time, CIIE has driven overall Truval Belgian Conference pear sales and awareness growth.

Truval winning over consumers with unique texture

As a widely popular fruit in Europe, the appearance and taste of Conference pears are different from those of Asian pears, as the former has lovely sun-kissed freckles on its surface.

Different from the crunchy texture of domestic Asian pears, Belgian Truval pears are very delicate and sweet after softening at room temperature, with a unique aroma. Its pit is very small with a high edible ratio.

At present, Belgium is the largest producing country of Conference pears in Europe, followed by the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and other origins. The planting area of pears ranks first in Belgium, exceeding that of apples, strawberries and other fruit categories. As the national fruit of Belgium, Conference pears are seen everywhere in local large and small supermarkets in Belgium; and many hotels, and restaurants. They have become the “fourth national treasure” in Belgium after chocolate, beer and diamonds. 

12 years of hard work build the leading brand of Conference pear in China

As the first to introduce Conference pears into China, Dole has been the largest importer and distributor of this pear in the China domestic market for the past 12 years. With professionalism in all aspects of the supply chain, Dole distributes Truval pears to Sam’s Club, Freshippo, Metro, Ole’ and other high-end supermarkets, and carries out a variety of sampling and other promotional activities in different channels.

In recent years, the CAGR rate for the sales of Truval pears is close to 20 per cent, and Dole has helped Truval Belgian pears to be more and more known and loved by Chinese consumers.

In 2023, Truval pears achieved a 34 per cent market share of all imported pears in China, ranking first place according to China Customs data. China has become the largest import country of Belgian Conference pears in Asia. 

In 2019, during the visit of Princess Astrid of Belgium to China, Truval Conference pears were even selected as the gift during the mission to China and made a great splash in the dinner organised by the Belgian government.

Dole honours BFV with the “Outstanding Contribution Award”

The year 2023 marks the 12th anniversary of the introduction of Truval Conference Pears to China, “12” symbolises a full cycle, meaning harmony and prosperity. During this year’s CIIE, Dole and BFV (Belgian Fruit Valley) jointly organised the “12 anniversary of Belgian pears in China and the release of the New Year’s gift box of the Year of the Dragon”.

Truval is the abbreviation of “true value”, as only less than a quarter of the pears, the high quality, will be selected under the Truval name.

Over the past 12 years of cooperation, BFV has ensured that the supply chain is highly efficient, and has made every effort to deliver fresh pears from the source to the shopping baskets of Chinese consumers. Dole China presented BFV with the “Outstanding Contribution Award for Dole Strategic Partner” in recognition of BFV’s 12 years of cooperation with Dole China, and looks forward to another 12 years of fruitful cooperation.

Dragon-year pear gift box released

In order to cater to the Chinese consumers’ New Year gift-giving custom, Dole, together with the Truval team, customises distinctive Chinese New Year holiday gift boxes for the market every year, adding a new high-end gift-giving option for Chinese consumers during the festive season.

This year, the two companies are working together again to launch the Year of the Dragon gift box, aiming to expand the consumption of Belgian pears to more occasions.

With its world-renowned influence, the CIIE attracts thousands of exhibitors from around the world every year. As a leading company in the fruit industry, Dole has been exhibiting for six consecutive years since 2018, and the expo has helped several Dole exhibits become household products among consumers and helped Dole penetrate the national market for Truval pears over the past several years.

The 12th anniversary celebration of Dole’s partnership with BFV during the sixth CIIE provided a good opportunity to further promote the cooperation between Dole and Truval as well as further foster the Chinese market. In the future, Dole and BFV will work more closely together to optimise and upgrade all aspects of product operation; at the same time, Dole will promote Truval pears on more platforms, expand more deeply into China’s market, and further increase the penetration rate of Conference pears, so as to jointly open up a new round of “12 years” and let more people know and love this unique and delicious pear.