Del Monte on pioneering premium tropicals across European markets

Ahead of the Fruitnet Tropicals Congress, which takes place in Barcelona on 30 June-1 July, Fruitnet speaks to Del Monte Corporation’s Gianpaolo Renino.

Renino, who is senior vice-president Europe and Africa at the group, is one of the expert speakers at this week’s event.

Here, he discusses the premium pineapple category, the importance of brand partnerships and the steady growth of other tropical segments.

The pineapple business is a hugely important one for Del Monte. What is key to the success of your operations in this category?

Gianpaolo Renino: As a leading grower and importer of pineapple to the European market, we are always looking for ways to anticipate market trends and consumer expectations. We have pioneered the Extra Sweet’s revolution launching our Del Monte Gold pineapple almost three decades ago which reshaped consumer demand across our region. Since then, we have been consistently adding value to this category. 

Most recently, the introduction of our Honeyglow pineapples in 2020 was one of the most successful whole produce launches across Europe. Many consumers who had a taste barrier to this fruit could finally try a pineapple that was grown to express its optimal quality. The Honeyglow pineapple ripens more slowly on the stem and is hand-harvested at peak sweetness and ripeness.

With rigorous quality standards in place, consumers are guaranteed pineapples that exceed taste and quality. These select growing conditions, along with the knowledge of our experienced personnel to take care of agricultural practices, enabled us to quickly roll out this game-changing fruit in all European markets and ultimately attract many new households to the pineapple category. 

What else stands out in your pineapple portfolio?

GR: The Del Monte By Air pineapple hooked, almost immediately, a premium segment of pineapple lovers who could not resist its 48-hour field-to-table promise of freshness and delightful taste. This format is so successful that it is a challenge for us to meet the very fast-growing demand on a weekly basis. 

We pushed the added value strategy to the maximum last year when we introduced one of the most exclusive products ever: the luxurious Rubyglow pineapple. It was in development for nearly 16 years in Costa Rica to ensure the finest taste possible, combined with a unique red skin colour. Each Rubyglow pineapple takes roughly two years to grow, and production is extremely limited, leading to a scarcity of available fruit and making it a very highly sought-after item. 

Are there any plans to expand your Honeyglow brand? 

GP: Our Honeyglow pineapples stand out for their exceptional sweetness and carefully managed growing process. Unlike traditional pineapples, they ripen more slowly on the stem, then each fruit is hand-harvested at peak ripeness, ensuring optimal flavour and quality. This attention to detail from farm to harvest is what makes Honeyglow pineapples a truly elevated experience. We currently supply all European markets, but as the overall farming supply is stretched, we focus on long-term partnerships with customers to develop this proposal as a strategic laddering of the category. 

Last year, the expansion of our Honeyglow concept into the banana market was a remarkable success. Finally, gourmet consumers across Europe could find a clearly differentiated, aesthetically leading and superior taste guaranteed offer in the commoditised banana category. We are supplying only a limited quantity of those super-premium bananas that are grown on a select single farm in the richest volcanic soil of Ecuador, harvested by hand and shipped to Europe with the highest care possible. As with Honeyglow pineapples, the demand was overwhelmingly high from the start, and we had to limit our offer. 

Do you see any other branding opportunities on the horizon for Del Monte products?

GR: We are always looking for ways to strategically connect with consumers. Our brand association with pineapples is widely recognised both for our unique heritage in canned fruit and ready to drink juices as well as for our innovation track record in fresh produce. We leverage this recognition to engage families across Europe to reach the recommended five-portions-a-day in a tasty and entertaining way. 

For example, this summer; we are again partnering with Disney to feature on our fruit and juice packs the beloved Pixar Toy Story 5 characters, and we are launching many in-store promotions in line with the release of the movie. 

In the UK, we are also leveraging our long-standing partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association to promote fresh-cut fruit consumption at grass court tournaments and through social media content targeted at Gen Z. 

We see that these types of initiatives further encourage consumers to integrate healthy habits into their daily routine.

What about the wider tropicals category at Del Monte?

GR: Del Monte bananas and pineapples continue to be the core of our business; however, we are seeing a steady growth of our brand in other produce categories as our expertise in quality sourcing, logistics and channel management makes it an attractive option for our customers to include a Del Monte proposition across different fruits. 

Mango for example is certainly one of the fastest growing produce options across Europe, and we have obtained great market response with the availability of a high-end premium Mango By Air. Also, melons is one of those categories where our capacity to alternate our Central American Del Monte-grown range offer with the European season ensures continuity for the shoppers beyond summer. The same goes for avocados where we leverage our own supply from Colombia and Kenya alongside the Peruvian supply season, helping our customers to navigate through the many changes in this market. 

Another example of mixing a smart market-oriented supply strategy with consumer innovation is the kiwifruit category where we have been driving the European roll-out of Del Monte Gold Passion and Red Passion, while ensuring full-year availability of Hayward throughout the Del Monte South American and Southern Europe campaigns.

How important is the concept of added-value, and how does that manifest within the tropicals category?

GR: We have always been a pioneer brand in innovation in both the preserved and fresh fruit with products that stand out on shelves. The Del Monte 135-year-old legacy is to never compromise on quality and superior taste delivery, from our fields to the consumers’ tables. Being able to offer value-added performers throughout all categories is not only a marketing purpose, but also the most sustainable way to keep the produce value chain running for the long term in the context of unprecedented economic uncertainties and accelerated impact of climate change on all crops. This is particularly evident in the banana category, where TR4 and rising production costs are creating systemic pressure, reinforcing the need for a more balanced, shared-cost approach across the value chain to support the true value of a responsible supply model.

How do you view the European market for tropicals?

GR: We do look at all European markets with a great focus and have been careful to adapt our go-to market model to the specificities of each of them in terms of distribution and retail environment. But, looking at European consumers, we are glad to see consistently increasing hype for exotic fruits in all countries. 

Nowadays, we segment our consumer target groups much more according to their lifestyle rather than their nationality. We believe that the current trends of health consciousness, natural food preference over processed and the huge quantity of social media content pieces featuring exotic fruit-based recipes are not going to fade away anytime soon. Younger generations love exotic fruit; it is up to us to meet their expectations in terms of convenience and brand delivery.