Organic specialist is driving transparency with its Raingrown initiative, while targeting young consumers through its Fruit Heroes brand
Eosta has a lot to talk about right now. The organic importer-marketer headed to Fruit Logistica fresh off the back of the launch of its Organic Fruit Heroes brand, designed to drive consumption among children. And during the Berlin event, the group published the results of its well-publicised Organic Raingrown initiative, sourcing fruit only from producers that use natural rainfall rather than irrigation.
The thinking behind the Raingrown concept is where Michael Legerstee, sales and operations director, and Dennis de Wit, sourcing and procurement director, began the discussion with Fruitnet.
“We’re in the organic business, so our growers are already busy with environmental projects, sustainability and more, and Eosta is always looking for what is next and what we can change for the better,” said De Wit. “We asked ourselves, ‘what is a really big topic that everyone is talking about, but there is no solution for?’ One of our key products is avocados, and everyone knows that water and avocados is a talking point.”
Creating transparency
The idea, he explained, is to create transparency and showcase how Eosta’s growers are working. Rather than change anything, it is simply about highlighting what producers are already doing.
“In Tanzania, in Kenya, in Mexico, we have avocado growers that experience rainy seasons, which gives them enough water so they don’t have to use irrigation,” De Wit continued. “The special growers that we select, we check them out, test everything, and they really don’t consume any more water. So that’s why we introduced Raingrown. It’s not an official stamp, but we wanted to make it something special. It’s not a certification, but it is something we can demonstrate to customers.”
Eosta introduced the concept at the tail-end of 2024 and it was immediately well received, Legerstee confirmed.
“I think it has been a success,” he said. “We have gained more attention through it and, importantly, it has created greater awareness. The natural stores in particular, the ones who focus on organic produce, have been good at displaying the Raingrown message because they think it is a special concept.”
Oranges from Peru were then added to the project in partnership with Kivinaki, grown in the Chanchamayo Valley.
“So, first avocados, then oranges, and then some other products will be added to Raingrown,” De Wit noted. “But again, we are not changing anything, it’s already happening – we’re just making things more transparent.”
Organic Fruit Heroes to the rescue
The conversation turned to Organic Fruit Heroes, Eosta’s new brand and marketing campaign, which is aimed at reversing the decline in fresh fruit consumption among young children and fight the good fight against processed, unhealthy options in the kids’ snack segment.
“Fruit Heroes was launched very recently, designed to drive the consumption of healthy foods among young people,” Legerstee told Fruitnet. “The figures show that only 42.5 per cent of children aged six to nine are eating fresh fruit daily, according to the World Health Organisation. So Fruit Heroes is about creating awareness, especially of organic fruit.
”A child wants to be entertained, to see the funny packaging and demonstrate to their parents an interest in eating the fruit. The challenge is to make organic fruit more attractive for younger people than chips or candy.”
The brand presents high-quality organic apples, pears, kiwifruit, mandarins and grapes – with the range varying by season based on the most popular fruits for children – in innovative, eye-catching, child-friendly boxes, which include stickers, allowing young consumers to create their own Fruit Heroes.
In addition, it is designed to respond to growing parental concerns about the use of synthetic chemical crop protection products in fruit cultivation.
“The past 35 years have always seen Eosta bring new products and innovations to market – whether that’s a new concept, a product, or a combination of both,” added Legerstee. “We feel that we always need to innovate and shake up the market by doing different things, and healthy eating is a very important subject.”
