Documentary series created by Limonar de Santomera tells French consumers the story of its single-day lemon supply chain
Spanish cooperative Limonar de Santomera wants to drive demand for its lemons in France with a new promotional campaign called Le Mons 24 Hours.
The company, which is based in Santomera, Murcia, and exports fresh lemons to more than 20 countries, said its aim was to demonstrate to retail buyers and shoppers just how quickly it can deliver its fruit to French supermarket shelves, thanks to a supply chain which reduces journey times and “eliminates” intermediaries.
To do so, it has commissioned a documentary video series which chronicles, in real time, the journey of a lemon from the tree to a supermarket shelf in Paris.
In an industry dominated by large corporate groups and crowded with intermediaries of every kind, it argued, Limonar de Santomera cuts out every unnecessary link in the chain – without ever cutting out the grower – to streamline the lemon’s journey from the orchard to the consumer.
And unlike other operators, it said, its agreements with producers set annual conditions and prices in advance.
“With the Le Mons 24 Hours campaign, we demonstrate that we’re not fast because we run faster, but because our model allows us to directly control the entire process: production, harvesting, packaging, and marketing,” explained Antonio José Moreno García, CEO of Limonar de Santomera.
“It’s a clear reflection of how we manage to get a fresh lemon from Santomera into a French supermarket in just 24 hours. For over 40 years, we’ve been winning this particular endurance race against large corporations, thanks to freshness, local sourcing, and the hard work of our people.”
Race to market
With the documentary series due for release over the coming season, a trailer on the cooperative’s Instagram account previews the campaign with a nod to France’s famous Le Mans endurance race as a metaphor for agri-food logistics.
The campaign stars Pedro Palazón Rodríguez, who, as the cooperative’s head of agricultural services, plays a vital role in the company’s supply chain.
As host of the six-episode video series, he will showcase the work that farmers, operators, quality managers, warehouse staff, and logistics teams carry out every day to pick, pack and deliver Murcian lemons to France in a single day.
