From interactive games and children’s entertainment to apple and pear masterclasses, a new digital platform is building connections with consumers
Apples and pears may be among the most familiar fruits on supermarket shelves, but for many consumers – particularly the younger ones – the stories behind the fruit, the varieties available, and the people who grow them are largely unknown.
Social media, so often in the firing line, is helping to change the way the newer generations look at the world around them.
It is reported that members of Gen Z are exchanging cell phones for binoculars. The outdoors, plant and bird life, and generally the drive to live a healthy life, are the things younger people talk about.
Tru-Cape, South Africa’s largest marketer of apples and pears, is addressing the gap between young consumers and the world of fruit.
Through an increasingly diverse digital marketing strategy that combines entertainment, education, and interactive experiences to make its products and the agricultural industry more accessible, the company is reaching out to young consumers.
Tru-Cape’s venture into the future is destined to focus on Gen Alpha, those born between 2023 and 2025, to change the focus to fruit.
One of the most ambitious initiatives is Agent Apple, an interactive children’s game show in which children aged eight to 12 become ’junior agents’ and take charge of their parents.
Across eight episodes, 16 parent-and-child teams compete in high-energy challenges inspired by orchards, fruit, and teamwork, with the young agents giving the instructions while their parents follow orders.
Filmed in the orchards around Grabouw, the YouTube series introduces families to the journey of Tru-Cape’s apples and pears while promoting healthy living, teamwork, and family experiences.
The campaign has already reached millions of people, showcasing the potential of digital entertainment to expand an agricultural brand’s reach far beyond its traditional audience.
But Agent Apple, and his cool sidekick Agent Pear, is only one part of Tru-Cape’s digital strategy.
Following on from the success of Tru-Cape’s Master Class series on apples, Master Class Season 2 is currently running on YouTube as a video series focused on the diversity of pear varieties.
Each episode explores a different pear or pear-related story, highlighting characteristics, flavour profiles and other features that distinguish varieties from one another.
