Last week, Anecoop's Spanish watermelon-producing partners met in Murcia to establish the strategic lines for this campaign, both from an operational point of view and regarding quality, innovations, and production advances. The lines of action to market and promote the 145,000 tons the cooperative expects to market in the 2024 campaign were also established.
Miguel Abril, commercial director of Anecoop, stated that "to date, plantations have developed well, especially in areas where the drought wasn't so strong. We hope the weather continues to favor us to have good crop yields and boost consumption. If forecasts are met, we'll have a good volume of quality watermelons to face the season."
Watermelon is an important production and commercial program for Anecoop partners. It begins with varietal selection and culminates with the product's placement in different markets, supporting the entire process with a strong communication campaign. "The Bouquet watermelon was the first seedless watermelon that reached the European market. We've been Spain's leading watermelon operator in Europe since 1992, consolidating our position as a pioneer in the category," stated Alejandro Monzón, president of Anecoop.
The need to focus efforts on encouraging consumption was also highlighted in the meeting. "Two campaigns ago, this country's average watermelon consumption stood at 9.5 kg per person. In the last two years, watermelon availability was lower due to weather issues that, together with the increase in production costs, triggered sales prices and caused a significant decrease in consumption. We hope the average annual consumption per capita level recovers in this campaign thanks to the normalization of volumes and prices," stated Joan Mir, general director of Anecoop.
"While our strategy continues to point to the diversification and extension of the calendar according to cultivation areas, at this time we are looking for varieties that demand less water and are better at withstanding adverse weather conditions," stated Carlos Nemesio, commercial manager of the watermelon program.
The entity's Marketing Manager, Piedad Coscollá, presented this year's communication campaign focusing on their 100% national cultivation strategy and the watermelon's production season under the slogan "Everything in its time".
The goal is to give visibility to the product and capture the consumer's attention. To do this, the campaign will follow a multimedia strategy with a strong investment online, specialized press, local radio, regional, national, and cable TV.
For more information: anecoop.com