Anecoop, a fruit and vegetable company in the Mediterranean, took part in the 26th AECOC Fruit and Vegetable Congress held in Valencia, Spain. Piedad Coscollá, Head of Marketing and Corporate Image, moderated a round table discussion under the title "Fruit and vegetables: can they be cool?", aimed at analyzing the effectiveness of advertising and communication campaigns in promoting fruit and vegetable consumption.
According to Piedad Coscollá, "traditionally, a category becomes strong in the market thanks to the advertising campaigns organized for its various brands. However, nowadays it is difficult for fruit and vegetable brands to have visibility on supermarket shelves. Legislation is not making it easy for us when it comes to using packaging and communicating the benefits and attributes of our products, and advertising is expensive and profit margins in fruit and vegetables are very tight; however, it is the responsibility of the whole sector to find a way to reach consumers with our message, so that it will capture their attention and add value."
For her part, Cari Plaza, Director of Marketing and Communication at Sakata Seed Ibérica, outlined her experience in charge of Love Klabaza, a campaign to promote the consumption of butternut squash which has led to sales increasing by around 20%. Sergio Cáceres, Manager and Director of Marketing and Communication for Plátano de Canarias, analyzed the positive impact on consumption of investing in good communication and advertising products; an investment that has allowed the 15,000 producers of Plátano de Canarias to survive and consolidate their leadership in the face of competition from cheaper overseas bananas.
We cannot forget that we are currently witnessing a concerning drop in fruit and vegetable consumption both in Spain and in the rest of Europe. According to the latest data, the European average is 350 grams a day and the national average stands at 363 grams, while the WHO considers 400 grams a day, equivalent to 5 portions a day, as the minimum for a healthy diet. A third of Spaniards and other Europeans don't include a single daily serving of fruit and vegetables in their diets.
This trend is also reflected in the Report on Food Consumption in Spain 2023, which revealed that the volumes of fresh fruit and vegetables purchased by Spanish households fell by 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Wrapping up the discussion, Coscollá said that "communication, advertising and consumption go hand in hand, so producers and distributors working together is the only path to success. This round table has shown that advertising and communication are tools within our reach that can help reverse this situation. We must align ourselves with the interests of the new generations if we want to attract them. We can do so by creating emotional links, ensuring that fruit and vegetables are presented in an appealing way and that our products are perceived as healthy, cool and trendy by consumers."
For more information:
Carlota Pardo
Anecoop
+34 636 987 032
[email protected]