She'll be apples, mate: The role of adhesive brand labels in the marketing of apples in Australia

Abstract

The branding of fresh produce to the consumer has been with us for about a century. In North America fruit and vegetable brand names such as Sunkist, Chiquita and Dole are well established. Until very recently the marketing of apples in Australia was consistent with the marketing of a commodity with Push the predominant strategy. Many Australian apple packers are now brand labelling their individual pieces of fruit, presumably as a component of brand creation. The objective of the study was to determine if the remaining marketing behaviour of packers and retailers of apples in Australia was consistent with the known marketing behaviour of manufacturers and retailers of other branded products. If it was, packers' and retailers' marketing behaviour would complement the brand labelling of individual apples. If not, brand labelling of individual apples would not be sufficient in itself to create brands. The study was prompted by the realisation that certain apple packers were releasing sub-standard brand labelled fruit into the market in the off-season, thereby threatening brand integrity. The study focused on retailers in the city of Newcastle and found that although packers in general did not appear to be supporting their brands at the retail level, retailers themselves were enthusiastic about apple labels. Brand dominance apparently exists and, labelled apples were found to attract a premium over unlabelled.