Lisa Cork is a global fresh produce strategist, helping horticultural companies turn insights into sales and value growth strategies. Here, she discusses how fresh produce firms can take advantage of trends to grow their sales and profits
One of the easiest ways to connect with consumers and motivate fresh produce purchases is to build trends into your on-pack communications. It is not difficult to do but it does require reinvesting in your packaging every few years to ensure your on-pack communication stays relevant and trend focused.
This happens in CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) all the time. CPG companies regularly update their packaging in order to keep their look fresh and on trend. (They also change the weight of their packaging to mask price increases…but that is another subject for another day!)
We don’t tend to update our packaging regularly in fresh produce.
One of the reasons fresh produce companies often give me a call is because they haven’t updated their packaging and, as a result, are now so far out of date they don’t know where to start.
Staying on top of trends is easy, especially in our connected world. You simply have to have Google.
One of the easiest ways to be trend focused is simply to instill an interest in trends company-wide. At the beginning of the new year, download lists of the top health trends or the top food trends or the top restaurant trends. Print them out and get your team together to discuss what trends positively (or negatively) impact your business. Then decide to do something about it.
Lexie’s Spaghetti Squash of Western Australia is a great example of bringing a trend to life in a simple way.
If you follow the Paleo diet at all, you would know that foods like spaghetti squash and cauliflower are trending because they are Paleo friendly. Both products can be prepared in ways so that processed pasta, like spaghetti, can be eliminated from the diet. Lexie’s is on to this and have created a big, bold sticker talking about how their spaghetti squash is Paleo friendly.
I love it.
It is simple, on target and easily updated without spending a fortune.
With only a few weeks to go until the new year, make a plan to trend watch with your team come January. And, if you don’t feel you quite know what to do with a trend if you find one, then give me a call or drop me an email.
For more ideas, contact Lisa at [email protected]
