California fresh fig growers contemplate marketing order
California fresh fig growers contemplate marketing order
On a voluntary basis with dried and processed figs, the California fresh fig industry currently participates in the activities of the California Fig Advisory Board. However, according to Richard Matoian, manager of the board, that could change soon.
?There is a potential that we are going to be voting on a [fresh] fig marketing order here in the next few months," he said. If that comes about, "it is likely the Fig Advisory Board is going to be the umbrella organization representing both the fresh and the dried marketing orders."
Meanwhile, the fig board has recently introduced a new logo and has also launched a new web site at www.californiafigs.com.
The fig board already represents both sides of the industry, but on the fresh side, the work "is paid for on a voluntary basis," Mr. Matoian said.
A hearing on a fresh fig marketing order will be held "in a month or so," with a referendum to follow, in which the industry "will vote and tell us whether they think it is important or not to have a marketing order for fresh figs instead of the voluntary deal that we have now," he said. "I think there is good support for the fresh fig marketing order," he added.
The marketing order that is being discussed will not involve setting grades and standards or doing inspections, he said. Rather, "there is definitely interest in just trying to do better and more generic promotions," and there is also interest in doing more production-related research.
?One thing we want to focus on initially in the research is extending the shelf life of the fig, because once it is harvested, it has a pretty short shelf life. Beginning to end, it is probably about a week at the longest. We want to see if we can extend that out another few days with ethylene scrubbers or bag wraps or cold storage temperatures or whatever," he said.
California currently produces about 97 percent of the commercially grown fresh figs in the country and essentially 100 percent of the commercially grown dried figs, Mr. Matoian said. Because of the short shelf life of figs, there is no competition presently from fresh figs coming into the U.S. market from other countries.
The United States does export some figs to Japan, but only by air. "There is no way you can put them on a boat," he said.
Fresh figs are a growth category, Mr. Matoian said. Consumption has increased by an estimated 60 percent over the last five years.
The new California Fig Advisory Board logo updates and refreshes a logo design that had remained unchanged for decades. Selected by the board of directors after reviewing several choices, the new logo features the tag line, "Simply Beautiful." The tag line was chosen "to assist in repositioning figs as a delicious food culinary item that is beautiful and tasty and easy for consumers to use in cooking and entertaining," Mr. Matoian said. "The tag line will be reinforced with two new brochures that will feature figs as a convenient fruit that is perfect for entertaining and baking."
Another tag line, "The Fitness Fruit," will be utilized "in other situations where figs are utilized by athletes for their nutritional benefits," he said.
The board?s newly unveiled web site, which is largely consumer oriented, features new recipes with color photos. The new site is more interactive than the old one, and it has a "more modern and interactive format," he said.
A "Press Center? on the new web site will contain press releases and include photos.
Pictures of last year?s Fig Festival, held in Fresno, CA, can also be viewed on the site. "We are incorporating more pictures so people can see the different types of events and activities the organization has," he said.
Soon to come on the new web site will be a section featuring production research meant to benefit the industry.
?We have a research arm that does production-related research," Mr. Matoian said. "I want to get all those research reports on the site, and I want to have a search engine? so someone interested in finding research reports on fusarium wilt, for example, will be able "to pop up the various reports? dealing with that subject.
?There has been a fair amount of research done on figs, but this research goes back to the '50s," and not everyone has access to it, he said. Putting it on the web site will provide the industry with "a very good resource."
The fig board is currently involved in a cooperative marketing campaign with Kraft Nabisco, one of the larger users of California figs in the form of fig paste, which the company uses in Fig Newtons. The campaign, which involves advertising in consumer magazines, focuses on the health and nutritional benefits "of the fig that is inside their cookie," Mr. Matoian said.
A second phase of the campaign, which starting "probably in May," will feature advertorials in which people "explain why they eat Fig Newtons " and how Fig Newtons can help provide energy for someone who has a busy lifestyle."
It is "a major campaign? for Kraft Nabisco and it is "of significant importance to us," Mr. Matoian said. In addition to increasing the sale of fig paste, "we actually believe that through this campaign, we are going to be able to sell more whole figs, both dried and fresh."
There is discussion of various types of cross-merchandising among fresh figs, dried figs and Fig Newtons as part of the campaign, he said. Among the things that have been discussed are some recipe tear-offs placed at retail near where Fig Newtons are displayed that would provide recipes requiring whole figs.
?There is a potential that we are going to be voting on a [fresh] fig marketing order here in the next few months," he said. If that comes about, "it is likely the Fig Advisory Board is going to be the umbrella organization representing both the fresh and the dried marketing orders."
Meanwhile, the fig board has recently introduced a new logo and has also launched a new web site at www.californiafigs.com.
The fig board already represents both sides of the industry, but on the fresh side, the work "is paid for on a voluntary basis," Mr. Matoian said.
A hearing on a fresh fig marketing order will be held "in a month or so," with a referendum to follow, in which the industry "will vote and tell us whether they think it is important or not to have a marketing order for fresh figs instead of the voluntary deal that we have now," he said. "I think there is good support for the fresh fig marketing order," he added.
The marketing order that is being discussed will not involve setting grades and standards or doing inspections, he said. Rather, "there is definitely interest in just trying to do better and more generic promotions," and there is also interest in doing more production-related research.
?One thing we want to focus on initially in the research is extending the shelf life of the fig, because once it is harvested, it has a pretty short shelf life. Beginning to end, it is probably about a week at the longest. We want to see if we can extend that out another few days with ethylene scrubbers or bag wraps or cold storage temperatures or whatever," he said.
California currently produces about 97 percent of the commercially grown fresh figs in the country and essentially 100 percent of the commercially grown dried figs, Mr. Matoian said. Because of the short shelf life of figs, there is no competition presently from fresh figs coming into the U.S. market from other countries.
The United States does export some figs to Japan, but only by air. "There is no way you can put them on a boat," he said.
Fresh figs are a growth category, Mr. Matoian said. Consumption has increased by an estimated 60 percent over the last five years.
The new California Fig Advisory Board logo updates and refreshes a logo design that had remained unchanged for decades. Selected by the board of directors after reviewing several choices, the new logo features the tag line, "Simply Beautiful." The tag line was chosen "to assist in repositioning figs as a delicious food culinary item that is beautiful and tasty and easy for consumers to use in cooking and entertaining," Mr. Matoian said. "The tag line will be reinforced with two new brochures that will feature figs as a convenient fruit that is perfect for entertaining and baking."
Another tag line, "The Fitness Fruit," will be utilized "in other situations where figs are utilized by athletes for their nutritional benefits," he said.
The board?s newly unveiled web site, which is largely consumer oriented, features new recipes with color photos. The new site is more interactive than the old one, and it has a "more modern and interactive format," he said.
A "Press Center? on the new web site will contain press releases and include photos.
Pictures of last year?s Fig Festival, held in Fresno, CA, can also be viewed on the site. "We are incorporating more pictures so people can see the different types of events and activities the organization has," he said.
Soon to come on the new web site will be a section featuring production research meant to benefit the industry.
?We have a research arm that does production-related research," Mr. Matoian said. "I want to get all those research reports on the site, and I want to have a search engine? so someone interested in finding research reports on fusarium wilt, for example, will be able "to pop up the various reports? dealing with that subject.
?There has been a fair amount of research done on figs, but this research goes back to the '50s," and not everyone has access to it, he said. Putting it on the web site will provide the industry with "a very good resource."
The fig board is currently involved in a cooperative marketing campaign with Kraft Nabisco, one of the larger users of California figs in the form of fig paste, which the company uses in Fig Newtons. The campaign, which involves advertising in consumer magazines, focuses on the health and nutritional benefits "of the fig that is inside their cookie," Mr. Matoian said.
A second phase of the campaign, which starting "probably in May," will feature advertorials in which people "explain why they eat Fig Newtons " and how Fig Newtons can help provide energy for someone who has a busy lifestyle."
It is "a major campaign? for Kraft Nabisco and it is "of significant importance to us," Mr. Matoian said. In addition to increasing the sale of fig paste, "we actually believe that through this campaign, we are going to be able to sell more whole figs, both dried and fresh."
There is discussion of various types of cross-merchandising among fresh figs, dried figs and Fig Newtons as part of the campaign, he said. Among the things that have been discussed are some recipe tear-offs placed at retail near where Fig Newtons are displayed that would provide recipes requiring whole figs.
