Sonora Spring Grapes program expands to smaller retail chains
Sonora Spring Grapes program expands to smaller retail chains
Now in its eighth year, the merchandising and promotion program for Sonora Spring Grapes has been highly successful, resulting in broader acceptance of Mexican-grown grapes by U.S. retailers, according to Veronica Kraushaar, president of Vanguard Marketing Strategies.
Those programs, which initially focused on major chains, are now being expanded to regional chains and even to smaller ethnic groups.
Vanguard represents the Sonora Spring Grapes Division of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, working in partnership with AALPUM, the Sonora Grape Growers Association.
At a recent AALPUM meeting in Hermosillo, Sonora, Ms. Kraushaar made a presentation of the program to growers. "It was very positive because they get to see what we are doing, and it gives them a different perspective," she said. "The distributors [in Nogales, AZ] usually know what we are doing, but the growers seldom get the whole picture, so I gave them a summary of progress over the last eight years we have been doing this."
Ms. Kraushaar showed the group some charts illustrating that progress. The charts show that in just the last three years, "We have had roughly a 38 percent conversion rate in accounts that previously did not promote Sonora to promoting Sonora," she said.
Even last year, when there was a small crop, "We signed up 29 new accounts," she said.
Not only are more retail chains in the United States selling grapes from Sonora, but more retailers are actually mentioning Sonora in their ads. "What that means is, we are having a lot more acceptance of the label "Sonora," " she said. "That is very positive because a few years back, we had a hard time getting them to put Mexico or Sonora on the ad."
Ms. Kraushaar?s presentation also included testimonials from retailers "that have promoted with us," she said. "They talked about their excitement with the program."
Ms. Kraushaar told The Produce News that the Sonora Spring Grapes program "is fact-based, so we do a lot of research," including category-management research and consumer focus groups.
?We do health education with consumer affairs people, and we do an ethnic marketing segment, which means we do in-store promotions with ethnic [retail] groups. We do that because we are trying to expand the consumer base? for Mexican grapes, she said.
A distributor survey conducted last year found that 70 percent of Nogales distributors do business directly with supermarket chains, 40 percent do business with other distributors, and 50 percent sell to foodservice distributors.
With a sizable and "very high quality? crop expected this year, Vanguard?s merchandisers have already started to call on retailers to let them know that "we are looking at really good fruit in the market early," she said.
Ms. Kraushaar said that retailers have shown strong interest in Memorial Day promotions. That is true every year, she said, but "the key is having the crop in at the right time, and this year we are counting on that."
John Pandol of Pandol Bros. in Delano, CA, and chairman of the FPAA?s grape division, talked to The Produce News about how the Sonora Spring Grapes merchandising and promotional programs help both marketers and retailers.
?We break down sales to the traditional four-step process: prospecting, qualifying, engaging and closing," he said. Most grape sellers spend most of their time making offers to active customers and receiving responses to those offers, he said. It is "engage and close, engage and close." But "at some point, we go through our customer list and we do the prospecting part, where we talk to potential customers," and then qualify those prospects to determine which ones "can and are willing to buy our product." For many years, "there were guys who simply would not consider Mexican grapes," he said.
Thanks in large measure to the merchandising and promotional programs, many of those "who before were not willing? to consider Mexican grapes are now willing to do so. Many of those who once considered Mexico a minor source for grapes are now willing "to consider it as a major source." And more retailers who had considered Mexico a major source are now willing to consider Mexico as "a total source? for grapes during the spring season, he said. "That is really the value that it brings to us."
Getting chainstores to accept Mexican grapes is an "accumulative effort of years of banging on doors," he said. At times, a retailer has given Mexican grapes a try because its usual source has faltered. "We get in and they realize, "These guys are good, and they are serious," " and the next sale is easier. "To me, that is the primary benefit? of the promotional program "in that it qualifies more customers who will consider us for a bigger part of their action."
In the early years of the Sonora Spring Grapes promotions, "We went out after a few big targets," Mr. Pandol said. For the last two years, regional chains have been added to the program. This year, the organization has expanded its programs to ethnic chains which are often "very small," he said. "It is chains of 20 on down." That is "the next frontier."
With the smaller chains, the approach is different, since they seldom buy direct but rather procure their products through wholesalers. That requires "a different plan of attack," Mr. Pandol said. "The question is, how do you get very small retailers with which the sales force does not have contact? How do we ramp up demand in that sector of the market?? The program for those smaller ethnic chains is "definitely? a pull-through program, he said.
?It is harder working with the smaller chains," he added. With the major chains, one can sign up 6,000 stores "in three appointments. But those are aircraft carriers. We need speed boats, too."
One of the major benefits that retailers receive from the organization?s merchandising and promotion program is the opportunity to pass information on retailers? needs back to the growers, which helps the retailers get "a better product," Mr. Pandol said. Another key benefit for retailers is the opportunity to get a broader perspective on the coming crop than they might get from the limited number of vendors they normally talk to, he said.
(For more on the Mexican grape deal, see the April 18 issue of The Produce News.)
Those programs, which initially focused on major chains, are now being expanded to regional chains and even to smaller ethnic groups.
Vanguard represents the Sonora Spring Grapes Division of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, working in partnership with AALPUM, the Sonora Grape Growers Association.
At a recent AALPUM meeting in Hermosillo, Sonora, Ms. Kraushaar made a presentation of the program to growers. "It was very positive because they get to see what we are doing, and it gives them a different perspective," she said. "The distributors [in Nogales, AZ] usually know what we are doing, but the growers seldom get the whole picture, so I gave them a summary of progress over the last eight years we have been doing this."
Ms. Kraushaar showed the group some charts illustrating that progress. The charts show that in just the last three years, "We have had roughly a 38 percent conversion rate in accounts that previously did not promote Sonora to promoting Sonora," she said.
Even last year, when there was a small crop, "We signed up 29 new accounts," she said.
Not only are more retail chains in the United States selling grapes from Sonora, but more retailers are actually mentioning Sonora in their ads. "What that means is, we are having a lot more acceptance of the label "Sonora," " she said. "That is very positive because a few years back, we had a hard time getting them to put Mexico or Sonora on the ad."
Ms. Kraushaar?s presentation also included testimonials from retailers "that have promoted with us," she said. "They talked about their excitement with the program."
Ms. Kraushaar told The Produce News that the Sonora Spring Grapes program "is fact-based, so we do a lot of research," including category-management research and consumer focus groups.
?We do health education with consumer affairs people, and we do an ethnic marketing segment, which means we do in-store promotions with ethnic [retail] groups. We do that because we are trying to expand the consumer base? for Mexican grapes, she said.
A distributor survey conducted last year found that 70 percent of Nogales distributors do business directly with supermarket chains, 40 percent do business with other distributors, and 50 percent sell to foodservice distributors.
With a sizable and "very high quality? crop expected this year, Vanguard?s merchandisers have already started to call on retailers to let them know that "we are looking at really good fruit in the market early," she said.
Ms. Kraushaar said that retailers have shown strong interest in Memorial Day promotions. That is true every year, she said, but "the key is having the crop in at the right time, and this year we are counting on that."
John Pandol of Pandol Bros. in Delano, CA, and chairman of the FPAA?s grape division, talked to The Produce News about how the Sonora Spring Grapes merchandising and promotional programs help both marketers and retailers.
?We break down sales to the traditional four-step process: prospecting, qualifying, engaging and closing," he said. Most grape sellers spend most of their time making offers to active customers and receiving responses to those offers, he said. It is "engage and close, engage and close." But "at some point, we go through our customer list and we do the prospecting part, where we talk to potential customers," and then qualify those prospects to determine which ones "can and are willing to buy our product." For many years, "there were guys who simply would not consider Mexican grapes," he said.
Thanks in large measure to the merchandising and promotional programs, many of those "who before were not willing? to consider Mexican grapes are now willing to do so. Many of those who once considered Mexico a minor source for grapes are now willing "to consider it as a major source." And more retailers who had considered Mexico a major source are now willing to consider Mexico as "a total source? for grapes during the spring season, he said. "That is really the value that it brings to us."
Getting chainstores to accept Mexican grapes is an "accumulative effort of years of banging on doors," he said. At times, a retailer has given Mexican grapes a try because its usual source has faltered. "We get in and they realize, "These guys are good, and they are serious," " and the next sale is easier. "To me, that is the primary benefit? of the promotional program "in that it qualifies more customers who will consider us for a bigger part of their action."
In the early years of the Sonora Spring Grapes promotions, "We went out after a few big targets," Mr. Pandol said. For the last two years, regional chains have been added to the program. This year, the organization has expanded its programs to ethnic chains which are often "very small," he said. "It is chains of 20 on down." That is "the next frontier."
With the smaller chains, the approach is different, since they seldom buy direct but rather procure their products through wholesalers. That requires "a different plan of attack," Mr. Pandol said. "The question is, how do you get very small retailers with which the sales force does not have contact? How do we ramp up demand in that sector of the market?? The program for those smaller ethnic chains is "definitely? a pull-through program, he said.
?It is harder working with the smaller chains," he added. With the major chains, one can sign up 6,000 stores "in three appointments. But those are aircraft carriers. We need speed boats, too."
One of the major benefits that retailers receive from the organization?s merchandising and promotion program is the opportunity to pass information on retailers? needs back to the growers, which helps the retailers get "a better product," Mr. Pandol said. Another key benefit for retailers is the opportunity to get a broader perspective on the coming crop than they might get from the limited number of vendors they normally talk to, he said.
(For more on the Mexican grape deal, see the April 18 issue of The Produce News.)
