In March, APAL travelled to Santiago to meet with key stakeholders in the Chilean industry. The visit was met with enthusiasm as the APAL team discussed the future growth of the Pink Lady® brand and presented opportunities in developing Latin America (LATAM) and the new and emerging markets, including China.
Phil Turnbull, APAL CEO and Andrew Hooke, APAL Chief Operating Officer, spent the week in Chile discussing key initiatives and the growth potential of the Pink Lady® brand. APAL met with the Pink Lady® Committee, a subgroup of ASOEX, and held a series of individual licensee meetings. All meetings were positive and proactive, with conversations centred around building on the existing foundations of the Pink Lady® brand. APAL also met with its Master Licensee, Viveros Requinoa (VR) and had productive discussions with Juan Concha and his team, who kindly hosted Phil and Andrew.
L-R: María Ignacia Justiniano (VIVEROS REQUÍNOA), Andrés Alamos (APAL), Phil Turnbull (APAL), Bernardita Larraín de Concha, Juan Concha Sr (VIVEROS REQUÍNOA), Juan Enrique Concha Jr (VIVEROS REQUÍNOA), José Poblete (VIVEROS REQUÍNOA).
At the time of APAL’s visit, the Chilean crop exhibited excellent quality, with strong growing conditions, a promising indicator for the season ahead. Recognising the challenges around southern hemisphere supply, it was evident that the Chilean industry was genuinely committed to identifying and developing the new markets.
There was also a shared enthusiasm from the Chilean industry and APAL to pursue opportunities to resolve long-term systemic supply and demand issues. Part of these discussions focused on developing LATAM markets and an improved focus and commitment to new and emerging markets, particularly China.
APAL proposed that the LATAM project be managed through a collaborative management group, including APAL and those Chilean licensees committed to developing LATAM, and that a similar cooperative approach be taken with China. This collaborative approach will develop seasonal and longer-term plans, with the focus on forecast supply programs, promotional programs and funding.
The Chilean industry agreed that Pink Lady® is in its infancy as a brand and showed genuine interest in exploring opportunities for line extensions using PinKids® and new packaging formats specifically tailored to suit the new markets and their product.
The Chilean trip demonstrated APAL’s commitment to engaging with and listening to its key partners and exploring solutions to critical issues with them. With a shared affinity to focus on the advancement of LATAM and to build on what already underpins Pink Lady® brand, the trip to Chile proved valuable as APAL works to open up new opportunities for Pink Lady® in Latin America and emerging markets like China.
