Apple and pear experts push health in new campaign.

South Africa’s largest exporter of South African apples and pears focuses on natural fruit as a substitute for artificial supplements in its campaign with Freshmark, the fresh fruit and vegetable procurement arm for the Shoprite/Checkers group. The campaign runs until September 13.

According to Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, the grower-owned apple and pear marketer, feedback from international customers, especially those in the Far East, is that South African apples taste better than apples from other parts of the world.

“Perhaps it has something to do with the African sun we enjoy in this country,” muses Tru-Cape Managing Director, Roelf Pienaar, “but”, he adds, “whatever the reason, the more South African apples and pears we sell the better for us all.”

Freshmark is Tru-Cape’s single largest South African customer taking more than 26% of their local-market fruit. “We have grown our business with Freshmark 10% year-on-year and sell well over 1.3 million cartons of fruit to them each year so we are always excited to participate in a promotional campaign that will help grow these figures,” Pienaar says.

According to Tru-Cape, Marketing Director, Conrad Fick, the focus for this year’s campaign is based on people increasingly living healthier lives and looking to boost their immune systems. “One of the impacts of Covid is to highlight our human frailty and the role that eating more fresh fruit and vegetables has in maintaining strong immune systems. In the campaign we highlight the nutritional benefits of apples and pears and have engaged influencers in the medical field, nutritionists and fitness folk to help spread the word. Also, in a departure from previous year’s campaigns, we are offering Checkers and Shoprite shopping vouchers to the value of R15, 000 as prizes rather than tech or other aspirational items, as we know people are more financially hard-pressed than usual.”

According to Fick, this campaign will run on South African television channels and on social-media platforms. Messaging like: “You’ve heard it a thousand times: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Turns out there’s more truth to that than you might think. Studies show apples have powerful health benefits, particularly when it comes to fighting chronic diseases that harm millions of people each year. That’s why we recommend incorporating apples into your family’s diet to maintain a healthy and prolonged life for you and your loved ones.”
Competition mechanics are based on purchase: “Simply purchase a pack of Tru-Cape Freshmark apples or pears, inbox us your slip, and answer the Tru-Cape poll here: https://forms.gle/k7brKpe4muMkMVgS9“, Fick says.More at www.Tru-Cape.com