This year, the proudly South African ClemenGold premium mandarin brand celebrates its 20th anniversary. From humble beginnings in Letsitele, Limpopo where the first trees were planted, to sitting proudly on the shelves of Woolworths, citrus lovers in over 45 countries can now purchase the fruit with its distinctive black teardrop-shaped sticker – its symbol of quality.
In the world of fruit cultivar development, twenty years might not raise the eyebrows considering how long the breeding process takes. However, in the life of a citrus brand, two decades mark a definite milestone. “When the ClemenGold mandarin brand was established in 2003, branding fruit was still in its infancy,” says Abs van Rooyen, whose brainchild it was to name and trademark the very special mandarin variety, Nadorcott, when fruit were still mostly sold as commodities. “Marketing is all about storytelling, and I just knew that the Nadorcott had a story to tell. But a story needs to be backed with something substantial to gain the consumer’s trust and earn their loyalty. For ClemenGold, this is its consistent quality promise.”
Branding based on consistent quality
For a consumer brand like ClemenGold, providing consistently good eating quality fruit is the cornerstone in the growth and sustainability of its business model. Adhering to this principle creates long-term consumer loyalty, and in return, some stability in the value chain. Crops vary from year to year for many reasons but adhering to a minimum quality standard ensures that the consumer is never left with the proverbial ‘bad taste in their mouth’. “When we first approached growers to plant the Nadorcott and buy into the branding and marketing approach, most were sceptical – and rightly so,” remembers Abs. “Issues concerning quality and flavour, and ease of peeling, were mostly hit-and-miss with the range of ‘naartjies’ available at the time and seedlessness wasn’t even a consideration to consumers.”
“Therefore, it made sense to initially focus the marketing message on the physical attributes of the fruit: perfect flavour balance, virtually seedlessness, easy to peel and that distinctive deep orange colour of the skin,” says Adéle Ackermann, marketing manager. “As the brand’s presence grew and consumers came to increasingly ask for it by name, we’ve strategically moved the brand into the lifestyle space. This means that we focus on showing how our product bring solutions to everyday challenges, like having little time to prepare healthy lunchboxes, or providing healthy on-the-go snacks, or simply bringing some inspiration in terms of time spent in the kitchen cooking and baking.”
“We’ve been privileged to work with many creatives, including stylists, chefs, photographers, videographers, designers and just generally enthusiastic foodies and fans, resulting in a meaningful brand presence throughout the world,” adds Ackermann.
The importance of having passionate partners
The success of a fruit brand also creates a sense of pride amongst those growing and packing it. Indigo Fruit Farming, ClemenGold’s largest supply partner, prides itself in its ability to successfully produce, pack and match available fruit to the different markets and the various countries’ consumer needs.
In order to meet the ever-growing demand for ClemenGold mandarins, the Group has created a platform of like-minded growers in South Africa, as well as in Morocco and Spain from where fruit matching the strict quality standards now successfully lengthen the global supply season.
