Tru-Cape recently had the opportunity to host a group of students from Harvard Business School in Somerset West as part of the school’s Immersive Field Course (IFC).
IFC courses are designed to offer second-year students in the two-year MBA programme an experiential learning opportunity in an off-campus setting. For this project, the students focused on identifying the optimal go-to-market strategy for launching a new premium apple variety in the United Kingdom, with the aim of maximising profitability and establishing a strong brand presence.
For Tru-Cape, the collaboration provided an exciting opportunity to gain fresh insights into the valuable yet demanding and highly prescriptive UK market, where shelf space is limited, price sensitivity is high, and consumer behaviour tends to be habitual. Working closely with Tru-Cape, the students explored the most effective route to market while ensuring a sustainable premium for producers in the Ceres and Grabouw regions.
“Understanding consumer preferences, pricing, and distribution dynamics are invaluable when introducing premium apples to the UK market and building a brand that consumers can trust and love,” said Roelf Pienaar, Managing Director of Tru-Cape.
The students’ recommendations included influencer-led storytelling, targeting high-frequency, health-orientated online shoppers, innovative packaging solutions, expanding the customer base and increasing brand awareness, creating a halo effect through luxury gifting, and capitalising on a promising demographic shift that includes health-conscious male shoppers.
Henk Griessel, Tru-Cape’s Quality Assurance Manager, said the collaboration with Harvard Business School students was highly beneficial. “It pushed us to think differently about the entire process and challenged us to improve the way we work.”
Important learning experience
This year, more than 285 students elected to take part in the Immersive Field Course. A cornerstone of the programme is the expertise of faculty members, who develop course content aligned with teaching objectives that are met primarily through student-centred, active learning opportunities. These include project work, site visits, guest speakers, and discussions with senior leadership. The participating students are typically in their late twenties and have an average of five years’ work experience across a wide range of fields, including finance, real estate, consulting, healthcare, the military, and technology.
Harvard Business School is quick to acknowledge that this important learning experience would not be possible without the support and engagement of its hosts and partners.
“We are extremely grateful to Tru-Cape and all the host organisations around the world for all they do on behalf of our students,” said Hakeem Belo-Osagie, who led the group. “The students benefit immeasurably from this experience, and we hope the host organisations do as well.”
The students also shared how positive and enjoyable they found their time in the Western Cape, with many saying they look forward to returning to South Africa for another visit.
“We are pleased to be working with Harvard Business School to provide students with a real-world learning experience in South Africa,” Pienaar said. “We are confident that the students gained insights here that they would never be able to glean from a classroom discussion alone.”
For more information, please contact Lucille Botha at lucilleb@tru-cape.co.za or visit www.tru-cape.com. Follow Tru-Cape on X (@TruCapeFruit), Facebook (@Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing), TikTok (@trucape), and Instagram (@trucapefruit).
