Italy: 'Viviana' table grape brand launched to counter downturn - FreshFruitPortal.com

Italy: 'Viviana' table grape brand launched to counter downturn

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Italy: 'Viviana' table grape brand launched to counter downturn

A new brand has been created in the Italian grape industry aimed at 'fostering synergy' between growers and associations and ultimately boosting the sector's competitiveness.Ā DSCN0839

'Viviana, l'uva italiana' (Viviana, the Italian grape) was launched at the Fruit Innovation event recently held in Milan.

The project has securd funding from the European Union and will be promoted by industry syndicate Italia Ortofrutta.

There are 12 producer organizations who have joined the project, willing to acknowledge each other and to become recognizable on the market through a common brand. All 12 groups come from regions with long-standing tradition of table grape production.

Currently 351 growers are part of the project, with a total cultivated surface area of 4,656 hectares. The producers yield more than 120,000 metric tons (MT) of grapes annually, at a value in excess of ā‚¬100 million (US$110 million).

The creation of 'Viviana' is partly in response to declining fruit and vegetable consumption in the European country over recent years

According to figures from the Agricultural Marketing Services Institute (Ismea) fruit and vegetable purchases by Italian households steadily declined from 8.3 million MT in 2010 too 7.8 million MT in 2013.

"Product culture, inclusiveness, enhancement - these are the pivotal points around which the whole 'Viviana' revolves," Italia Ortofrutta manager Vincenzo Falconi.

"The economic recession has hit our sector capillary-wise, that is why it is necessary to create new values, making our product visible through a single brand that is able to provide customers with useful information to enhance the value of table grapes.

"The producers who have decided to join the 'Viviana' project are committed to marketing top-of-the-range grapes, thus overcoming the criticality associated with a fragmented supply. This is the best solution for a downturn which has hit everyone hard - producers, consumers, and retailers."

The project also aims to develop new relationships with large-scale retailers. The 12 producer organizations involved are said to currently be able to provide steady procurement, in terms of both scheduling and quality.

A release added that today's consumers expected more than 'horizontal information', but they seem to appreciate any action aimed at promoting authenticity with regard to food products.

It said that simply stating that fruit was good for you was no longer enough, and it was important to follow the trend whereby people were more and more interested in learning more about what they buy with regards to both nutritional values and product types.

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