South Africa’s largest apple and pear marketer Tru-Cape is investing in a varietal promotion to drive consumer awareness of Abate Fetel pears.

As part of the promotional push, TV commercials will be aired on several channels which encourage consumers to go in-store to taste Abate pears and post a selfie on social media with the hashtag #AbateFetel plus the store’s name, with a hashtag.

A total of 34 outlets around South Africa are taking part in the promotional campaign, explained Tru-Cape’s marketing director Conrad Fick.

"We’re inviting Tru-Cape customers to visit one of the 34 participating outlets, the details of which are on the Tru-Cape.com site, and to take a selfie at the tasting station.

"To enter, they must upload the picture onto the Tru-Cape Facebook page. One winner, chosen at random, will be an iPad Air 2 with a Tru-Cape branded cover, richer," Fick said.

There is also another offer for those who can’t make it to a tasting station.

"We’re capitalizing on the trend of photographing your food and sharing it on your social media networks by inviting customers to purchase Abate Fetel pears and refer to Tru-Cape.com for recipe inspiration," he said.

Tru-Cape’s managing director Roelf Pienaar says that with each season, the Abate Fetel is becoming more popular among South African consumers.

"People seem to like that Abate Fetel is Italy’s favorite pear and one of the most ancient," he said.

"It was cultivated by French Monk, Abbe Fetel in 1886."

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