Fruit gets Fresh

Making the most of a healthy favourite

Despite the ongoing health and wellness mega-trend, fresh fruit is one of those categories that convenience and impulse outlets generally struggle with.

With everyone from Jamie Oliver to Government advertising departments bombarding consumers with messages highlighting the importance of eating fresh fruit and vegetables, one would think that a convenience channel looking to maximise new opportunities would leap at this trend.

Too often though, the C&I fruit offer, when there it is there at all, is limited, unattractive and unappetising. The convenience customer (even a hungry one) is no fool, and will be reluctant to pay a premium price for a sub-standard product.
As with all fresh goods, fruit does present the retailer with challenges: It will perish, it will bruise, it will require handling with care, and it takes effort to present it in an enticing manner. But before fruit is thrown into the ‘too-hard basket’, C&I outlets could do worse than to glance across the Tasman to see how one of our nearest neighbours is able to make fruit fresh … and highly profitable. Situated in Central Otago at the southern end of New Zealand’s magnificent South Island, lies a once humble highway fruit store that could yet revolutionise the way we sell everything from nuts and nectarines to apples, pears and cherries. Jones’s Fruit Stall on the main road between Cromwell and Queenstown has - thanks to its unique presentation style, super friendly, professional and knowledgeable staff, and its innovative marketing concepts – turned itself into a fruit mecca for overseas tourists and locals alike.

What started off as a hobby for the effervescent Eletheria Jones some 29 years ago has become a thriving family business which, during busy times, employs as many as 20 staff. As coachloads of visitors swarm though the shop, Mrs Jones says it is not uncommon to have hundreds, if not a thousand or more, shoppers in the outlet at one time. So what is her magic formula and can it be bottled and brought back to Australia? Well, the secret is very, very simple:

“We have worked hard to make the shop look as beautiful as we can and have fresh flowers and pine cones all around,” says Mrs Jones. “We present the fruit in boxes and make sure it always looks fresh, attractive and appetising.”

Indeed, despite the simplicity of its core product, the highway outlet resembles something of an Aladdin’s Cave. Shoppers are greeted by an explosion of colour in what can only be described as a visual feast. Beautifully arranged flower displays top fruit stands, swathes of pinus coulteri cones add to the rustic rural feel, bags of dried fruits are lovingly prepared and positioned for maximum impact, and there is also a huge variety of different nuts, vegetables, chocolate, ice cream, and jars of honey and jams on offer.
However, it is the fruit which is the unmistakable star of the show and the aroma alone is enough to have shoppers salivating and reaching for their wallets. Fresh fruit can, and should be, an impulse product. Many of these concepts could be copied in some way in other outlets, but what can’t be easily replicated is the obvious love and passion that has gone into making this magnificent outlet so special. The owners have even set up a tasting table where potential customers can try before they buy.

A review posted by a customer on the Virtual Tourist website probably sums up the reasons behind Mrs Jones’ success the best:

“Albeit somewhat pricy, the fruit looks and tastes much better than in any grocery store,” writes the reviewer. And it’s that simple. So, why haven’t Australian C&I outlets used this stall’s proven formula as a template for similar success?

“I am not really sure why they haven’t done anything similar,” says a vaguely mystified Mrs Jones. “All I know is that it has really worked for us, but what other outlets choose to do is up to them.”

Incredibly, all this creativity and marketing innovation was born from instinct and passion rather than study or employing professionals:

“All of the ideas for the store were mine,” says Mrs Jones. “It just felt right and people seem to love it …they come in coachloads and come back again and again.”

Growing success

The road to the Jones family’s fruit empire started when Mrs Jones and her husband Doug sold their crayfish and venison export business nearly three decades ago. They bought 10 acres of land, built themselves a house and started to grow fruit:
“After a while, I said to my husband why don’t we set up a fruit stall and I can sell the fruit,” said Mrs Jones. “It seemed like a nice little hobby for me.”

The rest, as they say, is history. The fruit stall has now been extended three times and the family now owns nearly 200 acres of land on which they grow cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, apples, and pears. Mrs Jones’ son Michael deals with the large-scale export of cherries, while her daughter, Christina, is her right-hand woman in the stall. The popular tourist magnet is open every day of the year and, in the busy summer season, is open from 8am-8pm. For shoppers who just can’t get enough of a good thing, there is a magnificent rose garden to enjoy out the back and they can also join an orchard tour and pick fruit when in season. All in all, it is quite an impressive operation but the mastermind behind it all shows no sign of losing here incredible enthusiasm or letting her enviable energy levels dip:

“I love what I do and am enjoying it so much I can’t even think about retiring,” said Mrs Jones. “Every year I do get away for month or so on a cruise or something to recharge and then I am ready to get back to it … I guess when I eventually do retire I would like to hand it over to my family, but that won’t be for a while yet.”

While there probably aren’t many convenience and impulse outlets in Australia that have the luxury of being able to grow their own fruit, you can’t help but feel that there is still an awful lot they can learn from Mrs Jones and her remarkable stall.