|
Citrus Commission Update
The Florida Citrus Commission met April 21, the following
information was noted.
 Retail
orange juice sales jumped 4.2 percent for a four week period
that ended March 19. This is compared to the same period last
year, according to AC Nielsen report.
The
biggest sales gain came in the reconstituted category, which
increased 16.7 percent.
Total decline across all juice categories has slowed. The not
from concentrate sales category actually increased. Most of the
total decline is being experienced in concentrate and single
strength juice.
During the same four week period orange juice at Wal-Mart
increased by 15 percent. Wal-Mart’s share of OJ volume is now
16 percent versus 14 percent for the year-ago period.
Wal-Mart’s juice price has remained consistent. Therefore it is
not lower prices of juice attracting sales.
FDOC’s marketing and
research teams will evaluate the effectiveness of a proposed
television commercial positioning OJ as a healthy alternative to
flavored beverages.
The advertisement is called
“Laboratory,” featuring a character in a lab surrounded by
brightly colored drinks. Looking at one bottle’s label, he
reads aloud the hard to pronounce chemical contents. Just
before taking a sip of the orange juice he says: “Ingredients:
fresh air, rain and sunshine.” The commercial closes with the
following tagline: “Orange Juice, Healthy, Pure and Simple.” If
received well by consumers, the commercial will go into
production as an extension to the current campaign. The
advertisement is scheduled to air in mid-July.
A new FDOC mission statement
has been adopted. “Grow the market for the Florida citrus
grower, citrus industry and the State of Florida,” anchors the
2005-08 strategic plan. The mission statement was adopted
without utilizing suggestions of PRVCGA, Florida Citrus Mutual,
Citrus Grower Associates and Highlands CGA.
Four major restaurant
chains, IHOP, Perkins, Denny’s and Eat n’ Park- with nearly 350
locations in key markets, will be participating in the FDOC’s
new suggestive sell program. The FDOC will award cash prizes to
the restaurants that sell the most OJ during a set period of
time. Participating restaurants will receive a turnkey
merchandising kit that contains an overview letter, a back
–of-the-house poster to inform wait staff and a training video.
The kit also includes table tents, server buttons and pens
promoting OJ. The suggestive sell program is set to run through
June and is in conjunction with the extension of the FDOC’s
“Mystery Diner” program.
The FDOC staff will ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
adopt higher standards for orange juice. The request raises the
minimum Brix/acid ratio on orange juice from the present minimum
standard of 8 - 12.5 to
15.5. |
The request is part of the FDOC’s effort to
ensure that juice served to school children, the industry’s
future customers, are introduced to great tasting orange juice.
The FDOC believes if kids get better tasting orange juice when
they are young, then they are much more likely to become
consistent orange juice consumers when they reach adulthood.
The FDOC’s Health and Wellness Scientific Research team
plans to become a “go-to” clearinghouse on citrus health
information and scientific research. Staff will assist in
publishing a series of white papers on citrus research. Upcoming
papers will focus on citrus’ role in relieving inflammation,
reducing high blood pressure and enhancing mental performance.
The team will also examine the implications of citrus’ ranking
on the Glycemic Index. In addition, the council will work to
secure grants funding selected citrus research & establish a
dialogue with scientists doing citrus-related studies.
The next Commission meeting will be May 18, 2005 beginning at 9
a.m. at the Department of Citrus in Lakeland.
PRVCGA sent a thank you note to
President Bush on behalf of our growers for the citrus disaster
funding. Below is his response.
|
