Citrus Value Chain Innovators Award: Pinnacle Fresh wins for brand strategy ‘Dracula Citrus’

Citrus Value Chain Innovators Award: Pinnacle Fresh wins for brand strategy ‘Dracula Citrus’

11 March 2020

Melbourne-based Pinnacle Fresh has developed a brand strategy “Dracula Citrus” which gives retailers the opportunity to invest in retail theatre, has underpinned a successful US export program, and beaten all initial expectations.

It was recognised for its achievement at the Citrus Australia Market Outlook Forum, where it was awarded a 2020 Value Chain Innovators Award.

This brand enables customers to turn a commoditised category into a fun, interactive and wickedly healthy experience for the consumer, adding value to all stake holders throughout the supply chain.

The brand has been developed over the past four years and is increasing year on year both in sales value and tonnage sold.

The brand is now recognised in a number of markets (Particularly in major retailers) across the world, including Australia, USA, Taiwan, Thailand, Puerto Rico and Canada, and has gained support from major retailers.

In particular, major retailer CostCo has embraced the value of theatre during Halloween. The themed promotions over Halloween have helped Pinnacle Fresh build its brand in the US.

It has helped the company build a successful export program into the North American market.

The Australian-grown citrus marketed through the Dracula brand in the US includes Dracula Blood Oranges, Dracula Baby Mandarins (easy peelers), and Dracula Pink Cara Cara (navels).

Pinnacle Fresh has developed some eye-catching imagery to help project the brand’s tagline ‘Wickedly Healthy’.

This artwork is proudly displayed on fruit cartons and assorted point of sale materials, giving retailers a distinctive avenue to market fresh produce, particularly over the Halloween period.

Their promotions also drive and encourage healthy eating, particularly with children, as promotions encourage a ‘healthy option’ for Halloween – a time renowned for sugary snacks for trick or treating activities.

Pinnacle Director Jordan Bain says the ability to develop and sell a brand story delivers real value in the US.

“The retail landscape is different to just about anywhere else in the world when it comes to promotions,” Jordan has said.

“If you create the brand, you also create the theatre behind it.”

Dracula citrus is now sold in over 3,000 stores across the US. This reach far exceeds Pinnacle Fresh’s initial expectations when it launched the brand in 2017.

Early hopes involved reaching 100 stores initially and the company said it really is a testament to the power of themed marketing in a market like the US.

Pinnacle Fresh is also using themed marketing to develop consumer awareness of Dracula citrus in the Australian market, with Halloween having become an established part of the Australian calendar.