MIDDLE class Chinese are choosy when it comes to their fruit and it’s playing right into Aussie growers' hands.
Millions of young Chinese people are using their mobiles to order premium Australian fruit from one of the country’s fastest growing food e-commerce platforms, Fruitday.com.
With a turnover of $US160 million in 2015, the website sells mostly imported fruit and delivers it to customers wrapped in colourful packaging akin to giftwrapping.
While its biggest suppliers are from the US, New Zealand and Chile, Australian imports are increasing.
Citrus Australia chief executive Judith Damiani said Fruitday customers love Aussie oranges so much they can’t keep up.
“When the website has a promotion on Aussie oranges they sell out completely. We can make sure they have stock ahead of the promotion but we don’t have air freight set up for China so it can be three weeks before the next stock can arrive by ocean,” Ms Damiani said.
Ms Damiani said the beauty of selling fresh produce via e-commerce platforms (as opposed to traditional retail outlets) was the website real estate which came with it.
“Because the products are featured on a website you can click through to find out more its attributes, its providence and even the grower’s story – that’s a really big advantage compared to sitting on a supermarket shelf.”
Tasmanian apples grown by Andrew and Leeanne Scott are Australia’s first apples to feature on Fruitday. They take full advantage of the website’s white space to promote their brand, Tasmanian Tiger Fuji. Fruitday advertises the apples as being “sweetened by the Australian sunshine and full of vitamins and minerals”. The imagery is bolstered by an image with a fresh bowl of apples with an illustration of a map of Tasmania and, of course, a sketch of the Tasmanian devil.
Apple and Pears Australia Limited market development manager Olivia Tait said e-commerce platforms weren’t good at moving bulk product but were ideal for exporters to raise brand awareness.
She said demonstrable e-commerce success was a good way to prove demand for Australian products which can help in trade negotiations, too.
Fruitday is just one cross-border e-commerce platform which allows overseas exporters to sell directly to Chinese consumers.
Last week nut giant Stahmann Farms launched an online shop on TMall.com which is owned by Aliababa. Stahmann Farms already sells pecans and macadamias to China in bulk, however this new platform will give the brand greater recognition in the Chinese market.
