Fruit marketers wanting to achieve the same consumer response in every country they sell to can now develop maturity standards for each specific market to optimise demand and repeat purchases.

Delytics Ltd has extensive experience developing market-specific minimum maturity standards that link fruit properties with consumer taste preferences in different geographical regions. This enables export brands to strengthen their reputation as a premium provider that consistently delivers great taste.

Research clearly shows that taste preferences vary a lot between markets. Some Asian markets prefer very sweet fruit with high Brix, which may not be liked as much in Australasia, and other markets respond better to fruit with more acid.

Delytics Managing Director Mark Loeffen says, “I was recently asked if a minimum maturity standard set for the Australian market would be suitable for Asia. My answer was, ‘not if you want the same consumer response’. If fruit marketers want consumers to get the same eating experience from their branded fruit, no matter where in the world it is sold, then they need set different standards for each market."

This graph demonstrates differing taste preferences in the USA and Australia for a common variety of citrus.  At the same maturity, the graph shows that 67% of Australians like the fruit while only 51% of US consumers like it. A 10% increase in the maturity standards would be required in the USA to achieve the same consumer response as Australia.

Mark says, “If the maturity standards are left the same for each market in this citrus example, our modelling predicts that consumer demand would be 30% lower in the USA than Australia. The difference would be even greater between Australia and some Asian countries, where it is known that consumers prefer much sweeter fruit."

Delytics works with companies across the globe to ensure their minimum maturity standards are well-aligned with the taste preferences in their key export markets, and helps them adjust their standards as needed. Once the maturity standards are validated, Delytics offers a quality assurance service to make sure their branded fruit continue to meet those standards, to ensure ongoing consistent quality.

“Marketers selling branded fruit in multiple marketsshould seriously consider setting market-specific minimum maturity standards if they want the same consumer response in each market,” says Mark. “If all they do is increase demand by 10% across all their markets, the returns will be significant – and from what I’ve seen, 10% can be readily achieved."