The fruit industry can do more to reach consumers with innovation. That goes for the whole chain, from farmer to market gardener to retail outlet. A group of European researchers brought together in ISAFruit has published a brochure with guidelines for companies and chains that want to improve in the area of organisation and management.
The researchers studied ten successful chains of fresh, prepared and processed fruit in the Netherlands, Poland, Greece and Spain. This resulted in a number of guidelines summarised in the brochure ‘Consumer driven innovative fruit chain. Guidelines for the fruit industry’.
Success factors
The researchers list eleven critical success factors such as a strong customer focus. For instance, they recommend that all firms in a chain verify whether the wishes of their customers correspond with those of the end consumer, even if they do not have direct contact with consumers.
Types
Based on these success factors, the researchers explain how companies can best set priorities and which strategy is important. To make things easier, the researchers divide chains into four different types: ‘external oriented’, ‘pro-active’, ‘ad hoc’ and ‘functional’.
The aim of ISAFruit is to increase the consumption of fruit on behalf of the European Union. The researchers are drawn from LEI, part of Wageningen UR, Agricultural University Athens, Universidad Polytécnica Madrid and Warsaw Agricultural University.
Brochure Consumer driven innovative fruit chain. Guidelines for the fruit industry
Report 2010-035 Consumer driven innovative fruit chain. Guidelines for the fruit industry