MTEX, the Israeli company that markets Jaffa-branded citrus fruit in the UK, believes a new £1m advertising and PR campaign could boost overall sales by nearly 60%.
The campaign, which marks the Jaffa brand’s first foray into TV advertising, will begin later this year.
MTEX has teamed up with women’s magazine Company to search for a reader to become a “contemporary Eve” and star in the Garden of Eden-themed ad, set to air from January.
MTEX UK managing director Dov Warmen said the marketing push was aimed at women in the 20-30 age bracket, key purchasers of citrus fruit.
“We took a decision this year to invest above the line to
increase awareness among consumers of the Jaffa brand.
“If you take maybe 10 people, only two or three do not know what the Jaffa brand is. These two or three are our target.”
For the past three years, Jaffa citrus fruit has been available year-round in the UK, thanks to a licensing agreement between MTEX and the Israeli government, which owns the brand.
MTEX imports oranges, easy peelers and grapefruit from Israel when in season - typically between October and June - but at other times will bring in produce from South Africa, South America, Australia, Turkey and Spain as necessary.
Fruit grown outside of Israel is done so according to strict quality protocols covering planting, crop protection, picking and packing in order to qualify for the Jaffa mark.
MTEX markets around 50,000 tonnes of Jaffa-branded citrus fruit a year in the UK, 60% of which is Israeli.
Warmen said there was vast potential for growth of both Israeli and non-Israeli fruit.
“With Israeli fruit, we could see a 25-30% increase in sales. But for non-Israeli fruit, that uplift could be as much as 100%.”
Richard Clarke