Golf Ball Sized Apples Bring Easy, Healthy Snacking Innovation

A New Zealand company has come up with a new, innovative concept to market a product that’s thousands of years old:  the apple.

It’s a combination of agricultural technology and smart marketing.

The Havelock North Fruit Company developed the capability to grow mini apples that are just 1.5 times the size of a golf ball (via cross-breeding selected varieties).  Next came packaging inspiration that put five apples into a hand-held , transparent tube.  The concept was tied together with an attention-generating brand called  Rockit™.

Havelock didn’t have to worry about product benefits – everyone knows that apples are healthy eating.  Instead, the company added convenience, and made a good-for-you product easier to consume and transport.  The result is a highly credible positioning as an on-the-go fresh-fruit snack, with a simple tagline:  Your Daily Fruit Blast.

As company Director Steve Saunders noted in a newspaper interview:  “Rockit was thinking outside the square, repositioning the total apple offering.”  It’s a wonderful reminder of two important marketing themes:

1. Packaging can make a difference;
2. Find ways to bring new news to an old product.

Havelock has an interesting business model.  The company is licensing rights, with the expectation that the licensee will eventually grow its own apples.  In the interim, apples with be shipped to global markets from New Zealand.  Current distribution includes the United States, Canada, Italy, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the UK.

Chelan Fresh Marketing is one of the American suppliers.  Marketing Director Mac Riggin told The Produce News that the apples “offer a brand new way to provide healthy and delicious on-the-go snacking.”

Headline

A New Zealand company has demonstrated that innovation is possible even for a product that’s thousands of years old.  Golf ball sized Rockit™ apples, packed in hand-held, clear tubes, provide a convenient solution for healthy, on-the-go snacking.

Harvey Chimoff is a hands-on marketing leader and business-wide collaborator who builds marketing capabilities in B2B/B2C organizations that drive customer success.