Potential Problems on the Horizon for Cuties?
San Joaquin Valley, CA
The easy- to- peel and seedless mandarin brand known as “Cuties” is revolutionizing the American industry through its strategic marketing techniques. For the first time in produce history, consumers are referring to mandarins as “Cuties”, in much the same way as they would ask for a “Kleenex” instead of tissue. When it comes to the American consumer experience: convenience sells. Cuties has looked at the traditional orange and considered it a candidate for the classic American "new and improved" treatment, and many key leaders in the marketing field have found that consumers enjoy Cuties because they are a hassle-free and low maintenance product.
Berne Evans III, the king of the Cuties Empire, built the brand eight years ago with his partners Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the marketers behind Fiji Water and Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice.
Mr. Evans and his group went to great lengths to try to capture the consumers’ attention. Their strategy generated a marketing battle as Cuties rivals began boasting their own seedless, easy to peel brands: Darling Clementines, Delite, Clem'NTina's, Bee Sweet.
In an effort to reign over the competition, Mr. Evans is selling a smaller version of the fruit that his company registered under the trademark "Baby Cuties." Mr. Evans assigned "Baby Cuties" a logo that mimics the original Cuties (a smiling tangerine with an open zipper on the peel) wearing a bonnet and with a pacifier in its mouth. Selling the fruit exclusively at Wal-Mart Stores, the group made an "extra $2 or $3 million," Mr. Evans says, a better profit than turning them into juice.
The Resnicks did not approve of the Baby Cuties, according to Mr. Evans and other citrus growers, out of concern it would undercut the main brand. Shortly after, Paramount Citrus, the Resnicks' company and a unit of their closely held Roll Global LLC, sued Mr. Evans in Los Angeles federal court over use of the Cuties name on a new line. The issue is now in private arbitration according to the Wall Street Journal. "I thought, 'If Stew [Resnick] hears I'm growing clementine’s, he's going to compete. He's a big-money guy who can overdo everything,'" says Mr. Evans.
The original agreement specified the Resnicks would develop the advertising and marketing campaigns as Mr. Evans' team would pack, sell and distribute to retailers. Mr. Evans says he spent $65 million to build a state-of-the art facility to sort, clean, and pack most of the group's fruit.
"We're disagreeing on how to do a couple of things… It's a bump in the road,” says Mr. Evans.
To view the full article, visit this link at Wall Street Journal
Cuties Cooperative
