NEW ZEALAND - T&G Global knows a thing or two about apples. Owners of the Envy™, Jazz™, and Pacific Rose™ brands, the company continues to wow its retail partners with premium apple varieties.

I had the opportunity to speak with Brock Nemecek, Regional Marketing Manager, about T&G’s apple program, merchandising tools, and more.

As the company continues to impress its brands on retailers, Brock lets me know that T&G’s current customers can count on its premium apples' quality, consistency, and unique flavor and texture profiles.

“We’re also reinforcing to our customers our commitment to the seamless integration among our consumer marketing, trade marketing, and retail activation efforts with our sales agent partners, Oppy, CMI Orchards, and Rainier Fruit Company,” Brock explains to me. “Not only do we have large-scale, integrated programs launching over the next several weeks and throughout 2019, but each one will include a through-the-line component to directly drive and incentivize sales and repeat purchases of our premium apple brands.”

In addition to rebate offers on popular shopping app, Ibotta, and incentives to purchase that align with brand promotions, T&G and its sales agent partners utilize an extensive sampling program to drive trial and purchase—such as the annual Envy Roadshow, a country-wide tour which stops at various retail stores and popular destinations to share samples of the Envy apple.

On top of this already impressive lineup, Brock tells me that the company offers its retail customers tailored marketing programs to support their own promotion of T&G products. Social promotions, targeted email marketing, banner ads, influencer appearances, and cooking school sponsorships are just a few of the tactics ways in which T&G utilizes to drive shopper initiatives.

“We’re always open to bringing to life ideas that will help our customers achieve their specific goals,” Brock says.

He goes on to share with me some of the specifics of T&G’s latest merchandising efforts, which includes its PB&JAZZ and Envy-able Spread campaigns. Keeping JAZZ top-of-mind for fans of the apple-peanut butter combo, and Envy as the slow-to-brown ideal for charcuterie boards, T&G capitalizes on creative cross-merchandising with complementary brands and products.

“We regularly provide those product, recipe, and lifestyle photos and videos to our retail and foodservice customers to enhance their own storytelling,” Brock expresses.

To wrap our conversation up, Brock tells me that the company will soon unveil a versatile and interactive display program for ENVY and JAZZ that will enable retail customers to merchandise T&G brands outside of the produce department and into high-traffic areas to encourage impulse purchases.

“We have a variety of bagged options for both conventional and organic products—including poly and pouch bags—and are developing additional pack types/sizes, value-added options, and POS and display materials that we will begin announcing in late 2018!” Brock concludes.

And for those attending PMA Fresh Summit, be sure to visit with T&G’s sales agents: Oppy #2643, CMI Orchards #2483, and Rainier Fruit Co. #3861—you might even run into Brock himself!

For the latest in fresh produce news, keep reading AndNowUKnow.

T&G Global