Triple Active New Zealand Avocados
Creating a globally competitive, functional-food brand story to differentiate New Zealand avocados in the international market.
Project Information
Client New Zealand Avocados
Industry Primary Industry
Services Brand Building & Storytelling, Design Research & Customer Insight
Key Outcomes
Brought the industry together around a problem and aligned the stakeholders on the need for a new direction.
In-depth market research carried out in key Asian sales markets.
Brand strategy created for a new, evolved programme.
Developed a new brand story.
Delivered a brand while working with multiple, industry stakeholders.
Overview
New Zealand Avocado needed to differentiate its brand story from competing exporters in the international market. The goal was for future consumers to be able to easily identify and recognize the benefits of New Zealand-grown avocados compared to those grown in other countries such as Peru or Mexico.
Frame
New Zealand currently produces just 2% of the global supply but is the ninth-largest international avocado exporter. The leading marketing tool for avocado exporters at the time was to lead and highlight their country of origin story. But what do you do when you realize the source of origin is not a lead value driver for your international consumers? When you remove the blue sky, green trees, and mountains (which everyone is using to promote their avocados), they all look the same.
How could New Zealand Avocados differentiate ourselves and become an export leader within Asian markets? This was the questions that confronted the industry.
The New Zealand Avocado industry body approached Virtuo for help in making sense of this challenge. They wanted to develop a highly differentiated story that resonated with consumers in key Asian markets.
NZ’s international marketing event (2018)
Peru’s international marketing event (2020)
Our Approach
Our approach was simple but in-depth: Why are consumers buying avocados, and what make our ones different?
Virtuo engaged in an immersive 18-week process involving stakeholder workshops, voice of the customer interviews, and the creation of brand story concepts. These brand concepts or ‘territories’ were tested across five key Asian markets. The mix of in-market qualitative and quantitative research produced well-defined insights that Virtuo was able to translate into a strong, refined brand.
Early stakeholder engagement helped establish the vision for the project, as well as a series of concept territories to test in three key markets: Korea, China, and Thailand. Qualitative design research techniques were used to identify and understand key value drivers for consumers and to build messaging around these drivers.
The learnings and insights gained were then used by New Zealand Avocado and several other exporters to develop and test three story prototypes at scale across five countries (with 200+ consumers per country) to assess and validate the messaging.
Our key findings from this research lead us to understand that NZ Avocado needed to communicate the fact that their avocados are produced responsibly within a sustainable production system and that, because of this, the avocados have a higher nutritional value. Consumers need to understand that every effort has been taken to ensure these avocados are grown to their full nutritional potential in a responsible way.
Outcome
New Zealand grows better avocados for a better world.
Triple Active New Zealand Avocados are extra nutritious. Avocados are one of the most nutritious superfoods available. When grown respectfully, they are packed full of vitamins and enriching properties for a healthier life. Not all avocados are the same. New Zealand avocados are packed with vitamins and three special nutrients for your health and wellness. Our brand speaks to this triple active nutrient value within avocados from New Zealand. These avocados are extra nutritious with a beautiful creaminess you can feel.
Brand Mark
The brand mark is presented as a way to differentiate and identify New Zealand avocados from competitors. 'Triple active' speaks to the brand principles as well as three key avocado attributes desired in the Asian market. The three circles connect the idea of "triple" activity to the three hero nutritional values of Omega-3, Antioxidants, and Folate.
Bubble Devices
From the research we discovered three main attributes desired in Asia out of the other 19 attributes associated with our avocados. These three traits represented positive ingredient association that connected to consumer beliefs. The hero ingredients are Omega3 fatty acids, antioxidants and folate. Together, these three attributes stand as pillars within the brand system and reinforce New Zealand Avocados brand principle of releasing your potential.
Brand Messaging
We created a suite of taglines for the marketing team at NZ Avocado to use in their international marketing materials. The messaging speaks to the positive attributes of New Zealand grown avocados and has been translated into various languages so that the core idea of the tagline would not be lost in translation.
Trust Mark
Respectful Harvest is a trust mark developed to communicate the integrity of New Zealand's growing standards. The avocados carrying this mark are certified to be grown using specific orchard practices and meet strict environmental management, fruit maturity conditions, and harvesting methods.
Brand Principles
We helped New Zealand Avocado define the guiding principles that went on to frame what the brand stands for and how it should be portrayed and communicated. The principles are as follows:
Build Trust — New Zealand ‘s Respectful Harvest avocados are better for the world. The Respectful Harvesting rules demand specific orchard practices, environmental management conditions, fruit maturity and harvesting methods for a better avocado and a better world.
Creamy Nutrition — New Zealand avocados offer high nutritional value. There are 19 nutrients in one avocado of which three are perceived as hero ingredients (Omega3 fatty acids, antioxidants and folate). Together, these three nutrients stand as pillars within the brand system.
Releasing potential — NZ Avocado brings out the best in their avocados, to bring out the best in you. The way these avocados are grown maximises the fruit’s nutrient value supporting you to release your full potential.
The result for NZ Avocado is best described in their own words:
“The learnings throughout this process have isolated what is truly important to avocado consumers in these markets, and changed the way we think about marketing avocados from New Zealand.”
Virtuo and the Launchsight programme facilitated a complex, multi-stakeholder process to develop a brand story for all avocados from New Zealand. They provided a forum for stakeholder input and listened carefully to the needs of the industry body, commercial exporter operators and in-market representatives. They applied multiple consumer research methodologies across five different countries, which uncovered new and exciting positioning territories, and applied a robust consumer testing methodology that enabled the territories that performed most strongly with consumers to be prioritised. A compelling suite of research insights and a robust set of final brand guidelines were delivered, which are now enabling a disruptive and unique brand story for avocados from New Zealand to be delivered with consistency by multiple stakeholders in multiple markets.
The learnings throughout this process have isolated what is truly important to avocado consumers in these markets, and changed the way we think about marketing avocados from New Zealand. The carefully managed development process across multiple stakeholders has enabled immediate uptake and application of the new brand story by New Zealand’s largest avocado exporters, and the work delivered by Launchsight will be critical to ensuring the ongoing growth and success of the New Zealand avocado industry.
