Failure™ Magazine

Prunes: Turning Over a New Leaf

Change from ‘prune’ to ‘dried plum’ proving fruitful.

Written by Jason Zasky   Filed under Business

Of course, the prune isn’t the first commodity product to undergo a name change and makeover. In the 1960s, the Chinese Gooseberry was successfully repositioned as the Kiwifruit—and Kiwi eventually became the internationally recognized name.

“One of the major benefits of the name change is that it’s more descriptive about what the product actually is. You’d be surprised how many consumers who are already consuming the product don’t know where a prune comes from,” claims Peterson.

Seed Money
Of course, the bottom line is how all this re-positioning impacts sales. Early indications are that the change is having the desired effect. “Last year dried plum sales were up five percent over a year ago. That was good because we were looking at a domestic market that had been declining,” says Peterson. “Most of our product is consumed by people over the age of 60 and as that group diminishes we have to replace our heavy users. That’s why we began focusing on a younger target audience.”

“We’re certainly not ignoring our current customer,” says Nager. “But like just about every other packaged goods company, we’re looking at the baby boomer—typically women from 35-54.”

Nager also echoes Peterson’s economic outlook: “What we’re seeing is a slower decline in sales,” he says. “Certainly, that first year when the media was covering the name change there was a definite spike. Now that things have settled down a bit what we’re seeing is a slower decline. It slowed the momentum on the train going downhill. That has to happen first before sales turn around and begin increasing.”

In the meantime, almost everyone is convinced that the name change is a good strategy. “We realized the importance of trying to create a positive image around this fruit,” says Nager. “We all felt—not only at Sunsweet, but as an industry—that this was the way to go. We’re glad we had the opportunity to legally call the prune what it really is—a dried plum.”

But Professor Kader is still incredulous that a new moniker was necessary: “It’s a very tasty fruit. I don’t know why people shy away from eating it because of the name.”

Page 5 of 5 pages « First < 3 4 5