WIN: Celebrate the goodness of dried fruit
Two hampers, each including the seven featured fruits, are up for grabs.
TODAY, 1 March marks the start of South Africa’s first-ever Dried Fruit Month. The campaign, spearheaded by Dried Fruit South Africa, aims to educate consumers about the natural goodness of dried fruit and dispel myths about this wholesome pantry staple.
Dried Fruit South Africa is an industry initiative driven by a number of key dried fruit players and was formed at the end of 2019. The latest campaign sees the introduction of South Africa’s inaugural Dried Fruit Month which will run for the duration of March each year.
Speaking about the initiative, Jacques du Preez, Hortgro’s general manager of Trade and Markets and one of the spokespeople for Dried Fruit South Africa said, “Our initial challenge was to consider how to reinvigorate a product category to make it appealing again. We kept coming back to the same underlying principle: the real goodness of dried fruit is actually timeless and it can’t truly be swayed by trends. In the same breath, we also live in a time of mass misinformation and in almost two decades no-one proactively protected the reputation of dried fruit as a category.”
Ferdie Botha, CEO of Raisins SA explained that somewhere in recent history, dried fruit seemed to suddenly get a bad rap: “We suspect it was around the same time that the diet industry rebranded itself as the wellness industry. This is why we decided that with Dried Fruit Month we would also separate fact from fiction when it comes to consumers’ perceptions about dried fruit.”
He added that the team’s next challenge was to then consider how they could grab consumers’ interest. “We wanted a campaign that could incorporate a good dose of humour, a pinch of irreverence and some good old-fashioned entertainment,” said Botha.
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The result is the Miss Real Deal Pageant which will run throughout Dried Fruit Month. This is not a pageant in the traditional sense where members of the public can enter. However, the feel of a stereotypical beauty pageant acted as inspiration. Instead of pretty women vying for the crown, the contestants in this line-up represent different types of dried fruit.
“We wanted to play on the idea of reminding consumers to not be fooled by external appearance, fake news, fake experts or fake science,” Botha added. The premise is that the seven dried fruit contestants are all ready to prove that they are the real deal when it comes to being the ultimate snack. Each authentically shares their unique traits and versatility while being fully body positive, full of life and here to stay.
The campaign will be hosted online for the duration of Dried Fruit Month and the seven contestants can be followed on Facebook and Instagram where they will inspire, inform and entertain the public. For more information, visit www.driedfruitsa.co.za
WIN: Two hampers, each including the seven featured fruits, are up for grabs. To enter, simply fill in the competition form below and click submit. The competition closes on Monday, 8 March at 10am. The winners will be notified thereafter.
Sorry! This competition is now closed.
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