Industry Collaboration Leading to Collective Growth
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
In agriculture, like any business, it can seem like producer and suppliers are on opposite sides of the table. But Nicci Stewart, campaign manager for SummerStar Ruby grapefruit, has found that collaboration rather than competition, has helped the South African grapefruit market thrive.
Stewart... “Why this is innovative is that it is a group of collaborative growers that have come together to grow this category. So we are working with companies that would normally compete with each other, for market space, for positioning, but they've come together, they've pulled their money and put together this fund to market the product.”
Stewart would like to see this collaborative approach extend into other produce categories.
Stewart... “ I honestly believe that there is a lot of success that can be had from these kind of collaborative category growths. And I personally, I would encourage whatever category people are working in to, to work closely with people who you think are competitors, because this is, I believe this is the future of marketing these kind of products. It is around these category growth.”
The campaign, launched this summer, is working to open a new chapter in South Africa’s citrus industry.
