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Preserves are made from
wild collected and cultivated fruit and are available at roadside
stands and specialty markets in coastal areas of the northeastern
U.S. Products pictured here originated in Maine, Massachusetts
and New York. |
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Marketing
A lag time in production for growers has allowed us to explore
and expand demand among various market sectors before reliable beach
plum yields are available. Work was done in three areas, consumer
marketing, gourmet chefs and produce distributors.
Consumer Focus Group
Wen-fei Uva, Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University,
conducted consumer focus group research in New York City in the
spring of 2002. The discussions were held at a central interviewing
facility in Manhattan, and facilitated by a marketing research consulting
firm.
The focus group respondents identified themselves as gourmet consumers.
Each respondent was the primary shopper for his/her household and
regularly buys specialty, boutique or gourmet jams or jellies.
Various conclusions were drawn from the sessions:
1. Market expansion potential exists for beach plum products among
gourmet consumers in coastal metropolitan areas.
2. Special packaging with price is the primary marketing tool to
communicate that beach plum products are gourmet, gift-worthy and
special.
3. Gourmet jams and jellies are purchased from various independent
stores or farm markets, not from supermarkets.
4. Jams or jellies made with cultivated rather than wild beach plums
will not impede consumers’ interests in trying the product.
5. Consumers’ interests in beach plum presents market opportunities
for new product development.
Gourmet Chef Interviews
In September 2003, Robert Weybright of the New York State Agricultural
Experiment Station led a series of interviews with gourmet chefs
in the New York City market. The beach plum concept was presented
to: 11 chefs (three bakers and eight executive chefs), one restaurant
marketing firm, and two food industry advocate groups. Restaurants
interviewed could seat from 50 to 120 customers per night, entrees
were priced $30 and up, and chefs favored using locally produced
food.
Each chef was given 5 pounds of beach plum fruit to experiment
with and invited to share their experiences with us. The chefs were
excited about beach plum and, in general, with the process of new
crop development. Chefs expressed interest in high quality fresh
as well as frozen fruit. They preferred direct purchase through
growers and farmers markets, secondarily through specialty purveyors.
Concerns and challenges include maintaining a consistent seasonal
supply, high fruit quality, adequate quantities and a viable delivery
system. Cost and size of fruit was of concern, especially for bakery
use where the cost and feasibility of pitting will be an issue.
Six dollars per pound was an easily obtained price for frozen/whole
fruit. Fresh fruit must be clean and in consistent packing. Frozen
fruit would need to be quick frozen (IQF) and stored sub-zero and
be of the same quality as mentioned above for fresh fruit. One chef
asked to purchase additional fruit from us and added a beach plum
sauce to his restaurant menu through the 2003 holiday season.
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