Marketing and branding for avocado sector development

Fresh Studio was approached to design and manage a large scale not-for-profit project to develop an avocado market in Dak Lak province.

The DAKADO project used a value-chain approach where farmers, collectors and traders were linked to buyers and consumers in order to establish a sustainable business network for the marketing of a high quality avocado brand. For more info, see: www.dakado.vn

The DAKADO project entailed the Fresh Studio Marketing Team being responsible for the stimulation of domestic demand for avocado through a consumer awareness campaign, first to introduce, and then to develop, this high quality avocado brand. The project included an extensive consumer campaign in retail outlets of Saigon Coop Mart, Metro Cash & Carry and FiviMart in HCMC and Hanoi, in 2007 and 2008.

By specifically marketing the quality DAKADO brand, by allowing price premiums of more than 40 per cent to cover increased production costs, and by realizing higher profit margins for all agents involved (from retail to farmer), the project succeeded in creating the first traceable fruit in Vietnam.

That consumers were willing to pay higher prices for premium fruits was an eye-opener for modern retail in Vietnam. Prior to this, it has always been assumed that Vietnamese consumers cared more about price than about quality when purchasing fruit.