In late 2016, after a 20-year absence in the UK the California Walnut Commission (CWC) launched a brand new promotional and PR campaign following a huge surge in walnut consumption in the UK over the past five years.
Now, just over one year on the awareness of California walnuts among the UK trade is at an all-time high following a steady climb in imports over the past 4 years in particular.
The UK has emerged as a strong consumer of walnuts, in the last crop year 2016 direct shelled walnut shipments were up to 133.26% to reach over 8.7 million pounds. This contributed to the UK becoming the 12th largest export market worldwide for California Walnuts.
The UK is now the 3rd largest market in Europe with total exports, reaching 9,316 MT in 2017. Shipments to the UK have effectively increased by 260% in the 10 years since 2006, culminating in a record 9,316MT in MY2015-16.
“In 2015-16 CA walnuts became the number one origin for walnut imports into the UK, the interest and growth has been driven by various inputs, consumer trends towards healthy snacking, competitive pricing and the high perceived quality of California walnuts by both the UK trade and ultimately consumers” said Peter Meadows of marketing agency, The Garden, who represent California Walnuts’ trade activities in the UK.
Now in 2018, with brand foundations in place, the California Walnut Commission (CWC) aim to focus efforts on specific trade activity within the UK and also continue to educate consumers on the benefits and unique attributes of California Walnuts. CWC in the UK comment – “We are keen to support the UK trade throughout 2018 and beyond with incentives and promotions, to help facilitate product through the supply chain”.
CALIFORNIA WALNUTS COMMISSION
Comments are closed.