Bananas The Way

A Slant On How To Sell Them Bananas The Way They like Them

With the banana supply posi

tion the way it is in the Islands at present, any discussion on

sales promotion may be thought

of as purely academic.

Everyone in New Zealand—the Islands’ only present banana market—is fully aware that for the foreseeable future they’re going to have to take what they’re given; and even the wholesale importing organisation has admitted of late that this is often a conspicuously poor sort of banana. But even allow ing that, there’s no harm in telling the South Pacific growers what the North Pacific growers in Hawaii have to do to sell their bananas.

Maybe the Honolulu housewives are plain spoiled, but it seems that unless the bananas there are at tractive in appearance they won’t buy them—and even if they are at tractive, unblemished fruit, as they must be even to rate consideration they still have to compete with a lot of other tropical fruit. So sales promotion on the part of the growers and retailers is necessary for the industry.

What Do They Want?

On behalf of the industry, the Hawaii College of Agriculture—a part of the University of Hawaii— recently carried out a “preference survey” to see what the public wanted in the matter of bananas.

The three varieties commonly grown in Hawaii, known locally as Bluefield, Chinese, and Apple, were presented In a variety of ways from ten leading Honolulu supermarkets over a period of one month. For the first two weeks the fruit was simply offered in convenient-sized bunches, according to the norma! method of retailing in Honolulu.

Such “bunches”— they were not just single-row “hands”, but bunches of nine fruit —were not packaged m any way. From these the normal sales were gauged.

For the second two weeks of the test period other packaged bananas wire also offered alongside the plain bunches. The Packaging took qpveral forms. There were two, four, and six-fruit “bunchlets” simply encircled *by an attractive half inch-wide printed paper band.

i there were similiar bunch perforated plastic bags of > size and with the mouths and with some printed ■y on the bags, ly there were six-banana 'ayer tray-type packages, en with the attractive printed band and completely en in a sealed plastic wrapper. the goods thus set out the hers settled down to see tappened.

Want to Feel Them on became evident that the ters not only like an at ; presentation, but they also be able to feel and examine it. Despite the fact that the nclosed in plastic was re from display the moment appeared too rips, the public sd always to hold such fruit , of the packaged fruit, over cent, sold was that simply 2d by the paper band. There definite “thumbs down” on closed trays, only about 14 it. of these being sold, while cent, of the total were in bags. ic fruit with encircling paper or without such band, most selected the banded bunch sked why, they usually said hey felt that the banded s had been specially selected. ;tual price difference was of ;ount, amounting only to a 0 of a cent in production he banded bunches, it was that there was a definite pre ; for the six-fruit size. Most said that they considered suitable family size, igh the completely unpack bunches continued to sell hout the second two weeks of >t, there was a definite lean tvards the banded bunchlets. basis of weight of fruit sold, • cent, was completely un ;ed and 35 per cent, banded or ;ed, over the full month.

The Results final results of the test were lows: 1. Most consumers in 1 buy bananas on impulse. 2. rd of the consumers cannot y banana varieties. 3. Taste most important factor in the of variety amongst those ire able to identify varieties, s six-fruit bunchlet is the size desired. 5. Most customers half ripe fruit to green or ripe fruit. 6. Anything that ;ts that the fruit have been lly selected —a band or per an attractive bag—will pro sales. 7. A totally enclosed ge is not wanted and is also

the cause of rapid ripening in the store and consequent wastage of fruit.