WONDERFUL PISTACHIOS CELEBRATES A CRACKING START TO 2012

Wonderful Pistachios, the only flavoured pistachio brand in the UK, is reaping the rewards of its recent and highly successful UK TV advertising campaign – Get Crackin’.

Wonderful Brands, which owns the Wonderful Pistachios brand and is the world’s largest grower and processor of California pistachios, has reported a 25% Y-O-Y increase in sales value in the UK.* This follows the £1million advertising campaign which ran from November 17 to December 14 2011.

At the end of last year the Get Crackin’ campaign had a clear and positive effect on the overall sale of pistachios in the major UK multiples, with sales up 65% on the previous year.

This success has reinforced Wonderful Pistachios’ position as the number one pistachio brand in the UK. The 250g bag of Roasted Salted pistachios was also the number one rotating pistachio sku in Sainsbury’s.

Michael Franklin, UK sales manager for Wonderful Pistachios says:
“We are delighted with the success of our first UK TV advertising campaign. Wonderful Brands’ commitment to the UK market is demonstrable not only through the investment with the Get Crackin’ campaign, but also with the recent introduction of the new Sweet Chili flavour.

We are also extremely pleased to announce that we have increased our distribution, with Waitrose coming on board in February. This has combined to place Wonderful Pistachios in a really strong position at the start of 2012 and is attracting the attention of new buyers.”

In addition, the Wonderful branded businesses of Paramount Farms and POM Wonderful were part of an organizational restructure which commenced in June 2011. As of January 1 2012 the two businesses, within the EMEA region, have merged under the Wonderful Brands umbrella.

Wonderful Brands EMEA, a division of Roll Global, is located in Belgium and serves Europe, the Middle East, Israel and Africa. This merger enables Wonderful Brands to maximize on the value of its investments with a region-wide direct sales force, cutting-edge marketing and public relations.

“We are building consumer brands in sections of the supermarket where you rarely find them – in the fresh fruit and vegetable aisles. These are brands that stand for innovation in flavour and in the consumer experience as a whole. We are the only consumer brand builder within these categories where the producer/grower is also the marketer, which therefore provides us with unmatched quality control, consistency and an oversight of the entire supply chain from tree to consumer.” says Dominic Engels, Managing Director, EMEA Wonderful Brands.

Wonderful Pistachios is available in four flavours; Sweet Chili, Roasted Salted, Salt & Pepper and Roasted Unsalted. The range comes in cases of 10 x 250g and 12 x 150g. RSP is £3.19 (250g) and £1.99 (150g).

* Source: IRI 52 w/e 03/12/11