Nativas Naturals' global marketing strategy for camu fruit

Nativas Naturals is looking at ways to bring the Peruvian plant camu into the mainstream, capitalizing on the "superfood" trend wherein exotic foods with high nutrient value are elevated in their status and sold on the basis of their high nutrient value. Prior superfoods such as chia seeds, goji berries and kale have enjoyed success in the past, and marketers are searching for the next big superfood trend. There is a high failure rate for such products, and in some cases there are institutional barriers to bringing these products to market, but the payoff can be significant. Nativas Naturals has distribution pathways in several countries already, so can help to bring a new product to market, using their knowledge and experience with other, similar products.

One of the major restrictions on the marketing of superfoods is the Novel Food Regulation in the European Union, which in a fit of bureaucratic absurdity decided it was a good idea to place stringent requirements on non-European food stuffs from being sold within the EU, right at the beginning of globalization. This ill-conceived, parochial legislation persists despite its illogical nature, and companies such as Nativas must work with the law, no matter how ridiculous it is. There are alternatives that Nativas can consider, if it finds the Novel Food Regulation to be too stringent, or it can choose to pursue the market anyway. Nativas has fewer such restrictions in other major markets, such as the U.S. And Japan, and this can potentially affect the strategy for the company.

The decision with which Nativas is faced at present is how to approach the international marketing of the camu. This fruit, from the Amazon region of Peru, has been targeted for new products and a marketing blitz by the company, but Nativas prefers to have its strategy in place prior to moving forward with the development of a line of camu products. Nativas has to look at how the EU's rules will affect its overall global marketing strategy, including how it will market camu in North America. There is little doubt that the superfood designation is critical to success, but it must be able to sell the plant in a variety of formats to meet the different needs of consumers in this market.

Problem/Opportunity

How can Nativas market camu globally?

List Alternatives

The first alternative is that camu can be brought to different countries in fruit form. The second alternative is that camu can be developed into a line of food and drink products that give consumers direct access to the fruit's benefits through direct ingestion. The third alternative is to dodge the EU's regulations by extracting the benefits of camu, but in supplement form, which may come under a different set of regulations (EU, 2014).

Recommendation and Implementation

It is recommended that the second alternative be adopted. The first part of the implementation -- the creation of foods and drinks - is the easy part. Nativas is already quite good at that. They will need to determine where to produce, as it might be easier to move finished product out of Peru, as it will have to go through Brazil on a boat down the Amazon. Once the fruit is moved to market, there is also the issue of what markets will need to be pursued. The EU is going to be difficult, but the product can be launched in North America and Japan right away. This is the best approach, and when the product enjoys success there, and the company builds up a body of evidence that camu is indeed safe, then this evidence can be presented to the EU authorities to get their approval.

The company will need to have a team in Iquitos, the major city in Amazonian Peru, with a budget, in order to secure a steady of supply of the fruit and to investigate options for processing the fruit there, as well as how to get the fruit to market. All of these issues are challenging, so the team will be there a while. As many members as possible should speak Spanish, to make this flow easier, or a translator will need to be secured. The marketing budget will also need to be set -- an endorsement from a highly visible and trusted personality will be necessary, so that should be the basis of marketing efforts, combined with leveraging Nativas' existing market infrastructure to get the product onto store shelves.