Purple Pride striving to raise aubergine consumption

Purple Pride is a Dutch association for the growers of aubergine. Loes Al, Purple Pride’s marketing and communication manager explains that the 7 growers together hold 40 percent of the Dutch aubergine area and with that they are the largest supplier of the purple vegetable in north- west Europe. Purple Pride likes to approach the market of this relatively unknown vegetable a little different. Loes AL: “Through our ambition and vision we make that the aubergine gets more publicity and we work towards raising consumption. “Several initiatives have been rolled out to make it easier on the consumer. “We launched ‘world cooking’, which is an accessible way to introduce the aubergine to the consumer.” The flow-packed aubergine contains a recipe that can be prepared within 15 minutes just by adding a few other ingredients. Other projects include: a social cookbook on Facebook, recipe booklets and training for retail staff.
The different market approach is also evident in the relationships with partners and customers. Loes Al:” We strive for structural relations with like-minded companies.” The key in that process is constant good quality. “Retailers see the added value of that and by joining forces together we come up with the best ideas.” One of the concepts developed together with a retailer is an aubergine with a BBQ label to be launched next summer in Scandinavia. Sustainability is an integral part of Purple Pride’s quality policies. “We mainly use biological crop solutions and focus on social corporate responsibility.”