Rockit Apple’s Back to School campaign and selling season boom in the Middle East
Innovative New Zealand-based snack sized apple company, Rockit Apple, is continuing to pack a punch with sales up almost 70% year on year in the Middle East during its annual Back to School campaign and high season sales period.
The MENA (Middle East North Africa) region is a critical market to Rockit as it continues to strengthen its presence there. Selling across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, the snack sized apples have been a sensation, particularly among health-conscious families.
As Middle East-based parents prepared children for the back-to-school period, from the end of August, Rockit ramped up its marketing efforts, partnering with agencies Amplify and Apshar on the ground to deliver a punchy campaign to drive sales both in-store and online.
Rockit Global Limited’s GM global sales, Mark Pay, says sampling took place in 30 key stores, with teams handing out more than 14,000 apples to captivated customers: “Obviously we were working around the challenges and limitations shaped by Covid-19 restrictions with strict protocols developed and adhered to. That meant each gifted apple was housed in its own single serve sample box. It was also an opportunity to highlight our e-commerce platforms, launching 10 online promotions over the period.
“During our busiest month, from 6-30 September, sales in the region rocketed by 69% when compared to the same period last year. We couldn’t be happier with the result, and with the knowledge that thousands of new Rockit customers were able to experience our delicious, nutritious fruit for the first time.”
The cross-channel marketing campaign saw 56 in-store point of sale displays, over 7,000 hits on the Back to School themed landing page at www.rockitapple.com and overall web sessions up a massive 87%.
Says Pay: “Our digital marketing efforts were also rewarded, with thousands of new social followers to our Instagram page @rockitapplearabia and thousands of new newsletter subscribers in the region. Our kids’ colouring competition was downloaded 25,000 times. It’s been exciting to see the growth happen in real time over the course of the campaign.”
Pay says Rockit plans to continue expanding its presence in the MENA region through relationships with retailers and importers: “The world is changing fast, so our efforts are concentrated on both online and offline stores. We’ll be pursuing new partnerships through 2021 and 2022, given the success we’ve already seen to date through leading fruit retailers including Lulu Supermarkets, Kibsons and Spinneys.”