The Florida Citrus Commission in March received updates on recent orange juice (OJ) sales and Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) marketing efforts.
Marisa Zansler, director of the FDOC Economic and Market Research Department, presented the sales data. The FDOC Nielsen retail sales report showed year-over-year not-from-concentrate (NFC) OJ sales increased by 13.9% while reconstituted OJ sales increased by 5%. Average season-to-date NFC OJ sales increased by 14.5%. Currently, U.S. OJ retail sales are at pre-2017 levels.
Consumers continue to shop with COVID-19 in mind, Zansler reported. On average, 27% of respondents in a survey have indicated they purchased more OJ in response to concerns about COVID-19 in the last year. While initially the largest reason to purchase OJ during the pandemic was to stock up, the leading reason now, at 68%, is the vitamin C and immune support OJ provides.
See Florida Citrus Commission Chairman Steve Johnson’s recent thoughts about the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on sales of Florida OJ here.
Zansler said the total share of OJ in the fruit juice segment is almost 30%, making it the largest share of the fruit juice pie by an individual 100% juice beverage.
Samantha Lane, FDOC director of global marketing, provided an update on e-commerce and digital activities and the latest influencer work.
The e-commerce marketing activities continue to perform strongly, reaching more than 296 million impressions, $13.8 million in attributed sales of OJ and a return on ad spend of $8.66, Lane reported. A partnership with Instacart reached more than $5.18 million in attributed sales, Kroger reached more than $6.04 million, and Walmart has driven more than $1.86 million.
On social media, FDOC content serves to remind fans of the benefits of Florida OJ and tie it to key social moments, Lane said. In February, top performing unpaid or organic content included posts focused on Heart Health Month and Valentine’s Day. These posts received 68,000 impressions and 14,000 engagements, which includes likes, shares, etc. with a strong engagement rate of 5.65%, showing that content is performing well.
FDOC partnered with influencers on social media and blogs to highlight winter wellness routines with Florida OJ. These resulted in more than 400,000 social impressions and 26,000 engagements. Heading into spring, further influencer partnerships will seek to increase awareness of the health benefits of Florida OJ with a diverse group of ambassadors.
Lane said a partnership with Feedfeed, an influencer and social network targeted to consumers who love food and cooking, is running in March as part of National Nutrition Month. Key influencers are being asked to showcase how they use Florida OJ in their daily lives and recipes and then share it across the platform, potentially reaching 15 million consumers.
Source: Florida Department of Citrus
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