A novel concept of promoters dressed as doctors has been adopted by the Chilean blueberry industry as part of a marketing campaign in Turkey, in order to promote the health benefits of the antioxidant-rich fruit.

The initiative, undertaken by the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) and the Chilean Blueberry Committee with export promotion funds from state agency ProChile, was launched in 20 hypermarkets from the retailers Carrefour, Migros, Metro Gross Market, MacroCenter and Şütte.

With a young population of more than 76 million people, the Turkish market presents good opportunities for the Chilean fruit industry, which already ships its fair share of items to the country, such as apples, walnuts and raisins.

"Promoting our blueberries through these large chains is really important, as it allows us to penetrate this market, and inform Turkish consumers of their availability," ASOEX Europe and Asia marketing manager Christian Carvajal said in a release.

"The objective of the promotion is to enhance the nutritional value and health of our blueberries. For that we use the term 'Doctor Blue' as a focus of this campaign," Carvajal added.

The marketing expert said the campaign included the participation of a recognized nutritionist who spoke about the benefits of Chilean blueberries in magazines such as Women's Health, Marie Claire and Sofra.

ProChile Turkey commercial representative Gülşan Atalay said blueberries from Chile were slowly making their way into the Turkish market, where while consumption of the fruit isn't very high, "there are great growth possibilities".

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