Shenzhen YuanXing Fruit Co. is launching a new brand ahead of Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong, as part of a new push to set a profile that befits its significant presence in the fruit import and export markets.

One of Shenzhen YuanXing's stores.

The company's international business division director Cobby Lin tells www.freshfruitportal.com the 'YumSun' brand came about because non-Chinese speakers sometimes find 'Shenzhen YuanXing' difficult to pronounce.

"Why this change and rebranding came out is because our company needs to go to the next level – we need to be more aggressive to promote our own image," he says.

"YuanXing is always very low profile, low-key, despite being a very sizeable company. Our annual sales are US$200 million."

He says the brand will apply more to Chinese fruit production and exports in the short-term.

"Of course in the future ideally there will be a private label YumSun, but for import product the YumSun brand would be more long-term, not in the short-term because people still recognize the imported brands," he says.

The company has five controlled atmosphere storage facilities in China - in Xinjiang, Shanxi, Shandong and Jiangxi - for holding local crops including pears, apples, melons, grapes, walnuts, dates, peaches and citrus fruit.

On the import side, the company brings around 3,000 40ft containers of fruit into China each year, with more than half of them holding Vietnamese dragon fruit.

The rest is made up of apples, grapes, cherries, kiwifruit and other crops, sourced from a wide range of countries including Thailand, South Africa, Egypt, the U.S., Chile, Peru, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Italy and France.

For selling these products, the group not only works with Chinese retailers and wholesale markets in Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities, but it also owns and operates 20 grocery stores in the greater Shenzhen area in southern China.

Shenzhen YuanXing has been progressing with its Chilean direct import program working with Miko Asia, stocking Chilean grapes and kiwifruit.

Despite the challenges of the Chilean table grape season in 2016, Lin is looking forward to the next South American crop, which will firstly come on from Peru.

"We’ll be working alongside Miko as well [in Peru]," he adds.

"Miko Chile is going to play an important role not only in finding supply for us, but more important is the QC (quality control) – sometimes what you see is not what you get."

"Also we have strategic partners like Freshco in New Zealand – we’re promoting their new varieties...earlier this year in March we worked with Frescho because they have a variety called Breeze."

He says the Breeze-branded apple is one of the first apples you can get from the New Zealand season, and promotions went very well this year.

"We did a promotion in three or four retail chains in southern China," Lin said.

"I think we’re going to do a nationwide promotion next season because they are forecasting a very high volume – basically they are planting more Breeze so we need to promote the variety. We’re also very successful on their Sonya variety."

Lin joined the company at the start of this year, and previously he has worked with Vanguard International, Paramount Export and Tanimura & Antle in the U.S.

www.freshfruitportal.com