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RNME investigates how the industry has established a firm grip on the wallets of the region's proliferating juice drinkers.

Saudi Arabia's Almarai Company snapped up two awards for its juices in the fiercely competitive categories Best Cold Drink and Best FMCG Marketing Strategy of the Year in the Retail News Awards 2008.

Clayton Buckley, marketing manager of juices and beverages for the award-winning dairy giant warns that retailers should focus on the attractive dividends for the taking in the category when weighed against the carbonated soft drinks market.

"A 1.75ltr of juice retails for approximately AED9 or SAR9, compared to an equivalent size CSD at AED1 or SAR1. There is more profit to be made in the juice category, therefore expanding space and merchandising will have a considerable impact on retailer margins and profit."

The win praises more than 12 months of concentrated research, re-launching and repositioning activity in the Middle East, which has certainly lifted industry standards in the face of incessant price discounting and displays of originality.

Clayton Buckley, marketing manager of juices and beverages for Almarai says innovation for him has meant being consumer-centric in his approach to the portfolio.

He believes the Riyadh-headquartered company has stood apart from other players in the market in its response to the surge in demand for convenience and a diversity of premium juice products.

"Almarai is the largest FMCG company in the Middle East, and witnesses a turnover of more than SAR 3 billion and profit of SAR 680 million. It employs 10,000 people across the GCC and has two ISO9002-certified manufacturing facilities in Al Kharj KSA."

The company turned its attention to ensuring its brand was represented across the key segments in January 2007, and the launch of its premium strawberry flavour, followed by the March debut of the world's first Alphonso Mango with Pulp flavour.

The variant turned out to be a sensational success among shoppers in its key market, and Almarai's shares jumped from 14.5% in March to 23.8% in December 2007, eight months after its first appearance.

Its new 1.75ltr PET bottle hit the shelves last July and was tactically placed as the hero of its re-launch communication, coinciding with the month of Ramadan.

The compelling campaign took effect across all key consumer touch-points across the mediums of packaging labels, in-store material, outdoor, truck branding and radio and television commercials, and focused on the Saudi Arabian market.

Almarai strove to grab further shares in the category with the unveilings of its new 300ml single serve range in September, and threw its marketing support behind the launch of Green Apple with Pulp and its 1ltr PET range within two months.

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