UK consumers buy 3 Galia melons a year

The Galia is one of the best performing varieties in terms of year on year sales

Galia melons are popular with consumers due to their aromatic flavour and refreshing juicy texture. However, purchase frequency lies at 3, meaning that UK consumers buy an average of 3 Galia melons a year. According to Rob Liston, Technical Director at Keelings (UK) Ltd., one of the leading suppliers of melons to the UK market, “there is huge potential to grow the Melon category even further.”

In an interview with S&G Melon Today, Mr. Liston talked about Galia melons in the UK market and the performance of Galia varieties from Almería. “In terms of £Value, Galias represent approximately 26% of all melons bought through UK retailers in the last year (2007). They are second after Honeydew melons, which represent approximately 43%,” he observed.

The good news is that Galia melon market share among the larger retailers outperforms each retailer’s individual total fruit market share, making Galia melons an important product for driving the category.

According to this expert on melons, various promotional activities which introduce customers to the product and then encourage them to become repeat purchasers have proved successful, since “total fruit sales are up year on year by 4.8% and the majority of retailers have seen an increase in Galia sales. The Galia is one of the best performing varieties in terms of year on year sales.”

As for consumption figures, Mr. Liston explains that “total fruit has an in-home penetration of 98.9%, with total melons at 52.2% and Galia melons at 25.8%. Purchase frequency lies at 3 for Galias, meaning that UK consumers buy an average of 3 Galia melons a year.”

The Technical Director at Keelings (UK) Ltd. concludes: “There is huge potential to grow the Melon category even further. We are working closely with each of our customers to ensure that we understand their individual needs and preferences, and in this way we can tailor what we offer accordingly.”

The multinational company Keelings (UK) Ltd. has been importing melons into the UK for three decades and is now one of the leading market suppliers, serving the major
UK retailers, fresh cut and wholesale markets all the year round.

S&G - November 2008