Yanling Peach in 100 Cities via Walmart omni-channel
Determined to bring seasonable Yanling yellow peaches to customers via its omni-channel at the first opportunity, Walmart started in 2021 the procurement-from-the-source cooperation in Yanling County, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, which is known as the “Land of High-Quality Yellow Peaches in China”.
With the marketing cycle covering the whole freshness tasting period of 4-6 weeks, Walmart has purchased approximately 100 tons of Yanling yellow peaches in the first batch. This is the first time for Yanling yellow peaches to reach more than 400 Walmart stores in over 100 cities across China via big chain retailers. Meanwhile, 1-hour delivery is also provided through the online channel “Walmart Daojia”. Together, an effect of omni-channel supply and multi-scenario marketing promotion has been achieved.
Hunting “star fruits” at source
It is understood that Walmart hypermarkets have successively put on dozens of landmark fruits on their shelves in recent years, enabling customers to break through geographical boundaries and enjoy seasonal fresh fruits from around the country. In the process, Walmart has successfully introduced several hit fruits with sales topping tens of millions RMB.
China has a vast territory and abundant resources. Due to different climate environments and soil conditions, locally grown fruits are known to have the best characteristics. However, consumers are no longer content with taste and quality alone. It has become a new consumption demand for people to get seasonable fruits and popular “star fruits” on the Internet at the first opportunity.
In particular, landmark fruits bearing a label of the place of origin are increasingly popular with consumers. For their huge economic benefits, landmark fruits have also become the starting point for local governments to develop their feature industries. Responding to this trend, Walmart has fully leveraged its centralized direct sourcing mode, powerful cold chain supply chain, and quick large-scale omnichannel sales to successively introduce a wide range of landmark fruit. Among other successful brands are Yunnan Chu Orange, Dali Winter Jujube, Mengzi Pomegranate, Pinghe Pomelo, Ningxia Sandy Field- Melon, Hainan Litchi and Wuming Citrus.
Walmart sells directly sourced fruit on its omni-channel
Chen Jia, Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer of Walmart China, said, “In the new consumption era, consumers constantly demand better taste. By tracing their place of origin, Walmart has introduced a wide range of seasonal fruits of outstanding quality and competitive price to create “exciting” shopping experience for consumers. We have omni-channel purchasing and marketing capabilities to break the geographical boundaries, connect online and offline outlets, and help landmark fruits to reach consumers in the whole country.”
Products granted with the National Geographical Indication
The Yanling yellow peaches marketed on Walmart omni-channel are designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs as “Agricultural Product with Chinese Characteristics” and granted with the National Geographical Indication of Agricultural Products. Growing in the densely forested borders of eastern Hunan at an altitude of 300m to 1200m above sea level, Yanling yellow peaches only have a tasting period of about 30 days.
According to the Fruit Grading Standard for Yanling Yellow Peaches formulated by Yanling, those Yanling yellow peaches suitable for marketing must meet the conditions of regular fruit shape, orange color, no scabs, and a weight of more than 150g and less than 300g per fruit. The 200g-300g Yanling yellow peaches which Walmart provides for customers are rare in the market.
Liu Diwen, a major grower of Yanling yellow peaches, said, “In the past, our yellow peaches were mostly sold locally because of the short picking time and high sales pressure. This year, we feel a lot more secure when seeing our yellow peaches sold to more than 100 cities across the country through Walmart. I’m also glad to see more people will have a chance to taste the delicious fruits we personally grow.”
Fruit farmers in Yanling pick yellow peaches
Regions which grow landmark fruits have proactively chosen Walmart as their partner to realize the free picking and marketing of their fruits and promote their products throughout the country, maximally benefiting from deeper omnichannel and cross-link cooperation. Once a commodity enters Walmart’s marketing, sourcing, and sales chain, it can not only reduce the intermediate process and access a complete supply chain system, but also benefit from the multi-scenario marketing methods provided by Walmart and gain a greater influence.
Multi-channel marketing
On the first day when Yanling yellow peaches were put on its shelves, Walmart invited the Yanling County governor, big growers, cyber celebrity anchors and the head of Walmart Changsha Store to a live broadcasting studio to introduce the selling points of the peaches, while providing the convenience of online “one-click” shopping. Consumers nationwide could see Yanling yellow peaches in the special display areas at Walmart stores, the Walmart WeChat Miniprogram, the Walmart WeChat public account and Walmart live broadcast studios.
Compared with traditional stores or e-commerce outlets, Walmart has multi-scenario supporting marketing to connect the whole consumption process of “seeding, growing, harvesting and re-purchase”, integrate online and offline passenger flows, and create a better shopping atmosphere. From shopping at the nearest store, interacting on social media, getting promotion and special offer information pushes, and enjoying home delivery service, consumers can all experience the fun of shopping.
