Kensington Pride Nectar a Massive Hit

Following a successful introduction in October last year, Manbulloo, one of Australia’s biggest mango producers, is already growing the output of its bottled nectar product. “To debut our 100 percent Kensington Pride Mango Nectar with Coles in Australia was an incredible highlight, and it has been a really great result,” said Managing Director Marie Piccone. In fact, it was a trial launch in a large number of locations, and even in the midst of COVID-19, with all of its consequences, including supply chain challenges, and with fewer consumers physically in stores than usual, there were still great sales in-store.

She claims that the 100% Kensington Pride nectar is cold-pressed in Queensland from fully mature, high-quality fruit with a little more exterior branding. Internally, the mangoes are of excellent quality and have been ripened under ideal conditions, resulting in an all-natural nectar with all of the wonderful KP flavours. This product has received a lot of positive feedback from customers, which is a fantastic result for Coles. “We will undoubtedly continue to produce excellent products from Kensington Pride and R2E2 – the types that Australians are familiar with and enjoy.” As a result of the popularity, Kensington Pride will now be available all year as delicious, healthy natural nectar.

Ms Piccone is generally pleased with the output and quality throughout the company’s farms in three producing regions, although she did cite one instance where the yield on one of the farms was partially influenced by weather. Throughout the pandemic, one of the challenges and significant additional costs facing not only Manbulloo, but the entire industry and Australian economy has been sourcing labour; first with border closures and requirements affecting foreign workers, and then more recently with the Omicron wave disrupting production and supply chains. “Getting adequate labour and controlling infections during COVID has been one of our toughest challenges,” Ms Piccone added. “That took a lot of time, money, and effort.” Another big highlight, according to Manbulloo was the continued demand for the brand.

In Australia, mangoes are an everyday treat; Kensington Pride is the quintessential mango eating experience, whether one eats here in Australia or anywhere else in the world. Export-wise, the United States and South Korea were both significant growth markets for Manbulloo this season.

Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech)