Volume 2 | Issue 2 | August 2007 |
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Welcome to the new and improved Mango Connection from your National Mango Board (NMB). This summer, we re-launched our web site and combined the consumer site and the industry/retail site into one, powerful communication tool. This web site will be your best source for news and information about what the NMB is doing to help drive awareness and consumption of mango in the U.S. Please visit www.mango.org and check out the Industry Section, which is packed with information about NMB activities. The entire Industry Section is also available in Spanish. Phase two of this industry communication campaign is the new Mango Connection, a monthly e-newsletter update of NMB activities and other news that's important to the mango industry. Our goal is to keep you informed and provide tools that will help your mango business grow and prosper. Click on any underlined text to get more information about that item. Commitment To Research The NMB is committed to making research the strong foundation of our program. Whenever possible, we want to make our decisions based on facts rather than instincts, so we can better serve the mango industry. The board members who represent you confirmed that commitment when they funded approximately $1 million in research programs for 2007. With the hiring of Research Specialist, Leo Ortega, who holds a PhD in Ag Economics, we have the staff in place to move these programs forward. On mango.org, you can read a description of our 2007 research initiatives. Check out the next two items for a taste of what's to come, and watch for more research updates in future issues of the Mango Connection. Consumer Research Nearing Completion Gross Research has recently completed a comprehensive consumer usage and attitude study on behalf of the NMB to help us better understand consumer perceptions of mangos. Knowing how consumers think, why they buy and more importantly why they don't buy mangos can help us shape our future marketing programs and can help you grow your mango business. This study will also provide a baseline of mango purchase behavior, so we can measure the impact of our efforts over time. The results of the survey will be posted on mango.org later this year. In the meantime, check out the report from our focus groups, which was the first phase of this consumer research project. Crop Forecast In Place Thanks to the hard work of our Research Specialist, Leo Ortega, and foreign mango producer organizations in each key producing country, the NMB now publishes a regular Mango Crop Forecast. This tool had been repeatedly requested by retailers who want an objective source of mango crop information and it will help them time their mango promotions appropriately to help move your mango crop. The Crop History & Forecast page of mango.org includes the most updated forecast, as well as mango volume history. Consumer PR & Marketing Update So far, our print and broadcast outreach efforts have reached U.S. consumers an estimated 123 million times! If we were to purchase this same space as advertising, it would have cost over $1.5 million. And, there's more to come in our year-round consumer communication campaign. You can see the current results report for our consumer communications activities on mango.org. All this exposure helps raise awareness of mangos, which can translate into purchases. We post highlights of these activities on the Consumer PR Program page of the Industry section of our web site to keep you informed. Check out our appearance on the Food Network's Iron Chef America and our coverage in Martha Stewart Living and Bon Appétit for a little taste of this success. Retail Marketing Update Our retail promotions program was re-structured for 2007, with an emphasis on allocating funds as fairly as possibly and making a big splash with retailers while being responsive to the needs of the market. Our web site has a description of our retail promotions strategies and funding methods, as well as an updated report of our retail promotions activities. Industry Relations Update The NMB road show has been on the move in 2007 with visits to Texas, California, New Jersey, Arizona, Peru, Guatemala and Honduras. Brazil and Ecuador are on the schedule for later in 2007. Each of these trips allows William Watson, NMB Executive Director to meet with mango industry members in that area, make a presentation of our activities in the U.S. and answer questions. Over 200 industry members have attended these meetings and many have completed a survey to help us better understand your needs. Of those, 31% had already visited our web site and 85% said that email was the way they would prefer that the NMB communicate with them. Mango Industry Meeting and Reception The National Mango Board (NMB) will host a Mango Industry Meeting and Reception on Saturday October 13, 2007 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Hilton Americas Houston Hotel in Houston, Texas. This event will coincide with the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition. The meeting's preliminary agenda includes a video and presentation from the National Mango Board, a report of recently conducted consumer research and a discussion of nutrition and health claims for mangos. All members of the mango industry and related industries are welcome. Refreshments and appetizers will be served. For more information about upcoming events, please visit the Calendar in the Industry section of mango.org. Nominations Update Each board member position on the NMB comes with an ending date for the term. You can see a complete list of board members including the date their term ends, plus a description of the nominations process on mango.org. District III At the end of 2007, two importer positions in District III will be appointed. Those positions are currently occupied by Chuck Ciruli & Ismael Diaz. The following importers in District III have been nominated by their peers. Their information will be sent to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture who will choose the two importers to serve:
In District IV, one importer position, which is currently occupied by Larry Nienkerk, will be appointed. Importers in District IV selected Larry Nienkerk as their first choice, but votes for the second position were tied between Bill Vogel & Chuy Loza. Hence, a runoff between Bill & Chuy was settled when Bill received the majority votes. So District IV will send the following two importers to the Secretary for consideration:
Three foreign producer positions are open for nomination, currently occupied by Luis Burgos, Paul Barclay & Daniel Luque To date we have received twenty three nominations from six different mango producing countries including:
Next Board Meeting The NMB's next board meeting will take place on November 28th, 29th and 30th, 2007 in Nogales, Arizona. NMB Office Move The NMB is now fully staffed, and we have outgrown our initial small office space. As of September 4th, our new physical address is: 3535 Lawton Rd. Suite 111 Orlando, FL 32803 The PO Box address did not change: PO Box 140903 Orlando, FL 32814 |
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