Collaborating for Growth: The Unique Opportunity of Marketing Summer Star Rubies

In a competitive world where companies often focus on outdoing one another, the collaboration between grapefruit growers stands out as a ground-breaking initiative. 

Despite being competitors, the growers have come together with a unified purpose: to make grapefruit, specifically the Star Ruby variety, cool again. This collective effort is more than a marketing strategy – it’s a bold, industry-wide commitment to creating a sustainable and thriving future for all stakeholders.

Collaboration over competition

Traditionally, businesses focus on their individual success, but this initiative breaks that mould. Star Ruby growers have united under a shared vision to strengthen the category. By pooling their expertise, resources, and insights, they aim to reposition grapefruit as a desirable, versatile, and modern choice for today’s consumers, initially in European markets but with a view to expanding this to a wider audience.

This collaborative model offers a unique advantage. The growers understand that expanding the category benefits everyone involved, whether it’s increasing overall market demand or building a positive reputation for the fruit. By working together, they can amplify their collective impact.

A unique challenge for marketers

For Stardust Global, this project is one of a kind. Unlike traditional campaigns, which focus on promoting a single brand or client, this initiative involves multiple stakeholders with distinct priorities and perspectives and multiple target markets. 

Our target markets include both the supply chain and the end consumer, but we also need to consider the growers as a market segment. They are not just beneficiaries of the campaign; they are an integral part of the target market themselves. Their buy-in, enthusiasm, and continued support are critical to the success of the initiative.

A ground-breaking model

The Star Ruby initiative represents a new model for industry collaboration. By partnering with Stardust Global, the industry is not only marketing a product but redefining how shared goals can be achieved.

This project presents exciting opportunities for marketing innovation. Crafting a campaign that unites multiple voices into a single, compelling narrative is no small feat, but it offers the chance to reshape the perception of grapefruit and elevate the Star Ruby to new heights.

Our approach

Our phased approach to strategy development considers all key stakeholders and target markets. This strategy has been shaped by extensive research and stakeholder engagement at all points of the value chain. 

The campaign to re-position Star Rubies into Summer Star Rubies, a Southern African cultural icon, will kick off in mid-2025 in the European market.

By keeping the growers at the heart of the process, this initiative becomes more than a marketing campaign but a movement that brings the entire industry together.