English band the Kaiser Chiefs sang about “Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby” and now a north Queensland grower is echoing those strains.
Well-known banana grower, the MacKay family, has released Australia’s newest red papaya brand – Ruby Rise Red Papaya.
The brand is being pushed by MacKay’s Marketing, a family-owned business closely aligned with other farming families supplying fresh produce from far north Queensland to major retailers and independents across Australia.
MacKay’s Marketing chief executive officer, Richard Clayton, said the business has been predominantly focused around bananas and avocados but in recent times it has collaborated with growers to expand into red papaya.
“Papaya is a healthy and nutritious fruit that we believe will play a major role in our diets in the future, and we see a great opportunity to help educate Australian families around healthy food choices,” Mr Clayton said.
“We look forward to sharing our specially selected Ruby Rise Red Papaya, so everyone can ‘taste the supergoodness’.”
MacKay’s Marketing has been growing and selling red papaya under the brands Red Hill and Reblo for the past 10 years and saw an opportunity to launch a new papaya brand that spoke directly to a younger target audience including young families, millennials, Gen Y and Gen X who care about their general health and wellbeing.
But research shows that nine out of 10 Aussie households don’t eat red papaya.
According to MacKay’s Marketing, there’s a lack of knowledge around how to prepare and eat it, an unfamiliarity with the taste and confusion with papaw.
MacKay’s Marketing will support the Ruby Rise brand with a new website, sampling and demonstrations, point-of-sale and a social media campaign educating consumers with a brand video, providence grower series, how-to prepare videos and health and wellbeing credentials.
This will be amplified via engaging food and health social media influencers who will dish up daily recipe inspiration with a focus on introducing and celebrating something new and homegrown.
“Inconsistent quality and supply have also restricted growth in the papaya category but we are aiming to change that,” Mr Clayton said.
“To increase supply, MacKay’s Marketing are planting more acreage and partnering with existing banana suppliers to start growing Ruby Rise Red Papaya.
“We’ve also developed geographic diversification of growing areas for greater consistency of supply and quality.”
MacKay’s Marketing has invested in internal breeding programs, standardised growing practices and quality control programs, including implementing robust packing and growing specifications, conducting ongoing field days and ensuring grower support with agronomists and technical and quality assurance officers.
MacKay’s Farming Group managing director, Barrie MacKay, said the company is using its experience in the tropical fruit growing industry to put all of its knowledge and passion into this small but emerging category.
Ruby Rise Red Papaya is available at Coles supermarkets.
Source: North Queensland Register