Del Monte hunts for agency to handle relaunch of fruit juices

Del Monte is undertaking a major relaunch of its fruit juices across the UK after being de-listed from supermarkets including Asda and Sainsbury’s last year.

The move will be supported by an advertising push. The company has invited a "handful" of agencies to pitch for the UK advertising business.

It is not known whether Del Monte’s £5m pan-European advertising account, held by Leo Burnett, will be affected by the review or whether the agency has been invited to pitch for the UK account.

It is understood, however, that Del Monte is shifting its advertising from a pan-European model to a country-by-country approach.

Media planning and buying, which is thought to be handled by Starcom across Europe, is not thought to be affected by the review.

Del Monte fruit juices suffered a significant decline in sales following their de-listing by Asda and Sainsbury’s.

The company suffered a 30.5% drop in value sales of its fruit juices to just below £21m in the 52 weeks to December 2 last year, according to ACNielsen. The company admitted that its brand had been in decline for a number of years.

Leigh Edwards, commercial director of branded groceries at Del Monte, says that the company has "regained substantial distribution in the trade" since the delisting. It is understood that the fruit juices are now to be re-listed in at least one of the two supermarkets.

Last year, Del Monte invested £3m in a promotional campaign to boost its flagging performance.