What’s Next For Cuties?
September 20, 2013 
The most famous custody battle the produce department has ever seen ended earlier this year when Sun Pacific became the exclusive owner of the Cuties brand of premium mandarins. Many had expected the divorce from Paramount Farming, as two companies marketing the same brand was almost an unprecedented arrangement — in growing produce or anywhere else — and did in fact prove untenable.
“The partnership was good for many years, but as time went on we had differences of opinion on marketing as well as other things,” says Sun Pacific’s president, Robert DiPiazza.
Getting the sole rights to Cuties could not have come cheap, but neither DiPiazza nor Paramount representatives — who declined to discuss the subject — would divulge a figure. DiPiazza says it was in both companies’ best interests for Sun Pacific to exclusively own the Cuties label. Paramount has since announced it will sell mandarins under the name Wonderful Halos.
“Our two companies disagreed on the makeup of the advertising budget,” says DiPiazza. “While we wanted to do more customer specific marketing and advertising, Paramount wanted to spend the lion’s share on national TV — even in places where we did not have Cuties distribution.”
Packaging Key
The national TV campaign, which reportedly cost $20 million annually, was widely attributed to be a key factor in Cuties’ success. While DiPiazza agrees that marketing played a key role, he is quick to point out that Sun Pacific brought growing expertise to the partnership and the ability to pack millions of boxes per week of a great product. Also, Sun Pacific was successful in selling Cuties to most of the major retailers in the country.
“The most powerful marketing occurred when consumers entered these thousands of stores across the U.S. and saw prominent displays of Cuties in our iconic packaging,” says DiPiazza. “It’s also no surprise to me, since Sun Pacific handled all the sales and customer relationships for Cuties, that we wanted to do more marketing in collaboration with our customers, who supported our marketing by featuring Cuties in millions of their print advertisements each week of the season.”
Fewer Cuties
DiPiazza says that with Paramount and its affiliated growers now producing Halos, there won’t be as many Cuties on the market, and estimates the Cuties supply will be down 40% to 50%. But he’s certainly not worried. For one thing, they’re bringing other growers on board, such as Wawona Packing Co. and Moonlight Companies.
For another, he anticipates retailers who sell other fruits and vegetables Sun Pacific markets — including oranges, grapes, tomatoes, stone fruit, and kiwi — will remain loyal to Cuties. “Cuties is one of the most recognizable brands in the produce department — and the entire store,” he says. “Our marketing plan is to keep it that way.”
Now, Sun Pacific will market Cuties with more of a balanced strategy, says DiPiazza. They will still advertise on TV, but when they do it will be to spot markets, not a big national campaign. They will also do radio spots during morning and afternoon drive time. “We’ll get heavy into digital advertising as well,” he says. “This will be a multimillion dollar budget.”
Sun Pacific also plans a PR campaign, with a social media effort as the centerpiece. For example, they might use a Facebook page to collaborate with retailers in connecting with consumers. “I’m excited about the upcoming season,”DiPiazza concludes. “We’re working together with our customers on more customer-specific marketing programs, and this collaboration with our customers will be very effective.”
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