By: INC Executive Director, Goretti Guasch
The future of the nut and dried fruit industry was front of mind as the INC Executive Committee gathered at our headquarters in Reus, Spain, for a Strategic Planning Meeting in late October 2022. By the time the meeting was adjourned, we had identified new priorities for the INC and charted a roadmap for the years ahead.
The Committee agreed that it was essential to incorporate the figure of the consumer into the INC’s vision, mission and value proposition. The revised statements adopted by the Committee reflect our commitment to encouraging greater consumption in all markets across the globe:
- Vision: To grow consumption by being the leading international source of information on nuts and dried fruit for health, nutrition, statistics, food safety and quality standards while improving market access globally.
- Mission: To facilitate sustainable growth in supply and consumption through sharing the goodness and health benefits of nuts and dried fruit globally.
- Value proposition: INC promotes the sustainable growth of nuts and dried fruit globally to improve consumption and benefit the businesses involved.
The Committee also adopted four new strategic goals for the period 2022-2026:
- Goal #1: Increase global consumption to ensure a healthy balance between supply and demand. The consumer is key to the growth of our sector. Therefore, the INC will continue to empower the industry to work together and raise awareness about the importance of the health benefits of nuts and dried fruits. To help the INC achieve this goal a new committee on Global Communications and Insights is being created to ensure the correct message is reaching the consumer.
- Goal #2: Prioritize key areas of focus for health and nutrition to obtain regulatory approved health claims to aid the promotion of nuts and dried fruits globally. The INC will focus its efforts on gaining a regulatory approved health claim in either Europe, USA, Australia or Canada as the claim in these areas would have global impact, recognition and prestige worldwide. As well as this the INC’s multi-country marketing campaigns will aim to make an impact in key regions for consumption growth and penetrate them with marketing strategies by promoting the health benefits of nuts and dried fruits.
- Goal #3: Collaborate with international organizations regarding increasing market access and overcome the challenges of the trade barriers and supply chain issues. The INC will continue to support initiatives to help overcome trade barrier challenges and supply chain issues to help global trade worldwide by being present in discussions where trade barrier challenges, tariffs, and regulatory and supply chain issues are topics on the agenda.
- Goal #4: Define the sustainability agenda for the nut and dried fruit industry. The INC will launch a global project to promote both the industry’s sustainability efforts and the positive facts that are inherent in nuts and dried fruits, with the goal of ensuring that the promotion and concept of sustainability are aligned across the entire sector.
The new strategic goals represent a plan for growth and improvement. How our industry grows and evolves matters. We are grateful to all our members, stakeholders and the industry as a whole for your continued support and commitment to both the INC and the nut and dried fruit sector.