MAP-funded Promotions for California Grapes Conducted in U.S. Military Commissaries in Japan for the First Time

For the first time, MAP-funded promotions targeted those serving in the military and their families in 13 of the 14 commissaries at U.S. bases in Japan. The two month long promotion included in-store demonstrations and point-of-purchase materials. Almost 75 percent of the total commissary volume for the year was moved within the two-month promotional period. Work to expand on the successful 2021 launch into this new market is planned for 2022.

Developing a new retail outlet is critically important for the mostly small, multi-generational table grape growing businesses operating in California; businesses that do not have the wherewithal to break into new market sectors without the type of funding that FAS provides.

According to USDA data between May 2021 and January 2022, Japan was the California table grape industry’s third largest export market after Canada and Mexico at more than 1.8 million 19-pound boxes (16,252 metric tons).

According to USDA data May through January each year, over the past 10 years exports to Japan have increased. MAP-funded promotions have helped to increase exports to Japan from 10,202 metric tons (MT) in the 2012-13 season to 16,252 MT in the 2021-22 season, an increase of 59 percent.