Client: Eden Orchards / Federal Merchants

‍Brand: Eden Orchards Cherry Juice

‍Industry: Beverages

‍Campaign: Eden Orchards Cherry Juice Samplings

‍Locations: 15 Woolworths Stores Across New Zealand

‍Duration: 1st May – 5th June 2026

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The Objective

Eden Orchards (Federal Merchants) partnered with Destro to deliver a nationwide in store sampling campaign for their Pure Cherry Juice across 15 Woolworths stores across the North and South Island.

The objective of the campaign was to bring the product directly to shoppers at the point of purchase, creating meaningful face to face engagement and encouraging immediate trial of the Cherry Juice.

Specifically, the campaign aimed to:

• Drive in store foot traffic and encourage shopper interaction with the Eden Orchards stand
• Support retail sales by converting product sampling into immediate purchase behaviour
• Build strong brand awareness and product education among supermarket shoppers
• Introduce customers to the functional benefits of 100% pure NZ cherry juice, including sleep support, recovery, and overall wellbeing

Success for the client was measured through high sample conversion rates, strong customer engagement and feedback, increased product awareness, and uplift in store sales during activation periods across participating Woolworths locations.

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The Challenge

Executing a nationwide in store sampling campaign for Eden Orchards Pure Cherry Juice required precise coordination across both the North and South Island, with a strong reliance on logistics, staffing, and timing to ensure consistency across all locations.

Key challenges included:

• Managing a tight campaign timeline across both the North and South Island, with shifts running concurrently in multiple regions
• Operating with only 2 sampling stands for the entire campaign, creating a high dependency on efficient rotation and timely returns
• Relying heavily on NZ Post for the movement of kits between locations, making on time delivery critical to maintaining continuity
• Navigating staffing in more niche or regional locations such as Nelson, where recruitment required additional planning and flexibility
• Ensuring all Brand Ambassadors held current in store compliance requirements, including valid 'Safe in Store' passes
• Coordinating kit returns between shifts to ensure the next activation could be set up without delay

Despite these constraints, the campaign ran smoothly overall, with strong execution across all stores and minimal disruption to scheduled activations.

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Our Approach

Solution

To deliver a seamless nationwide sampling campaign for Eden Orchards Pure Cherry Juice across 15 Woolworths stores, we implemented a fully managed end to end activation solution covering logistics, staffing, and on the ground execution.

We provided 11 trained Brand Ambassadors to service 15 stores across both the North and South Island (9 North Island, 6 South Island), operating across structured 4.5 hour sampling shifts to maximise efficiency and product exposure within peak shopping periods.

Given the complexity of the campaign, Destro managed the full operational delivery including kit movements, storage, and logistics coordination. With only 2 sampling stands available for the entire campaign, we created a detailed rotation system to ensure continuous store coverage while maintaining equipment integrity between shifts.

Our services included:

• End to end staffing coordination and scheduling across all 15 locations
• Full logistics management including kit storage, movement, and tracking
• Store booking support and ongoing client communication
• Purchasing and preparation of essential sampling kit components
• Management of NZ Post deliveries and contingency planning for transit delays
• Creation of a centralised online hub containing Safe in Store passes, shift photos, reporting data, and operational spreadsheets
• Post shift survey development and collation of results
• Payroll processing and reimbursement coordination

To ensure consistency across all locations, we conducted 2x online briefing sessions for all Brand Ambassadors, covering product knowledge, sampling approach, compliance requirements, and customer engagement expectations. Additional support was provided during recruitment for regional locations to ensure full coverage despite market limitations.

We also managed last minute operational risks, including a Brand Ambassador withdrawal due to emergency and sickness, implementing rapid reallocation to ensure all shifts remained fully staffed with minimal disruption.

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Execution

Across all 15 Woolworths locations, the Eden Orchards Cherry Juice sampling campaign delivered strong customer engagement and consistent in-store execution, bringing the brand to life through meaningful face to face interactions with shoppers.

Each activation consisted of a 4.5-hour shift, including 15 minutes for setup and pack-down either side, with 4 hours dedicated to active customer sampling and engagement. Shifts primarily operated during peak shopping periods between 11:00am–3:00pm and 2:00pm–6:00pm to maximise shopper interaction and visibility within store.

On the day, Brand Ambassadors sampled Eden Orchards Cherry Juice directly to customers while leading informative 1-to-1 conversations focused on the product's key selling points. Ambassadors educated shoppers on the benefits of the product, including:

• 100% New Zealand cherry juice with nothing added
• Naturally occurring melatonin to support sleep and recovery
• Wellness and recovery benefits
• Premium New Zealand sourced ingredients

To further support customer education and purchase consideration, ambassadors also utilised branded flyers during interactions, helping reinforce product messaging and encourage conversion at the point of sale.

Despite busy supermarket environments, the team successfully managed customer flow while maintaining positive, engaging interactions that aligned closely with the Eden Orchards brand. The approachable and knowledgeable nature of the Brand Ambassadors helped create strong shopper engagement throughout the campaign.

A key standout moment came directly from the client during the campaign, who shared:

"WW just placed an order earlier than expected so I am hoping this is due to the samplings, thank you again!"

This feedback highlighted the immediate impact the activations were having at store level, with the campaign helping drive product visibility, customer trial, and early sales momentum within Woolworths locations nationwide.

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Results

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Comments from Client

"Thank you so much for all these updates they have been great and you guys have been a pleasure to work with, thank you"

"WW just placed an order earlier then expected so I am hoping this is due to the samplings, thank you again!"

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