WENATCHEE, WA - Cherries are my number one summertime fruit. I know that come July, I’ll be eating cherries by the handful, so you can imagine my delight at the fact that CMI Orchard’s American Dream® retail program is expanding from apples to include cherries.

“Our cherry program follows hot on the heels of CMI’s recent launch of our American Dream apple carton, which was presented at PMA in October 2018 and kicked off commercially with several retailers in alignment with Veterans Day last November,” George Harter, Vice President of Marketing, said in a recent press release. “We experienced tremendous momentum and support for this program with apples and adding cherries just makes sense—especially with stores looking to continue American Dream promotions into the summer. CMI is expecting cherry harvest to commence around the second week of June and the crop, and sizing looks like it’s shaping up to be a great season.”

Harter also noted that this move will bring about opportunities for holiday retail promotions, kicking off with Independence Day and running through the month of July when Northwest cherries are peaking.

For those wondering just how a retail display would look, the American Dream cherry program will be shipping in a new 5 kg lid for export plus an 18/20 lb lid for domestic shipments. Rochelle Bohm, Brand Manager for CMI Orchards, said that the boxes can be stacked to create an eye-catching patriotic billboard. According to Bohm, cherry displays can boost sales by more than 30 percent as most customers do not go shopping specifically to buy cherries, but instead pick them up when they catch their eye in store.

“We’re eager to work with retailers to set up American Dream promotions this summer,” Bohm said. “With Independence Day hitting prime cherry season where volumes will be ramping up, retailers can use the boxes to drive even more of those important impulse cherry purchases in stores for holiday promotions and throughout the summer selling months. Like CMI’s American Dream apple program, the cherry program is tied to a feel-good component. We return a portion of proceeds from the sale of each box to the military or veteran cause deemed most important to each of our participating retail customers. We’ll have display contests and lots of exciting things happening in alignment with this program, so stay tuned and look for our American Dream cherry boxes this cherry season.”

Harter added, “We are proud to honor and celebrate the service and sacrifices made by our veterans and their families. Give us a call so we can get some great retail promotions set up and talk about ways to give back to causes that are important to your company and region.”

For the latest in how our industry is making the most of summertime produce, keep reading us here at AndNowUKnow.

CMI Orchards