WENATCHEE, WA - If you’re feeling a little lost in the sea of PMA booths, let this be your map: at booth #2865, here be dinosaurs! Yes, you read that correctly: dinosaurs! At Fresh Summit 2019, Stemilt Growers will be displaying its latest and greatest display and packaging—including its new dino-sized display campaign, Promosaurus—and celebrating the 30^th birthday of its Artisan Organics™ brand.

“Promosaurus is all about building large apple or pear displays to elevate the success of promotions,” began Brianna Shales, Senior Marketing Manager. “Retail scan data proves that a large display footprint during an ad can lead to ten times the normal volume sold. We will showcase just how easy it is to build a display with our fruits to make that number a reality for your categories."

And, speaking of large, Stemilt will also be launching its Artisan Organics 5 lb resealable pouch bags, which will carry organic Gala, Fuji, and Granny Smith apples. As the new packaging option hits retail, the grower will be shipping eight 5 lb Artisan Organics apple bags in a high-graphic master carton that is ideal for building quick displays. This carton also complements Stemilt’s organic-specific Easy Pallet Display.

“The growth in organics has been phenomenal, yet we still have room to grow, especially on organic apples,” continued Shales. “As an industry, we’ve historically placed organic apples in smaller package sizes to help keep the retail price down. Our 5 lb value offering at PMA Fresh Summit goes against that norm and that’s because we want to help organic shoppers (who buy a lot of produce) fill their cart with organic apples. We need big and bold promotions in organics to grow organic apple sales.”

Shales also revealed that “big displays are an important part of a successful apple promotion, often moving up to 10 times the volume when the product isn’t on ad. We see the 5 lb Artisan Organics pouch bag opportunity as a way for retailers to go bigger than they ever have before on an organic apple promotion. Easy pallet displays are another option for retailers to display fruit for either bulk or bag promotions. It’s another way to bring Promosaurus to life inside the store. These high-graphic displays are eye catching, dominant, and do really well in high traffic areas to boost volumes sold.”

At the show itself, attendees can also don their favorite party hat and visit the miniature birthday party for the Artisan Organics brand that will be on display in the Certified Organics showcase. The display will feature quite a few of Stemilt’s organic apple and pear varieties, including new crop Artisan Organics fruits.

“Organics will be on centerstage for us at PMA Fresh Summit as we continue our 30^th birthday celebration for Artisan Organics, while also highlighting the promotional opportunities for organics in this year’s apple crop,” Shales said. “Organics are mainstream today, and core organic consumers are big purchasers of produce. We see an opportunity gap at retail to promote larger volumes of organic apples to consumers and will look to promotions of our branded 5 lb bags to help fuel category growth.”

In addition to its Artisan Organics brand, Stemilt Growers will be showcasing its Lil Snappers® and Rushing Rivers® brands. According to a press release, Stemilt is one of the first in the industry to commit to no longer using anti-ripening agents on pears, seeing the use as a barrier to obtaining flavors that would delight consumers. Instead, the grower focuses on its RipeRite™ program and modern ripening rooms to ship pears to retail at ready-to-eat pressures.

“We’ve made a lot of changes in the name of flavor for our Rushing Rivers pears,” added Shales. “PMA is a great time to converse with retailers about their pear category and how we can keep working together to ensure their shoppers are having a great pear experience.”

And, while Anaheim is home to the magic of Disney, Stemilt is bringing the magic of Washington to the PMA show floor: Once again, magician David Harris will be on hand showing off a few slight of hand tricks!

“Of course we have to bring some of our own magic to the show, and David is the perfect way to do that. Overall, we are very excited about this year’s PMA and looking forward to meeting up with retailers in just a few days to show them the endless opportunities they have with Stemilt,” Shales said, before concluding: “It’s been a big year of celebration for Artisan Organics, complete with a fun company birthday party for the brand earlier this year. We look forward to continuing the festivities and discussing opportunities for promoting organics in a big way during PMA Fresh Summit.”

The ANUK team will see you at booth #2865, where, evidently, the magic will be happening—both the produce kind and otherwise! See you there!

Stemilt Growers