WENATCHEE, WA - What better way to celebrate summer than with a mountainous display of cherries? I certainly can’t think of one, and neither can Stemilt! The grower talks how organic cherries are making a comeback with the 2024 crop and how retailers can use Stemilt Artisan Organics® dark-sweet cherries to promote, merchandise, and build sales.

“Organic dark-sweet cherries are up in volume compared to last year,” commented Brianna Shales, Marketing Director. “Cherry harvest is underway in Washington State, and we’ll see the volume of organic cherries increase into late June for promotional pulls. The perfect time for running promotions will be late June and early July when Washington has peak supply.”

Shales explained that organic cherries can be exclusive some seasons because of volume and availability fluctuations, but this year will be a different story as volume and timing align in a succinct promotional window.

“Organic cherries can be used to appeal to organic shoppers and as a sales builder for the category,” added Shales. “Creating shelf space for organic cherries and finding ways to merchandise them within your main cherry displays is a must. Packaging like 1 lb and 2 lb top seals, clamshells, or bags are great vehicles to call attention to the fact that the cherries are organic and encourage consumers to treat themselves with seasonal produce.”

According to a press release, the majority of Stemilt’s organic cherries are the Skeena variety which presents premium quality for size, firmness, and flavor.

“Organic cherries can be hard to grow, but Stemilt has growing locations and dedicated growers suited just right for growing them,” concluded Shales. “It’s not every year we get to promote organic dark-sweet cherries, so we’re especially excited to share opportunities with retailers and help them find success this season with Stemilt Artisan Organics.”

AndNowUKnow will be on the lookout for the latest cherry updates like this.

NEW YORK CITY, NY - There’s no shortage of creative ways to talk to shoppers. Harps Food Stores is connecting with them through a strategic new partnership with Grocery TV. Through this collaboration, Harps will leverage Grocery TV's end-to-end in-store retail media solution to engage shoppers with digital displays.

"Grocery TV has allowed us to modernize our in-store marketing and simplify campaign management through their intuitive CMS," commented David Ganoung, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer at Harps. "Best of all, they've handled the heavy lifting in terms of setting up and managing the network, so that we can focus on digitizing our in-store campaigns and providing a cohesive experience for our customers."

According to a press release, the Harps team will use Grocery TV's Content Management System (CMS) to launch and track in-store digital campaigns.

Not only does this partnership underscore Grocery TV's ongoing mission to provide full-service solutions to retailers, but it gives them a more impactful way to influence and connect with consumers.

"Our goal is to make it easy for retailers to set up, manage, and monetize their in-store retail media networks," says Don Oelke, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Grocery TV. "We're excited to be partnered with Harps, a retailer well-known for their customer service, and look forward to helping them build even stronger connections with their customers through a best-in-class in-store retail media network."

Keep reading ANUK as we cover the latest in retail partnerships like this.

REEDLEY, CA - A new table grape season is kicking off over at Sunny Cal Farms. Selected for their unique gourmet qualities, Thomcord, Victoria Muscatta, Kyoho, and Niabell specialty grape varieties will be part of the organic and conventional season. Thomcord and Victoria Muscatta are seedless, while Kyoho and Niabell are heirloom seeded favorites.

“We are on a mission to help retailers spice up and expand their table grape programs by providing consumers with unique and memorable eating experiences,” said CJ Buxman, Owner. “These are boutique varieties, some dating back over 100 years, that we have selected and planted because they are uniquely fragrant and flavorful.”

Buxman is a third generation San Joaquin Valley grower/shipper, and former President of Fruit World Company, who runs the company along with his wife Maureen. A boutique growing and shipping operation located in Reedley, California, Sunny Cal Farms’ goal is to bring program buying consistency for specialty and unique products to small and mid-sized retailers.

Thomcord grapes are a hybrid of Concord and Thompson Seedless grapes, with the rich, full Concord flavor and the tender skin and seedless qualities of the Thompson. Victoria Muscatta are a Muscat variety cultivated from vines first planted in 1906, and have proven to be consumer favorites and top sellers, a press release stated. These seedless varieties are available in 20x1 lb clamshells, 10x2 lb paper totes and 12x2 lb cardboard totes.

Niabell Concord grapes are extra sweet and juicy with a strong, floral perfume aroma. Kyoho slip-skin grapes are renowned for their robust flavor, and are in high demand, especially in Asian specialty markets. Niabell and Kyoho grapes are packed in 6x3 lb clamshells.

All Sunny Cal grapes are grown in California’s Central Valley and will begin shipping mid-late July. The Kyoho variety is being packed, straight from the farm, under the Kyoho Gold and Murasaki (meaning “purple” in Japanese) Queen, labels. The other varieties are being packed under the Sunny Cal Farms label.

Early fruit set indicates strong volumes will be available for the Thomcord and Kyoho fruit, while supply of the Victoria Muscatta and Naibells, coming from younger vines, will be more limited.

For more from the grower, keep coming back to ANUK.

SACRAMENTO, CA - Hitting the links or firing up the grill—no matter what you're doing to celebrate dad this Sunday, be sure to do so in style! Why, you may ask? Because we're gearing up for another industry yearbook, and we need you to submit photos of your Father's Day celebrations for our annual yearbook!

Maybe you're a father yourself, or paying respect to your own dad—or perhaps both! Either way, we want to share a window into your celebrations this coming weekend. So, grab a camera (or phone), snap a pic, and send it on over to your friends at ANUK.

All we ask is that photo submissions are sent to [email protected] with a brief description of the photo and the names of everyone featured.

Please share your submissions by Tuesday, June 18, to be sure you have a spot in our Father's Day yearbook.

Have a fantastic Father's Day industry!