CALIFORNIA AND WASHINGTON - Cherry season is quickly winding down in California and ramping up in Washington State. Consumer demand is strong for cherries following great quality fruit from California, and growers look forward to building on the momentum set in California with large volumes of fruit in the coming weeks. With lighter volumes and an early season for cherries this year, the market is tight and demand is high, so get ready for an interesting season.

I spoke with Brianna Shales, Communications Manager for Stemilt about what retailers can expect as the company transitions from California to Washington cherries.

“The California cherry crop offered the nicest quality fruit we’ve seen in a decade, which builds consumer demand and excitement for this impulse purchase. We just started harvesting cherries in Washington and anticipate a large crop of fruit in the right size profile (10.5 row and larger) with dessert qualities. The early start will make for great promotions on cherries during the important July 4th holiday,” Shales said.

Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing for CMI, echoed the message that retailers will have to prepare themselves for the early season this year.

“Retailers really have to be ready for this crop because of how quickly it’s going to be year.  With our early start retailers that traditionally are slow to move into cherries risk missing the most important volume spike of the entire crop,” says Lutz, whose company has done a study of the top 100 retail grocery banners in the U.S. “The scan data analysis also shows that the first few weeks of the season are critical. The top 20 chains sell nearly 40% of their cherries in the first four weeks of the season. The bottom 20% of retailers only sell 28% of their cherries in the first four weeks. So, for retailers, getting cherries into stores quickly is a key to successful selling.”

The high demand thats being experienced by Northwestern growers is looking like it will provide equal pricing. Erin Smith, Communications Manager for Rainier Fruit Company, is really positive about this year’s crop.

“Size and quality are fantastic, and there will be considerable volume to promote, says Smith. “[Rainier sees] just the usual strong demand, due to their true seasonality and popularity, and corresponding pricing.”

Despite the strong demand from retailers, CMI’s Steve Lutz tells me that for consumers, research has shown that cherries are one of the highest impulse purchase items in the produce department.  

“Cherries tend to not be on consumers’ minds when they get to the store, but purchases are triggered when they see the product displays in the supermarket.  This is exactly why secondary displays are so powerful for driving cherry performance,” Lutz adds. “Retail studies conducted by the Northwest Cherry Commission found that secondary displays can drive as much as a 30% increase in sales…simply because more displays mean more opportunities for consumers to encounter cherries in the store, even on a quick trip to just pick up a few items.”

CMI reports strong success with its Nature’s Candy Orchard View 3D cherry shipper. The shipper is sent with fruit, and can be placed anywhere in the store where a retailer has high traffic and wants to drive incremental sales.

Consumers will make that impulse purchase as long as quality comes first and foremost, Shales said and that’s the impetus behind Stemilt’s two premium cherry programs, Kyle’s Pick cherries and Half Mile Closer to the Moon Cherries.

“In July, we pack Kyle’s Pick cherries where select premium varieties, largest sized fruit, and dessert flavors are those that make it into each pack. It’s built on the high quality of fruit grown by 4th generation cherry grower Kyle Mathison during that timeframe. In August, our Half Mile Closer to the Moon cherries deliver a great finale to cherry season, with the latest freshly harvested cherries coming from orchards located between 2,500 and 3,200 feet above sea level, or literally a half mile closer to the moon. Promoting flavor and quality throughout the summer, and telling the story of where cherries came from and how they were grown are ideal ways to appeal to cherry buyers in store,” Shales said.

Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to update you on this progressing cherry season and all the latest retail strategies.

Stemilt Growers

CMI

Rainier Fruit Company