WENATCHEE, WA - Providing the opportunity to discover rising trends and top-quality offerings in the organic space, the Organic Produce Summit is an event not to be missed. Stemilt is bringing an abundance of organic programs into the spotlight during this year’s show, presenting strategic retail advantages for apples, pears, and cherries.

“On display will be our sustainable four-pack for apples for key varieties including Cosmic Crisp®, Fuji, and Gala. We’ll also have our Lil Snappers® kids’ size fruit for apples and pears, along with merchandising headers for in-store usage,” Brianna Shales, Marketing Director, previews. “Cherries in top seal and clamshells will also be present to support conversations around Stemilt’s uniquely long season and current opportunities for organic cherries this summer.”

As a keynote sponsor this year, Stemilt plans to show a video celebrating its 20^th anniversary of World Famous Compost crafted by fourth-generation cherry grower and Stemilt Owner Kyle Mathison.

The supplier will also be highlighting its packaging prowess.

“We’re seeing a trend in packaging opportunities for organics, which has driven the creation of Stemilt’s sustainable four-pack packaging for organic apples,” Brianna says. “The package is meant to be a vessel for ensuring retailers capture their organic rings and help draw attention to the category.”

“For retailers, it can be about linking back to sustainability with your organic products,” Brianna continues. “The organic shopper is often someone who is environmentally conscious, so pairing these two elements can be attractive to the personality of this consumer. Retailers are also looking for better ways to educate consumers about where their organic produce comes from and what specific labels on the packaging symbolize.”

One example of this is the Equitable Food Initiative logo on Stemilt’s organic packaging, which represents the grower’s commitment to continuous improvement throughout all its operations to facilitate the health and well-being of farm workers.

“Helping consumers and retailers understand what these programs and initiatives are can help influence the decision to buy a product or brand,” Brianna explains. “It’s important to promote organics as often as the crop volume warrants to continue driving consumer purchase and ensure freshness, because promotions help products turn faster. Being intentional with the way organics are marketed can be a great way to draw attention to them. For example, Lil Snappers can be appealing to the parent shopper who also leans into organics for their kids’ snacks.”

In addition to Lil Snappers, Stemilt has a variety of other organic programs to meet retailers’ needs.

“Organics have been embedded within our culture since our founding, and we continue to seek new ways to improve. We’re especially excited for our organic cherry program, which helps retailers sell cherries for as long as possible in the summer,” says Brianna. “Our season is unique because we strategically grow late-season cherries at high elevations to extend availability. We’re currently harvesting cherries from Stemilt Hill in Wenatchee, Washington, which ranges from low to high elevations, towering past 3,400 feet above sea level. There’s a special opportunity with Stemilt to buy cherries when other producers have exhausted their supply. We see great quality fruit coming off the trees, especially for the Skeena cherry variety.”

Further elevating its organic portfolio, Stemilt’s Artisan Organics program is centered on freshness and year-round supply.

“We are large producers of high-flavor organic apples, including Honeycrisp, Cosmic Crisp®, and SweeTango®,” Brianna adds. “We are also a leader in organic pears and expect a great crop ahead in 2025. Organic pears are not easy to do, but we have the orchard locales, packing line technology, and passion to help retailers develop programs to be successful with them.”

There is much more to learn about Stemilt’s advantageous organic programs, so be sure to stop by booth #505 as you hit the show floor!