WENATCHEE, WA - Stemilt Growers has issued a new Stemilt-O-Graphic that provides retailers insight into cherry category performance over the past two seasons.

Stemilt’s category management program, FruitTracker, looks at cherry category performance across the U.S. from early May to early September 2014, and compares it to the same timeframe the year prior. Below is a snapshot of some of the insights provided in the infographic.

• On average, cherries contributed 3.2% of total dollars to the produce department in 2014, down from 3.5% the year prior. This is due to a reduced crop out of California in 2014.
• Average weekly volume was up in 2014 at 544 lbs. per store per week.
• Cherries contributed $70 less per week on average in 2014 than in 2013, which was likely a result of a larger crop in Washington State and lower retail prices.
• Dark-sweet cherries dominated the category in 2014 with 94% of pounds sold and an average per pound retail of $2.98. On the other hand, the considerably smaller volume, yet premium-priced, Rainier cherries made up 6% of sales with an average retail price of $4.70 per pound.

For a full look at the infographic, click the image below.

Roger Pepperl, Stemilt’s Marketing Director, said in a press release that 2015 is “shaping up to be early with great volumes, leading to lots of opportunities to promote Stemilt cherries at retail from now through August.”

The early spring in the West brought on an earlier start for the cherry season, and Stemilt is trending about 10 days earlier than normal in California and Washington, according to a press release. Stemilt’s California cherries will be picked, packed, and shipped during the month of May, while harvest in Washington will begin in late May and produce large volumes in June, leading up to the July 4^th holiday.

“California is up in volume considerably over 2014, yet still about half of a crop,” said Pepperl. “We’ll have two peaks there, the first running from 5/7 through the middle of the month, and then our second peak with classic, high-quality Bing cherries will begin on May 18^th and run through the end of May.”

Pepperl recommends that retailers promote dark-sweet and organic dark-sweet cherries during the two weeks leading up to July 4^th. Memorial Day will also be an important holiday for promoting California cherries, Pepperl added.

“With good volumes and great quality, the 2015 cherry season has lots of potential at retail,” said Pepperl. “We’re excited that our season is underway and look forward to delivering lots of great-tasting Stemilt cherries now through mid-August.”

Time to start planning for the Memorial Day and July 4^th holidays!

Stemilt