WENATCHEE, WA - CMI has reported that it is experiencing good pear volume, but that hotter-than-normal temperatures the area has experienced throughout the season have affected the size.

As a result, the company is seeing this as an opportunity to expand pear pouch bags and turn a small pear into a strong sell for retailers.

“Our horticulturists tell us that pear size is down one to two sizes from normal,” Steve Castleman, Senior Vice President of Sales for CMI, said in a press release. “It looks like this will put a premium on larger sized pears and increase our supply of fruit that fits our successful pouch bag program.”

According to Steve Lutz, Vice President of Sales for CMI, the company’s Sweet Gourmet Pear™ Pouch bags have been a success with its retail partners this year.

“Nielsen data for the season shows that our 2 lb Sweet Gourmet Pear™ Pouch bags sales increased by 126%, so were really excited about our prospects during the new crop,” Lutz said in the release, stating that the pouch’s success is related to its upscale appearance and strong graphics.

“Bagged pears have historically been packed in low cost  poly bags that convey a low quality message to consumers. The beauty of our new pouch bag is the strong appeal it has to consumers looking for both high quality and the convenience of not having to select individual pears. In addition, the bags include an educational component to educate consumers about pear ripening,” Lutz continued.

According to CMI, Nielsen scan data for the just-concluded season shows packaged pears driving category growth in both dollars and volume. While the data reported that pear sales decreased 6% for the September 1, 2014 to May 23, 2015 season, packaged pear dollars increased by 12.7%. A short video about the Sweet Gourmet™ pears can be seen below.

Lutz commented that most pear bags in the past were in three pound bags, but the two pound bag appears to be more of a success.

“The two pound pouch is small enough that it encourages trial by light users because of a lower price point as compared to a three pound unit,” he said. “The experience from our customers is we’re able to drive incremental purchases with the Sweet Gourmet Pear™ pouch bags rather than simply cannibalizing sales of existing products.”

Currently CMI estimates it will be packing Sweet Gourmet™ Bartlett pears beginning August 10th.