TARRYTOWN, NY - Jac. Vandenberg recently called on its retail partners to create the most eye-catching SUNRAYS^® grapes displays, and boy, did they deliver. The contest ran across various retailers under the Associated Wholesale Grocers Pearl River division from January 13 through February 6. Retailers got creative with unique displays of the company’s premium SUNRAYS table grapes.

“We could not have been happier with how well the first SUNRAYS display contest went. Greer’s Market Store #19, the display winner, really did an amazing job with the SUNRAYS brand messaging and creativity of their display,” said John Paap, Brand Marketing Manager for Jac. Vandenberg. “It was really enjoyable to see how much fun the stores had with this contest and how they communicated the SUNRAYS message to their customers. We were truly blown away.”

Winners of the contest were selected based on the highest SUNRAYS grapes sales, as a percentage of their total produce sales, and on their marketing efforts. The marketing efforts were judged on category visibility, good visual merchandising, and messaging of the brand, according to a press release.

The contest winners for sales included:

• First Place: Greer’s Market (Store #27) in Hurley, MS
• Second Place: Food Giant (Store #6103) in Tylertown, MS
• Third Place: Greer’s Market (Store #19) in Prichard, AL

The contest winner for best display was:

• Greer’s Market (Store #19) in Prichard, AL

Honorable mentions:

• Food Town (Store #14)
• Greer’s Market (Store #04)
• Greer’s Market (Store #11)
• Food Giant (Store #6103)

“Many thanks to Jac. Vandenberg and SUNRAYS grapes for choosing my display as the winner of their contest. With product as beautiful as SUNRAYS, it’s all about just highlighting their quality and their wonderful program. The win means a lot to me and all of the Greer’s family. We’re excited to show what our produce program is capable of, and this win has helped us do just that,” said April Weeks, Produce Manager of Greer’s Market Store #19.

SUNRAYS grapes were recently launched in December 2020 as an extension to the already successful SUNRAYS mandarins. Jac. Vandenberg partners with select premium grape growers in Peru, Chile, and Mexico to source and pack its SUNRAYS grapes, giving retailers and consumers a consistent grape brand they can rely on from November through July.

“The concept for my display was to really show off the wonderful programs Sunrays is involved in and to highlight those key components for the customers,” Weeks continued, sharing the inspiration for her store’s display. “When a company cares, the customer cares. I wanted everything to be bright and vibrant to meet the beautifully colorful aesthetic that SUNRAYS brings to their packaging and product. I wanted the open window to a vineyard scene to be a focal point to portray the freshness of the grapes as if you’d just picked them from the vine yourself. And finally, I wanted the whimsy of the grape and sunshine mural over top to draw in my tiny customers, the children, who are by far the biggest fans in my department of SUNRAYS grapes.”

Strict quality guidelines are in place including brix, sizing, and overall flavor, which are overseen by Vandenberg appointed quality control teams at origin. The majority of grapes packed in SUNRAYS are proprietary varieties such as Sweet Globes, Sweet Celebration, Jacks Salute, Timco, Allison, and Sweet Favors.

Congratulations to all of the talented retail leaders who pulled off this win!

Jac. Vandenberg