WENTACHEE, WA - What pairs well with increased produce sales? Pears, of course! I have to admit, even I found that opening line to be cheesy, but what isn’t a joke is Stemilt’s high quality, flavorful pear varieties that will have consumers loading up their baskets this spring. Ever a marketing whiz, Stemilt is offering key ways for retailers to effectively promote the shopper-favorite fruit and optimize their merchandising abilities.

“Stemilt’s mission is to delight consumers, and we do so by providing pears with flavor,” explained Brianna Shales, Marketing Director. “All of our pears are grown with flavor as our motivator and we take the necessary steps to achieve that along with optimal quality and freshness. Merchandising our ripened Rushing Rivers^® d’Anjou pears delights consumers and leads to increased category numbers. It doesn’t get better than that.”

Recent Nielsen retail scan data and Stemilt’s Fruit Tracker™ analysis found that d’Anjou pears made up over one-third of category dollars and volume for 2020, according to a press release. As Bartlett pears are moving out of season and d’Anjou and red d’Anjou are preparing to take their spot, retailers should prepare to capitalize on the change and consider stocking up on both bulk and bags for promotions and merchandising.

“It’s important to strike a balance between bulk and bag promotions for the pear category, but there is a place for both options,” explained Shales. “Last year, d’Anjou bags made up 24 percent of volume, and the success of packaged produce during the COVID-19 pandemic makes offering grab-and-go packs like Lil Snappers^® 3 lb kid-size fruit pouch bags or 5 lb Rushing Rivers pears pouch bags a great solution.”

As consumers continue to opt for bagged items for a contactless solution to their produce cravings, Stemilt’s bags offer a good retail price and can be set up for in-store promotions with ease. Additionally, for those shoppers who prefer to make their grocery purchases online, bags provide a convenient way to transport the fruit and maintain limited contact.

“Bags are a great item for online home delivery and curbside pickup; however, bulk is the mainstay of feature and liner ads, as well as in-store impulse purchases. Both options play as key drivers when raising category numbers,” Shales continued.

In addition to the many packaging options that Stemilt offers, its conventional Rushing Rivers d’Anjou and red d’Anjou pears move through Stemilt’s RipeRite^® ready-to-eat pear program to ensure that only the most high-quality fruit makes it to the produce aisle.

“Our d’Anjou pears are high quality, full of flavor, and a staple item for your upcoming advertising mix during for spring and early summer months,” said Shales. “The Northwest is wrapping up a very successful Bartlett pear season, and that opens the door for increased promotion on the springtime favorite, d’Anjou pears.”

Retailers can also plan to start promoting Stemilt’s Artisan Organics™ d’Anjou pears through both bulk and bag options between now and mid-April. As organics continue to increase in popularity amongst consumers, this will be another way to meet the changing shopper demands.

“While organic pears don’t make up a large portion of the category, Stemilt is the long-time leader in difficult-to-grow organic pears and does so with our flavor focus,” explained Shales. “It’s a great in-and-out promotion strategy for this time of year, or a liner to your conventional bulk pear promos.”

There you have it, folks! If pears are what you’re searching for to optimize produce aisles sales this spring, look no further than Stemilt and its prime merchandising opportunities. I know I’ll be scoping out the shelves for these delicious pears.

As more marketing opportunities arise across the industry, AndNowUKnow will continue to be the place to get key tips.

Stemilt