SALINAS, CA - One of the great things I love about spring is the smell of fresh and juicy strawberries. As consumers make their way through clamshells, I was curious as to how Naturipe Farms is currently doing during its harvest. Wanting to satisfy my trade news curiosity, I got in touch with Jerry Moran, Senior Director of Sales, to get the inside scoop on these California berries and why the time is now to build up retail strawberry programs.

“The entire strawberry industry will see record production as the high-yielding varieties we have will produce very strong volumes,” Jerry started. “Retail promotions will be key for moving through these record volumes the category will experience.”

Naturipe Farms grows its strawberries throughout the main growing areas in California, producing in Oxnard, Santa Maria, Salinas, and Watsonville. With that assurance, the season is shaping up to be bountiful at retail. Jerry had a few insights for retailers to take note of for the upcoming seasons.

“For spring and early summer, we are encouraging customers to add 2 lb packs. The large-sized fruit this time of year fits well in this container and gives the consumer more fruit to enjoy in a single pack,” Jerry continued. “Our 2 lb cases offer the customer a better freight option as we can get 160 cases on a pallet versus the 120 on the 1 lb pack.”

To help with marketing in-store, Naturipe offers retailers promotion opportunities that include in-store signage, recipe development, digital and social media marketing, and more.

The berry grower has year-round production in California with peak production from April to June and will continue production throughout the summer into early fall.

“Oxnard is entering peak production now; the farms are loaded with various stages of fruit. Right behind the Oxnard peak follows Santa Maria with very strong production. Santa Maria should have peak volumes in late April through the middle of May,” Jerry said. “Once Santa Maria starts to come down from its peak production, the Watsonville and Salinas area will start their peak from late May into early June. This year, we had an earlier start in Oxnard but the other areas were delayed. The recent rains caused some additional delays, but now with the improved forecasted weather, all signs point to very strong volumes and quality.”

As category leaders like Naturipe Farms continue to bring quality products from sunny California, count on AndNowUKnow to bring you the freshest news from our industry.

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