WENATCHEE, WA - It’s almost pear season! To prepare retailers for another great season, Stemilt Growers is getting the jump on fall line-ups by helping all in the biz with their autumn promotion plans—now! The grower is especially excited for its Rushing Rivers® brand and the wide variety of pears that full under it.

“Although autumn may still be far away, now is the time to start working with your Stemilt representative to get pears ready for big, multi-variety ads as pears are harvested this fall,” said Brianna Shales, Communications Manager. “This year we are expecting a crop with large fruit size, great flavor and quality, plus an increasing organic category.”

Because crops are expected to be large and in charge, Stemilt Growers is gearing up to push bulk as the primary promotion vehicle for the 2019-2020 season. As a result, the grower recommends retailers start planning for large displays using Stemilt’s Rushing Pears-branded bin or easy pallet display. According to a press release, this display strategy will give retailers the opportunity to tell consumers the story of Rushing Rivers and offer them additional information about where the fruit is grown.

“Our Rushing Rivers brand has such a unique story to tell, which is why we encourage retailers to share that story with consumers,” added Shales. “Transparency is appreciated among consumers, which leads to a delightful experience—something we are striving for every day.”

Shales even suggested organizing pears by variety and color as a means of presenting an attractive, eye-catching color break display that consumers won’t be able to resist.

“Placing prominent pear displays in a high traffic area will boost any retailer’s pear category,” continued Shales. “With so many items in produce, it is crucial that retailer’s pears have moments where they are front and center. An attractive display can captivate both the conventional and organic consumer.”

Tosca, Bartlett, and Starkrimson will kick off the Rushing Rivers season, with their organic counterparts following close behind. In mid- to late-September, Bosc, Red d’Anjou, and d’Anjou, as well as organic Bosc, will then join the rest of the autumn pear lineup. In addition to the Rushing Rivers brand, the Tosca, Bartlett, and Red pear varieties will also be available through the Lil Snappers® kid-size fruit brand, in 3lb conventional bags and 2lb organic bags.

“In the industry as a whole, the organic category is growing, but there is a lot of growth here at Stemilt as well as with our growing and packing partner, Hi-Up Growers,” concluded Shales. “As we all know, organic is a constantly evolving category, and it is in high demand. Even though growing pears organically is a challenge, we feel it’s an important offering to consumers and have recently increased organic pear volumes.”

First introduced in 2014, the Rushing Rivers brand highlights some of the two best pear growing locales in the world: the Wenatchee and Entiat River Valleys—neighboring valleys that are surrounded by alpine peaks that help air flow and pears stay cool during the warm summer months. The valleys’ soil also contributes to the peak pear quality thanks to its nutrient richness.

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Stemilt Growers