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Diana McClean, senior director of marketing for Ocean Mist Farms, in Castroville, CA. “We’ve run display contests in the past in order to move a lot of volume at once. With right-sized production, this promotional technique isn’t as necessary. Instead, research shows that 34 percent of shoppers polled don’t buy artichokes because they don’t know how to prepare them. erefore, we now employ a 360-degree marketing strategy to elevate awareness and drive tra c to and sales in-store.”
Last year, from April 30 to June 22, Ocean Mist Farms ran its Instant Artichoke Giveaway. is included alignments with food in uencers and registered dietitians to educate shoppers how to enjoy this versatile and avorful vegetable in everything from appetizers to main courses. Shoppers who entered the contest could win prizes that included an Instant Pot, plus other cooking utensils. Instant Pots are the latest craze in programmable pressure cookers. Coupon incentives and a downloadable e-cookbook that featured 10 Instant Pot artichoke recipes were part of the promotion. One of these recipes is a Sundried Tomato & Artichoke Mini Frittatas, easy enough with the Instant Pot for dad and the kids to make for a Moth- er’s Day brunch.
“Most buyers look for jumbo artichokes, sizes 12 or 18, for holidays,” says McClean. “Long-stem are also popular for holidays. Over the past ve years, we’ve seen increased
demand for organic artichokes. Some retailers will carry three or more unique SKUs. We encourage retailers who don’t carry artichokes year-round to do so in the spring when shop- pers may look for them.”
MEMORIAL DAY MAY 27
Whether items such as sweet corn sell like gangbusters for Memorial Day depends on the weather, says Redner’s Stiles. “A forecast for a dry, warm, three-day weekend really helps sales, especially of sweet corn, because people are more likely to eat and barbecue outside.”
Memorial Day is the uno cial start to the summer, and there is no better way to kick it o than with cookouts and picnics complete with sweet corn on the cob, says Brett Berg- mann, president, general manager and owner of Hugh H. Branch, Inc., in South Bay, FL. “We o er white, yellow and bi-color, both in bulk and in trays. We o er organic and conventional options, too. One of our best- selling products is our Sweet Emotion, which is available from April through Labor Day.”
Bergmann adds, “We encourage retailers to have a complementary strategy of bulk corn and tray pack to o er more varieties to consumers. Retailers should o er bulk during high volume periods when price matters. During lower volume periods, retailers can o er trays to showcase freshness and color.”
He also recommends cross-promoting
PHOTO COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA AVOCADO COMMISSION
sweet corn with seasonings, meat specials and other veggies that are grilled alongside corn.
Another barbecue favorite is sweet onions. Vidalia onions start harvesting in mid-April. “Memorial Day is big for us because its cookout time,” says Bob Sta ord, manager of the Vidalia Onion Business Council and interim executive director of the Vidalia Onion Committee, in Vidalia, GA. “We
expect to have an ample supply.”
To maximize sales opportunities and help
consumers with their meal-planning needs, retailers can use secondary display units and other promotional materials throughout the store to drive that incremental item in the basket, according to John Shuman, presi- dent and chief executive o cer of Shuman Produce, Inc., in Reidsville, GA.
Beyond this, and starting in May, “we will have several promotions to match the excite- ment and consumer demand for Vidalia onions,” Shuman says. “In addition to these in-store programs and events, we will o er our RealSweet Vidalia onions in special bags supporting Feeding America. In the U.S., one in six children face hunger every day. We know that summer break, without school breakfasts and lunches, is a particularly vulnerable time for those in need. rough the support of our Feeding America bags, Shuman Produce will provide 50,000 meals to families and will continue to work with Produce for Kids to spread awareness about childhood hunger.” pb
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