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60 / MAY 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
soup with mustard greens in it that is very tasty,” he says. “She also adds kale to our smoothies. She has been big on juicing for years, and now that celery has become one of the ‘darlings’ of the fitness crowd, demand has grown exponentially in price this winter and spring.” He says drinks containing small amounts of fresh beet juice also can have huge health benefits. “I love a mixture of celery, carrot, beet, spinach, apple and orange. We have been enjoying making these juices long before they became commercially avail- able in the store.”
A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE GOES A LONG WAY
Another way to boost summer sales is to share information about fruits and veggies with your customers. Juliemar Rosado, director in retail and international marketing of the National Watermelon Promotion Board, says watermelon sales benefit when facts about “how to select” the right water- melon, along with health information, are displayed in the store.
“Especially in the summer, when bins of whole watermelon are available,” she says. “The National Watermelon Promotion Board has various educational tools and point-of- sale materials available for retailers.”
The Board’s website also provides all sorts of ways to include watermelon in meals, from appetizers, salads and sauces to desserts, cocktails, mocktails and smoothies. It even suggests ways to use the rind, which is edible, on its website.
MAKE IT EASY
Your customers are busy and are sure to be enticed by any steps you can take to make their lives a little simpler. For example, have cut watermelon available and promote its convenience to your customers.
“Customers can pick it up and take it to go,” says Rosado. “More than half the battle with selling watermelon is to get people to buy a whole one. The top two purchase barriers are that they don’t know how to select it, or they don’t know what to do with the whole watermelon. When bins of water- melons are available and the cutting is done in-house, one suggestion would be to have the bins of whole watermelons showcased near the fresh-cuts. If fresh-cut is all you have, promoting the health benefits to an increasingly health-conscious society is also a great way to market them.”
Summertime promotion can boost sales while encouraging people to eat fresher, healthier and exciting meals. And that means everyone wins. pb