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cherries merchandising review Smashing Success With Cherries
Consumers can’t seem to get enough of this delicious, healthy fruit.
BY ANTHONY STOECKERT
If there’s such a thing as a perfect fruit, cherries are a leading candi- date. They are delicious, healthy and can be enjoyed in all sorts of ways.
Based on their growing popularity, it seems consumers can’t get enough of them.
“Cherries have skyrocketed in sales, and they are one of the largest dollar items in the produce department on a per-SKU level,” says Roger Pepperl, marketing director for Stemilt Growers LLC, based in Wenatchee, WA.
Pepperl says Stemilt’s main California cherry varieties are Garnet, Coral, Bing, Royal Hazel, Rainier and Lapin.
“They each have their timing and loca- tional specifics,” he says. “In Washington State, we grow Chelan, Coral, Bing, Skeena, Sweetheart, Glory, Staccato, Rainier and Skylar Rae.”
He adds that various factors are contrib- uting to the growing popularity of cherries, including length of season, bigger sizes and packaging options.
“The very best cherries cost more to grow, and many retailers have sought out the best to win over consumers,” says Pepperl. “Many still buy lesser-quality cherries from chal- lenged areas to achieve low prices, but that has been a failure to most, as the consumer doesn’t come back for more. Rainier cher- ries continue to grow in popularity as well as the Skylar Rae, which is an extremely sweet cherry with wonderful high sugars and firm- ness.”
Richard Sambado of Primavera Marketing, a Linden, CA-based firm that works with growers to help provide shoppers with accurate information, says the main varieties of cherries are Brooks, Coral Cham- pagne, Tulare’s, Bings and Rainiers.
“Our mission of providing the best- quality of cherries has never wavered,” says Sambado. “We feel strongly that firm sweet cherries appeal to everyone.”
THE CROP LOOKS GOOD
Mac Riggan, director of marketing for Chelan Fresh, headquartered in Chelan, WA, says the company is looking forward to a successful cherry season.
“We’re always optimistic we’re going to have a good crop,” says Riggan. “We’ll prob- ably be later this year because we still have
snow on the ground up here, which is about the latest I can remember, but that can all change with weather. But right now, I’m expecting a later start than last year.”
When asked which cherries are most popular, Riggan gave a seemingly simple answer.
“Good cherries are popular; that sounds flippant, but [it’s true],” he says. “Last year we had a good crop of big-sized cherries and a good quality, and it really sold well at the stores. Rainiers...their popularity seems to be pretty stable; they’re expensive, so people who like Rainiers really like them.”
He adds that another cherry consumers enjoy is Chelan Fresh’s Orondo Ruby.
“It’s a great cherry; it’s a Rainier deriva- tive,” says Riggan. “It’s like eating a Rainier
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