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grapes merchandising review Get Premium Results From Grapes
Though hugely popular with consumers, innovative strategies are still required.
EBY MINDY HERMANN
xcitement around grapes used to be seasonal in the years be- fore the global marketplace made year-round enjoyment of the fruit possible. Today, retail-
ers face challenges in selling grapes, not just during the domestic summer and fall sea- sons but also throughout the year.
Grapes continue to be among the most popular fruits. According to the United Fresh Produce Association’s Fresh Facts on Retail Year in Review 2018, grapes are the second-largest fruit category in dollar sales and are purchased by 70% of U.S. families over the course of the year. Still, volume and dollar sales are down, with the exception of two bright spots: the small specialty grape category and organic grapes. Increasingly available, organic grapes grew 43.4% in dollar sales and 54.6% in pounds, second only to growth in organic blueberries.
To maintain a dominant position, grapes require continued innovation throughout the supply chain, including at retail. The ques- tion is how to transition from a commodity mindset to a specialty mindset, from low pricing to premium, and from color to variety.
LOOKING BEYOND THE BIG THREE
Consumers typically differentiate grapes by color rather than variety. According to 2018-2019 data from the California Table Grape Commission, red grapes dominate shipments, accounting for about half of ship- ments over the season, followed by green (40%) and black (8%).
“Most consumers shop for green or red grapes, and they don’t know the difference in varieties within each color, although a few will ask for the classic Thompson seedless,” says Sal Selletto, produce manager at Super Foodtown of Sea Girt, NJ, a part of the Middletown, NJ-based Food Circus/Food- town. “They want to know which color is the sweetest and the best seller.”
Derrick Jenkins, vice president, produce/ floral division, Wakefern Food Corp. in Edison, NJ, finds customers come into the store knowing which color they want and
generally do not switch. “However, when we run promotional circular ads highlighting other colors or different varieties, we see more acceptance from customers.”
Despite its traditional focus on color, produce industry veteran Dick Spezzano of Spezzano Consulting Service in Monrovia, CA, points out today’s grape marketplace is evolving beyond red, green and black into displays that could have up to eight different types of grapes at one time, including value-priced grapes in three colors, newer varieties and organic.
PLAYING TO POPULARITY
Just as specialty apple varieties have over- taken Red Delicious, newer types of grapes are displacing classics, such as Thompson Seedless and the seeded Globe. “Chile, for example, is shipping far less of varieties such as Flame Seedless [volume dropped 66% this season] and greater volumes of newer, more popular varieties like Timco [+50%], Sweet Celebration [+20%] and Allison [+84%],” says Karen Brux, managing director, Chilean Fruit Association, San Carlos, CA. “We encourage retailers to carry a number of varieties in order to grow their category. For example, we work with a number of retailers who love
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHILEAN FRESH FRUIT ASSOCIATION
Muscat Grapes from Chile. The grape has a floral taste with a high brix level — 20 to 24 vs. 16 to 20 for most grapes – and color that runs from a rosy pink with a green back- ground to golden-yellow.
“Because they’re such attention-grabbers and so popular with shoppers, retailers will often place them at the center of a grape display. As we see more of the newer varieties arrive from Chile, I think we’ll see more retailers highlighting a particular variety in their ad/ display to help build their grape category.”
Brux adds that the Chilean table grape industry listens to North American customers and is moving quickly to supply more of the desired varieties. This past season, Chile shipped close to 100 different varieties to the U.S. market, with 32 varieties exceeding 100,000 boxes.
“Chile has more free trade agreements than anywhere in the world,” says Colin Fain, founder and chief executive of Agronomet- rics, Geneva, Switzerland, which is a market intelligence platform that collects, standard- izes and presents daily prices and volumes of agricultural products from around the world. “This opens up opportunities to bring new grape varieties to consumers. Breeders seek
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