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Greg Hackenbracht, president of Tastee Apple, Inc., says caramel apples are a great item to sell before Halloween but do not do as well in the two weeks after children go trick-or-treating.
fall are caramel apples. Tastee Apple, Inc. in Newcomerstown, OH, recommends starting the season at retail around Sept. 1 to ensure the products are in stores for Labor Day and the start of the school year, says president Greg Hackenbracht. However, Hackenbracht says there have always been two weeks a year when caramel apples will not sell well — the
first two weeks of November.
“For years, we couldn’t figure this out,” he
says. “Then through a focus group, a woman explained her kids go trick-or-treating every year, and with all that candy in her house, ‘do you think I’m going to buy more?’”
Hackenbracht says stores also can adver- tise mid-to-late October to promote caramel apples for the Halloween holiday.
CRANBERRIES AND BEYOND
Cranberries are a great fit for most holi- days because of year-round availability, says Michelle Hogan, executive director of the Cranberry Marketing Committee, Wareham, MA.
“Displaying cranberries with other recipe ingredients for back-to-school snacks and lunches, Halloween treats and Thanksgiving recipes is an effective way to inspire impulse sales,” she says.
For Thanksgiving, Hogan recommends retailers demonstrate how fresh cranberries can be used to create “beautiful” holiday centerpieces with store-bought floral arrange- ments or using large glass candleholders.
“Featuring cranberries in rustic wooden crates connect the fruit with the farms,” says
Hogan. “Placing them near seasonal items, like pumpkins or cornucopia, reinforce cran- berries’ place with those holidays.”
Pumpkins and squash also can be used for fall decorating starting in August all the way through Thanksgiving, says Michele Young- quist, president of Bay Baby Produce, Inc., Mount Vernon, WA.
“Unique pumpkin and squash varieties continue to grow in popularity,” she says. “They are unique by offering interesting colors, sizes, shapes and textures. Consumers are always looking for things that everyone doesn’t have, or they’re looking for the latest home décor craze.”
Buurma Farms, Inc. in Willard, OH, offers acorn and spaghetti squashes in the fall, along with ornamentals after Labor Day, says co-owner Loren Buurma.
“Products that hold up well and are ripe for fall promotions include root crops like radishes, onions, leeks, beets and kohlrabi,” he says. “When the temperature outside cools off, collard and mustard greens and kale sell well in September and October, as well.”
Retailers can leverage the colder weather and consumers’ penchant for quick, hearty options by promoting and displaying items
30 / AUGUST 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
PHOTO COURTESY OF TASTEE APPLE, INC