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merchandising review pomegranates
3. EXPAND SKUS
Increasing value-added SKUs, such as pomegranate arils and organically grown fruit to the mix, can boost category sales.
“Arils are a quick and convenient healthy topping for yogurt, ice cream or a fruit bowl,” says Robby Cruz, vice president of fresh re- tail at Cub Foods, a 77-store chain based in Stillwater, MN, and a subsidiary of Eden Prairie, MN-headquartered SuperValu Inc. “It’s possible in the future that a majority of pomegranate sales will come from arils.”
Sales of value-added fruit such as pome- granate arils grew last year despite the cate- gory as a whole posting a decline in annual sales for the first time, according to based on FreshFacts on Retail, 2017 Year In Review, published by the Washington, DC-headquar- tered United Fresh Produce Association.
“We’ve seen double-digit — 10-to-15-per- cent — sales increases annually on pomegranate arils for a few years in a row now,” says Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Me- lissa’s/World Variety Produce, in Vernon, CA.
With U.S. consumers craving ease-of–use, it’s no wonder ready-to-eat convenience is a big driver of aril sales.
“The chief challenges in getting consum-
ers to buy this product are price and shelf life,” says Katzman, whose company sources high-flavor arils year-round and packs these in 4.4-ounce and 2.1-ounce cups, both with spoons included under the lid for greater ease of use. “That’s why we’ve been able to over- come these challenges and continue to see growth. For example, we fly the product in several times a week to maintain peak fresh- ness and flavor. Product arrives to us in New York with approximately 12 days shelf life, and then we expedite distribution to our cus- tomers who then get it out to the consumer.”
There is some experimentation under- way with the use of high-pressure processing (HPP) to extend the shelf life of pomegran- ate arils to 60 to 70 days, according to the Pomegranate Council’s Tjerandsen.
Trinity Fruit Sales offers both convention- al and organically grown pomegranate arils in a variety of pack sizes and styles. The compa- ny, as well as others in California, also grows and markets organic whole fruit.
“Less than five percent of the domestic crop is organically grown. However, we’ve expanded our production and now about 15 percent of our crop is organic,” says Simonian.
4. BUILD IMPULSE-DRIVEN DISPLAYS
When in season, Bristol Farms goes big when it comes to fresh pomegranates and ar- ils, says John Savidan, produce director of the 12-store chain headquartered in Carson, CA. “We build large displays of the whole fruit and promote heavily when in season. Many times, these are built on satellite displays or even in large bins. Nothing calls out fall better than fresh, whole, burgundy-colored pomegranates merchandised as you enter the departments.
“Arils are most often merchandised with our fresh-cut fruit. It’s a natural and, healthy fit, not to mention the red-colored fruit really makes for a nice pop,” says Savidan.
Displays that merchandise both ambient temperature and refrigerated product adja- cent to each other is something Cruz at Cub Foods often does. “For example, merchandis- ing pomegranates and arils next to refrigerat- ed berry and grape sets can help drive traffic and land impulse purchases,” he says.
Selling pomegranate arils in the berry set is particularly effective, according to Adam Cooper, vice president of marketing for the Los Angeles-based Wonderful Company, the largest U.S. grower of fresh pomegranates, ar- ils and juice. “Velocity of aril sales increases four times when positioned next to berries compared to other parts of the store.”
Whole fruit makes a great color break in the tropical set, next to fall greens or beside other fall fruits.
“Display pomegranates next to persimmons and pears,” recommends Justin Bedwell, presi- dent of Bari Produce LLC, in Madera, CA.
Bins are particularly effective in merchan- dising whole fruit.
“Display bins placed prominently in high-traffic areas can double sales velocity of fruit through impulse purchases,” says Won- derful’s Cooper.
5. EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE
Two of the biggest challenges in getting customers to buy and try pomegranates is how to use them and how to eat them.
“We have an amazing advertising depart- ment that does all of our in-house commu- nications and special signage. Every location has their own chalk artist that makes very col- orful hand-drawn signs, all of which are very detailed. These types of vehicles are where we will communicate special messaging,” says Bristol Farm’s Savidan about getting infor- mation on pomegranates to his customer base.
To further the message, Cub Food’s Cruz says, “We utilize point-of-sale on display and digital efforts to help drive the health bene- fits, recipes and usability of pomegranates.”
Many industry experts also advise retailers to cross merchandise as a mode of offering suggestive usage ideas for pomegranates.
“Position display bins of whole fruit or packaged arils directly next to bagged salads in the produce department or yogurt in the dairy aisle,” suggests Wonderful’s Cooper.
Finally, it pays to conduct in-store demos.
“With a healthy and delicious fruit like a pomegranate that really does sell itself, we always recommend sampling,” says Katzman.
6. PROMOTE BY PRICE
Price is one way to promote pomegranates.
“Large fruit in season might be promot- ed in multiples such as 2/$4 or 2/$5, while value-oriented stores may sell small fruit for 99-cents each,” says Trinity Fruit Sales’ Ga- najian. “We’ve had a lot of interest by club retailers in promoting a single layer box with 6 to 8 pomegranates.”
This fall, Pom Wonderful will launch a multifaceted promotion that include FSIs (free-standing inserts) with redeemable cou- pons; circular ads with individual retailers that feature whole pomegranate, arils and juice; and major in-store display promotions; as well as national advertising, social media and public relations efforts. pb
58 / AUGUST 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS