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organic marketing tomatoes
and packaged merchandising is ideal,” he says. “Packaged options within tomatoes provide a natural barrier between conventional and organic, which makes them ideal candidates to merchandise together.”
Mastromauro at Sunset Foods says he dedicates 8 feet for conventional tomatoes in his stores and 4 feet for organics.
“We merchandise organic tomatoes much the same way we do conventional, with tie-in items such as lemons, limes and avocados,” he says. “We have them merchandised next to each other but on separate Euro tables.”
ORGANIC SHOPPERS
The organic category of 2018 is not the niche organic movement of 1990, Ferman of Brighthouse Organics says.
“It crosses all geographic, gender and ethnic segments, and the shopper expects to find organics wherever they shop,” he says. “Instead of limiting the awareness, it’s important that retailers amplify the in-store communication to help their organic shop- pers find them and make the shopping trip more convenient.”
Over the past decade, organic availability
n PROMOTING ORGANIC TOMATOES
When it comes to promoting organic tomatoes in produce departments, Har- old Paivarinta, senior director and head of sales for North America for Red Sun Farms, Leamington, Ontario, says every organic grower has a story, and there is a lot of material available to both the retailer and the consumer to share this narrative.
“We think retailers have embraced their organic suppliers and are doing a great job with in-store callouts, printed materials and digital campaigns to tell their organic stories,” he says.
Ferman says Brighthouse Organics offers recipes on in-store signage in circulars, tear pads and displays to help provide organic tomato shoppers with meal solutions, and this helps retailers by creating awareness of their organic offerings. “If shopper card data is avail- able, targeting recipes toward purchas- ers of other organic items is a great way to increase conversion on your full or- ganic portfolio,” he adds.
Rick Feighery, vice president of sales for Procacci Bros. Sales Corp. in Phila- delphia, says putting organic tomatoes on-ad will lead to increased sales, and stores will see repeat business for sev- eral weeks after the ad runs. “We rec- ommend pushing grape tomatoes on-ad every other week during the summer,” he says.
Chris Veillon, marketing director for Pure Hothouse Foods Inc. in Leamington says organic tomatoes should be fea- tured on a regular basis, rotating differ- ent items as features to stimulate more interest in the category. “BOGO opportu- nities can help with quick sales or with
themed event or holiday sales opportu- nities,” he adds.
Vince Mastromauro, produce director for Sunset Foods, Highland Park, IL, says he puts organic tomatoes on-ad alternat- ing weeks with a fresh, bulk convention- al tomato and an organic grape tomato in the same ad, which can double sales for both.
As for cross-promotions, Veillon rec- ommends mixing complementary items together such as cucumbers and pep- pers.
Feighery suggests pairing them with bagged or clamshell salads, or with a va- riety of salad dressings. “I’ve seen organ- ic, ugly-ripe tomatoes cross-promoted with bacon and lettuce for BLTs, or with basil and Mozzarella cheese,” he says.
Veillon says many stores now have ready-to-eat or prepared food where or- ganic tomatoes can be featured. “Some even go as far as hosting cooking ses- sions or product demo sessions on a reg- ular basis,” he says. “Handing out recipe cards or product info sheets are always a good way to help inform and educate the consumer about product benefits.”
Finally, Veillon says it’s important to educate the produce staff about organ- ics.
“You need a steady message de- livered from everyone in the retail segment — buyers, specialists and as- sociates at store level,” he says. “They need to understand how organics are grown and what the USDA logo means. The frontline is the produce manager in stores — keep them educated. They are the first line of defense and are helpful to the whole industry.” pb
64 / AUGUST 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS