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merchandising review pomegranates
tion. In general, consumers in the Northeast, West and South regions of the United States tend to purchase more pomegranates overall. Asian and Hispanic consumers are the most likely ethnic group to purchase.”
2. SELL ARILS
One of the biggest challenges to selling whole pomegranates is a lack of knowledge by shoppers about how to extract the inner arils, or juice-sac surrounded seeds.
“Our grab-and-go consumer pack does all the hard work of extracting the arils and even includes a spoon under the lid,” says Stefanie Katzman, of S. Katzman Produce and Katzman Berry Corp., in the Bronx, NY, which distrib- utes its pomegranate arils under the brand
BloomFresh in three sizes: 2.1-ounce cup, 4.4-ounce cup and 2.2-pound bag.
More consumers soon may get turned on to pomegranates via arils used in foodservice. For example, the Trinity
Fruit Company, in Fresno, CA, introduced a 2-pound bag of arils (sold 3 bags to a case) at the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodser- vice Show in Monterey, CA, in July. is bag also can be used by fresh-cut operators to make mixed fruit cups or single-serve products such as yogurt, granola and aril topper, according to Levon Ganajian, director of retail relations.
“Consider that a green salad that sells for $6 can easily be sold for $7 with a dozen or so pomegranate arils on top,” says the Pome- granate Council’s Tjerandsen.
Another challenge with fresh arils is shelf life and refrigeration, says Katzman. “We combat this by bringing in several shipments a week in order to keep product fresh.”
Arils are available year-round, typically without gaps that occur with the whole fruit.
“Our arils predominately come from Peru and India, but they are also available during the domestic season out of California,” says Leslie Simmons, vice president of Dave’s Specialty Imports, in Medley, FL. “We are seeing increased plans for arils out of Chile and Argentina in the coming year. A majority of the arils are conventional.”
3. INTRODUCE A DRIED SKU
Freeze-dried pomegranate arils have been on the market for a while. However, Katzman says, “we wanted something that maintained the integrity and kept all the avor and nutri- tional value in the product. Our growers in India developed a unique process that slowly
54 / AUGUST 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
dried the arils, which keeps them intact.” e company o ers 20-gram single-serve and 50-gram snack-size bags of dried pome- granate arils, which consumers can add to
salads, yogurt, oatmeal and baked goods.
4. DISPLAY POMS PROMINENTLY
Studies show 25 percent of shoppers have tried pomegranates, according to Trinity Fruit Company’s Ganajian. “ ese are usually people of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern or Asian background. In other words, 75 percent of American consumers either haven’t tried or don’t know what a pomegranate is. e future sales potential is huge.”
e rst way to make this introduction is through prominent displays.
“Fresh pomegranates, and arils in partic- ular, are so vibrant in color that it makes it easy for us to showcase them,” says Gelson’s Savidan. “Immaculate, hand-stacked displays, along with the sizing and color, make them destination points that are hard to pass up as a shopper. Calling out attributes such as ‘organic’ and ‘superfruit’ also helps attract customers who may have not been necessarily looking to purchase them.”
Savidan adds, “ ere are times that are better for pushing pomegranates and arils where we can wow our guests. Large island or cube displays lled with whole fruit, anked with a wing display lled with fresh arils on ice usually does the trick.”
Companies such as POM Wonderful, LLC, the Los Angeles-headquartered world’s largest integrated producer of the Wonderful variety of pomegranates, have created bins for free- standing displays of fresh pomegranates. ese are what Bohaty at B&R Stores uses to boost sales of the fruit, especially in the fall.
“We ship the fruit right from the plant to retail in the bins in either quarter- or half- pallet size,” says Adam Cooper, senior vice president of marketing. “More than half of consumers purchase pomegranates on impulse. Bins o er a point of interruption in the depart- ment as well as in the front lobby and can increase the incremental velocity of fruit sales as a result.”
Companies such as Trinity Fruit o er high- graphic bins that educate consumers about how to open the fruit and its health bene ts.
“If there is no place for a freestanding, o -shelf display, then I would recommend a spillover for an inline display,” suggests DJ Forry’s England.
Pomegranate displays near berries, grapes, pears, persimmons, and other fall fruits also can increase the likelihood of purchases, according
to King Fresh’s Millburn.
Whole pomegranates don’t require refriger-
ated displays, but arils do.
“One of the most successful placements for
arils is in the berry cooler,” says POM Wonder- ful’s Cooper.
Bohaty, at B&R Stores, displays arils in the fresh-cut fruit section. King Fresh’s Millburn suggest putting them near the bagged salads.
5. EDUCATE SHOPPERS & STAFF
Education is key to sales, according to King Fresh Produce’s Millburn and includes: “sampling stations for taste; how-to recipe cards and details to cut/de-seed; health bene t [placards]; freestanding inserts with coupons; and cross-marketing with pomegranate juice, marinades, salsas, salad dressing/croutons.”
Some shippers o er POS materials to put on their bulk bins that give the consumers recipe ideas and nutritional information.
It’s also a good idea to educate retail produce managers about variations in the fruit’s avor and appearance through the year, as there are di erent varieties and growing areas, suggests King Fresh’s Millburn. “We provide our retail partners with sell sheets so they have bullet point information on selling points and frequently asked questions. We also keep them informed on market condi- tions so they can explain price changes, supply issues and di erences in taste.”
6. PRICE & PROMOTE
Pomegranates aren’t price-sensitive. at said — it’s wise for retailers to take advantage of pricing opportunities with the natural ebb and ow of supply-and-demand conditions.
“In my opinion, pomegranates should be looked at as an incremental sales and pro t opportunity,” says DJ Forry’s England. “O er the fruit at an attractive price point. For example, if a jumbo/large pomegranate lands at store level with a $1.70 each cost, then I suggest a retail of 2/$5.00.”
Growers and shippers say arils mix in well with berry promotions.
Holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Halloween, anksgiving and Christmas are the best times to promote, according to Simo- nian Fruit Company’s Simonian. “So, basically every month during the fall.”
e fall domestic season is an especially good time to promote. is is when companies such as POM Wonderful launch a multi-mil- lion-dollar marketing campaign.
“A trifecta of prominent bin displays, ads and a good price point will move fruit fast,” says Cooper. pb