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Expanding Cranberry Sales
Clever merchandising helps retailers move more of ‘America’s Original Superfruit.’
BY CHRIS CRAWFORD
Fresh cranberries are a staple of produce departments in the fall and winter, but e orts have been made to expand the season to year-round.
Retailers can help themselves by using creative promotions, such as including cranberries in trail mixes and cross-pro- moting with dried cranberries, to boost sales. More than 95 percent of the world’s fresh cranberry supply is grown in North America with the season running mid-September to mid-December. Depending on the growing season, cranberries harvested in the fall will last into January and February, says Bob Wilson, managing member of the Cran- berry Network LLC/Habelman Bros. Co.,
Wisconsin Rapids, WI.
“New varieties with longer-keeping
quality are likely in the future,” says Wilson. “For now, customers still will be purchasing them during peak availability in October/ November and freezing them at home for year-round cranberry availability.”
Cranberries typically are available in resealable 8-ounce and 12-ounce bags or clamshells.
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NEW RETAIL RESOURCE
e Cranberry Marketing Committee (CMC), Wareham, MA, has launched a website at uscranberries.com/retail that provides one-stop access to retail-speci c cranberry messages, recipes and resources for retailers and suppliers to use to create promotions that drive year-round cranberry sales in-store.
Retailers can promote bagged cranberries to be used for the holidays or frozen to be kept throughout the winter.
PROMOTING HEALTH BENEFITS
According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guide- lines, cranberries are a nutrient-rich food, says Michelle Hogan, executive director of the CMC. “A serving of fresh or frozen cranberries contains 7 mg of vitamin C and 1.8 grams of ber and provides polyphenols not commonly found in other fruits,” she says. “Retailers can visit CranberryInstitute.org for more cranberry health information to use in promotions.”
Cranberries are often known as a super- food, low in calories and high in Vitamin C, A and K, says Sydney Fairchild, marketing and sustainability at Bridges Produce Inc., Portland, OR, which promotes fresh organic cranberries from Patience Fruit & Co.
“ ey contain proanthocyanins (PACs), an antioxidant thought to help prevent a range of diseases and are widely known for promoting bladder and kidney health,” she says.
BERRY INTERESTING DISPLAYS
Dried cranberries and cranberry juice can be displayed in the produce department with fresh cranberries to make a visual connection for shoppers, says Hogan.