Pandol infusing pipeline with standard, proprietary grapes
Pandol infusing pipeline with standard, proprietary grapes
Pandol Bros. Inc. continues to hone its grape manifest to bring the finest product to the marketplace. Director John Pandol said consumers can expect to see a number of varieties hitting the retail shelf this fall. “There is a mistaken idea that varieties come to market in a sequential order. In reality, there is much overlap and, in some cases, simultaneous supply,” he told The Produce News.
John PandolStandard varieties grown and marketed by the company include Scarlet Royal and Crimson for red; Autumn King, Luisco and Thompson Seedless for green; and Black Seedless followed by Autumn Royal for blacks. “In the premium varieties, we have Sweet Celebration and Sugar Crunch,” Pandol said. “In prototypes, we have a handful of varieties, some with names, some with numbers, at various level of testing.”
Grape volume this season will be slightly less than 2014, Pandol added. Sixty percent of the company’s volume is harvested during the fall.
Pandol Bros. ships nationwide and to about 40 countries, between 20-25 in any given season.
“This season, like last, is very early. So our sequence is a bit off,” he continued. “For Sweet Celebration, we’re touting ‘Remember September.’ But it will be available into October.” He said stand-alone high-graphic displays are available to feature clamshells of the proprietary variety.
Pandol Bros. is also packaging grapes as part of the “eat brighter!” campaign, designed to promote increased consumption of fresh produce among children. “Our original plan was to focus on ‘eat brighter!’ in the fall when we peak,” Pandol commented. “We didn’t want it to be an ‘Elmo all the time’ type of a campaign. We wanted shock and awe.” The company plans to work with its retail partners for specified periods of time, “if only for a week or two,” to drive sales.
In addition to grapes, Pandol Bros. grows and markets Fuyu persimmons in October and November.
