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Fresh pears, PMA a perfect pairing

Cristie Mather, director of communication for the Pear Bureau Northwest, said the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit is a go-to venue when it comes to doing business.

“The PMA Fresh Summit provides us with the opportunity to connect with our current and future produce industry partners about Northwest pears and the profit opportunities the pear category has to offer,” she told The Produce News.

“Through this event, we are able to showcase all the resources and expertise that Pear Bureau Northwest has to offer, with the ultimate goal being to strengthen Northwest pears’ position in the marketplace for the good of all who are involved in growing and selling Northwest-grown USA Pears,” she added.

PearBureauRepresentatives from Pear Bureau Northwest will be available at Booth No. 2139.The number of personnel who will be available at the show at Booth No. 2139 reinforces the importance of the venue. They will include Kevin Moffitt, president and chief executive officer; Jeff Correa, director of international marketing; Mather; Bob Koehler, lead regional marketing manager; Regional Marketing managers Bob Catinella, Tim Corkill and Walter Johanson; Brittany Wilmes, program coordinator; and Noelle Dennis, sampling and event administrator.

International representatives will also be in attendance. Staff covering Mexico and Central America are Luis Moreno, Betty Arellano, Monica Moreno and Martha Sotelo. Francesco Sicherle covers Brazil. Ksenia Gorovaya and Yulia Chiznevskaya will be available to talk about activities in Russia. Keith Sunderlal and Sumit Saran will provide an update on sales and marketing in India. Covering Vietnam is Frances Lee. Louis Hg spearheads operations in Hong Kong/China, and Richard Lieu covers Singapore.

“The Pear Bureau Northwest has its finger on the pulse of the pear category, and as such will be covering topics such as current crop updates, recent category research findings, merchandising best practices, domestic and export promotions, consumer outreach, dietitian engagement and more,” Mather stated.

The bureau’s pear retail training program will officially launch the week of Fresh Summit. “We will be offering our booth visitors the opportunity to tour this fact-filled online training program for produce personnel,” she added.

Visitors can enjoy ripe pears at the booth, and attendees are encouraged to attend a schedule happy hour at the booth on Oct. 19 from 3-5 p.m. “We’ll be serving Pacific Northwest wines to accompany our Northwest-grown pears,” Mather said. “What grows together, goes together.”

The bureau will also honor its representatives from Ingles Markets as its 2013 Pear Retailer of the Year. “Honorable Mentions — Roundy’s Supermarkets, TOPS Markets and The United Family — will also be presented with awards for their outstanding pear category performance over the past season,” Mather noted.

USA Pears is the race bib sponsor and will have a team running in the 5K event scheduled that Sunday.

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