Oneonta Starr Ranch staff available for meetings at CPMA
Oneonta Starr Ranch staff available for meetings at CPMA
Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers, located in Wenatchee, WA, plans to send members of its sales and marketing teams to this year’s Canadian Produce Marketing Association Annual Convention and Trade Show. National Sales Representative Bruce Turner said he will be walking the floor, as will Director of Marketing Scott Marboe and John Cannon and Shane Cass, members of the sales team.
“Although we don’t have a booth yet at this convention, we find the CPMA to be a great venue to meet our Canadian customers,” Turner told The Produce News. “We love the CPMA and are looking seriously at having a booth next season. Canada is a market that we have been focusing on for only a few seasons, and we are excited with the level of support we are receiving for Starr Ranch brand apple, pears, cherries and stonefruit.”
Turner said the intimate setting at CPMA allows Oneonta the ability to see existing and potential customers “in a couple of days.” Oneonta staff plans to update attendees on a variety of items.
Oneonta has increased its organic apple production. “We expect to nearly double our 2013-14 volume in the coming 2014 harvest,” Turner said. “All the top selling varieties such as Gala, Fuji and Pink Lady are increasing dramatically this year with new acreage coming into our program.”
The company has installed a new Unitech optical sorter that removes over 99 percent of cherries with defects. “So we have improved the quality of our pack substantially for this summer,” he continued. “We are looking forward to a great season.” Turner expects the season will begin a little earlier in 2014, allowing for good June promotions followed by the traditional second peak in July. “We are packing a substantial amount of the crop this season into the ever-popular ‘pouch’ display ready bags,” he added.
A new packingshed and line equipment, dedicated to apple production, has been completed in Yakima. “Advanced optics for grading, sizing and defect detections have helped improve the consistency of our Starr Ranch Growers pack,” Turner stated. “We are continuing to invest back in the business to make sure our pack is the best in the Northwest.”
Oneonta’s “snaQ” program for apples and pears continue to be popular. “Display bins, tote bags, posters and shelf POS are all available to help create secondary displays and extra volume sales,” Turner said. “We offer these to our retail customer to help support their in-store merchandising programs. We find the extra placement really helps drive sales and profits.”
