This season, Stemilt Growers LLC will introduce its “Rushing Rivers” pear label. “The ‘Rushing Rivers’ label will adorn all of our pear boxes this season and help retailers tell the special story of our locale through displays and signage,” said Director of Marketing Roger Pepperl.

Stemilt Growers is located in Wenatchee, WA, and is one of the state’s leaders in tree fruit production.

“The label stemmed from our leadership position growing pears in the best pear locales in the world — the Wenatchee River Valley and Entiat River Valley — both near Wenatchee,” Pepperl explained. “It’s here where clean, mountain air flows through the orchards, and fertile soils and pristine rivers — recharged by snowpack — provide nourishment to trees in order to produce premium pears. Today’s consumers want to know where their food was grown, and this label helps tell that story. We’re really excited about its introduction to retail.”

Looking at this year’s production, Pepperl described weather as excellent. “We had a picture-perfect bloom and nice growing conditions this summer,” he continued. “We expect a nice, clean pear crop that will be slightly smaller in volume and size from last year.”

Stemilt Growers LLC will introduce its new pear label, ‘Rushing Rivers,’ this season. (Photo courtesy of Stemilt Growers LLC)He said the company’s pear volume will be down approximately 12 percent this season owing to alternate bearing of the trees. “But there will still be lots of pears to promote,” he went on to say. “The crop will start early, and varieties like Anjou and Bartlett will be a touch down on fruit size this year. Bartlett is flat for us while D’Anjou is down about 15 percent. Bosc is down about 28 percent from last year’s volume. All things we expect in an off-year for pears.”

Approximately 12 percent of Stemilt’s pear manifest is organic. “We’re among the leaders in organic pears which is a really challenging thing to grow,” Pepperl said. “Of course, with the sunset on antibiotics, it makes it more challenging. But we’ll rise to the occasion.”

Pepperl said quality will not be compromised. “Quality will be second to none. We’ve had great growing conditions, and the pears have really benefitted from that. We expect really great quality with clean fruit and dessert flavors.”

The harvest was expected to begin in early August, a week ahead of typical timetables. Tosca, a Stemilt signature variety that is primarily organic, will be one of the first varieties off the tree. Bartlett and red summer pears such as Starkrimson will also kick off production.

“The harvest ramps up in September with harvest on d’Anjou and Red Anjou’s and wraps up in October,” Pepperl said.

Pears are marketed to the company’s global customer base.

Retailers will have a chance to promote its “Rushing Rivers” label through a display contest. “Building displays [with contests] with ‘Rushing Rivers’ boxes and signage is a great way to attract shoppers to put more pears in their baskets,” Pepperl stated.

The “Rushing Rivers” story will also have a perfect tie-in to social media this fall. “Our website, blog and presence on popular social channels continues to grow, and we feel this area is great for reaching consumers on a more personal level and sharing our great brand and stories with them,” he added.

The company’s Lil Snappers program, which helps retailers market smaller-sized fruit for children, continued to be a marketplace hit. “We have four great varieties and have been hugely successful with this pack that appeals to today’s busy parents looking to provide their kids with a healthy, convenient item,” he said.