Cherry professionals in the Pacific Northwest talked with The Produce News about category management insights that can translate to increased fruit sales at retail.

James Michael, vice president of marketing-North America for Washington State Fruit Commission/Northwest Cherry Growers, said he hopes to see steady momentum as cherries hit retail shelves. “That’s the key in atypical seasons like this. It requires a change-up to the year-over-year weekly program,” he told The Produce News.According to Northwest Cherry Growers, placement of secondary cherry displays outside the produce department can drive incremental sales. (Photo courtesy of Columbia Marketing International) “But the important part for everyone to recognize is that they get one shot each year at the dollars that Northwest cherries can bring to their departments. If they don’t push for back-to-back promotions, the season will be over and their opportunity for increased and repeat purchases will be lost.”

He said cherries remain the top dollar-per-square-foot item in July, and are the number two item in June. “According to Nielsen, a cherry buyer spends an average of 28 percent more on cherries than when they buy grapes,” he said. “That’s typically where cherry buyers migrate from during the Northwest cherry season.”

According to Michael, Nielsen studies also show “that what spurs late-season consumers more than a price drop is a call out of the ‘last chance to buy.’”

Michael said placement of secondary displays outside the produce department, especially at cash registers and meal-to-go sections, can boost sales.

Steve Lutz, vice president of marketing for Columbia Marketing International, fleshed out the importance of this strategy. “Consumer research has shown that cherries are one of the highest impulse purchase items in the produce department,” he commented. “Cherries tend to not be on consumers’ minds when they get to the store. But purchases are triggered when they see the product displays in the supermarket. This is exactly why secondary displays are so powerful for driving cherry performance. Retail studies conducted by the Northwest Cherry Growers found that secondary displays can drive as much as a 30 percent increase in sales, simply because more displays mean more opportunities for consumers to encounter cherries in the store, even on a quick trip to just pick up a few items.”

According to Lutz, CMI has had strong success with its Nature’s Candy Orchard View 3D cherry shipper. “It ships with fruit and can be placed anywhere in the store where a retailer has high traffic and wants to drive incremental sales,” he explained. “It’s really been a terrific addition.”

Roger Pepperl, director of marketing for Stemilt Growers LLC, provided additional reinforcement for this strategy. “Stemilt also supports retailers with a number of merchandising materials, including signage and high-graphic display bins that can be used to promote Rainier or dark-sweet cherries during the key cherry weeks in a secondary location or grand display,” he said. “Cherries are an impulse item and an important one to the produce department in the summer. Featuring them front-and-center and in a big way and promoting size and flavor is the best way to ensure shoppers pick them up.”

Howard Nager, vice president/marketing for Domex Superfresh Growers, said the snapshot of data for cherry sales and impact shows how strong the category is. Citing data compiled by IRI/FreshLook Marketing, Nager said the total U.S. cherry category sales for 2014 were nearly $766 million. Of this total, dark sweet sales represented 92 percent of the dollar share of the category at $702 million. Rainiers contributed 8 percent or $64 million of cherry category dollars.

From June through August, he said, cherries contributed nearly 8 percent of fruit category dollars.

Data reveal that organic cherries continue to show strong growth trends. The data provided by Nager state that organics contributed $11.3 million and 2.2 million pounds to the cherry category in 2014, representing a 64 percent increase in dollars and a 70 percent increase in volume when compared to 2013.