The initial Washington state pear crop forecasts for the 2015 harvest are in, with a slight increase in production predicted, up from the smaller 2014 harvest.  While there are plenty of pears on trees, hotter-than-normal termperatures throughout the growing season are reported to have reduced pear growth.

According to Steve Castleman, senior vice president of sales for CMI, hotter weather has slowed sizing of pears during the critical July growing season. “Our horticulturists tell us that pear size is down one to two sizes from norma," he said. "It looks like this will put a premium on larger sized pears and increase our supply of fruit that fits our successful pouch bag program.”

An increased supply of smaller pears for bags may be good news for retailers.  Nielsen scan data for the just-concluded season show that packaged pears drove category growth in both dollars and volume while bulk pears declined.  For the pear season from Sept. 1, 2014 to May 23, 2015, total pear sales declined by 6 percent.  During the same period, packaged pear dollars increased by 12.7 percent.

“CMI’s Sweet Gourmet Pear Pouch bags have been a huge hit with our retail partners this year,” Steve Lutz, vice president of sales, said in a press release.  “Nielsen data for the season shows that our two-pound Sweet Gourmet Pear Pouch bags sales increased by 126 percent, so were really excited about our prospects during the new crop.”

Lutz believes the success of the pouch is related to the strong graphics on the package as well as the upscale appearance of the bag. “Bagged pears have historically been packed in low-cost  poly bags that convey a low-quality message to consumers,” said Lutz.  “The beauty of our new pouch bag is the strong appeal it has to consumers looking for both high quality and the convenience of not having to select individual pears.  In addition, the bags include an educational component to educate consumers about pear ripening.”

According to Lutz, the two-pound package also appears to be key.  He said that in the past most pear bags were three-pound packages. 

“The two-pound pouch is small enough that it encourages trial by light users because of a lower price point as compared to a three pound unit,” he said.  “The experience from our customers is we’re able to drive incremental purchases with the Sweet Gourmet Pear pouch bags rather than simply cannabilizing sales of existing products.”

CMI is currently estimating that packing of Sweet Gourmet Bartlett pears will be under way beginning Aug. 10.