Bigger and broader pear inventory featured at Stemilt
Bigger and broader pear inventory featured at Stemilt
Stemilt Growers Inc. in Wenatchee, WA, is in the midst of packing and marketing its largest pear crop ever, including a broader array of pear varieties and promotions adding color to the pear lineup.
Mike Taylor, vice president of sales and marketing for Stemilt, said that the company will sell as many as 1.5 million 44-pound-equivalent boxes of pears, up from 1 million in 2005-06. The larger crop for Stemilt comes at a time when Northwest pear growers are forecasting a smaller crop than was originally predicted in June.
Hailstorms in early July damaged portions of the crop in the Wenatchee district and in northern reaches of Washington state. The June crop projection of 14 million boxes of winter pears and 4 million boxes of summer and fall pears from Washington and Oregon has been reduced to approximately 16 million boxes combined.
"We feel fortunate to have a healthy manifest of pears to offer this season considering the fact that the total Northwest crop is down," Mr. Taylor said in a press release. "The successes Stemilt has experienced recently in our pear program and the solid relationships we've established with some of the very best retail customers in the industry have combined to attract more pear supplies to Stemilt."
Roger Pepperl, marketing director for Stemilt, said that a Pear-a-Rama promotion, which is designed to encourage demos and ads on an assortment of Stemilt pears, has been developed to support the greater selection and supply available from Stemilt. While green d'Anjou and yellow Bartlett are the top pears on the manifest, Stemilt also has large supplies of red Bartlett, red d'Anjou and Bosc.
Organic pears will also be prominent on the Stemilt manifest this season. Mr. Pepperl said that organic Bosc, Starkrimson, red and green Bartletts, and red and green d'Anjou will all be available this season.
Niche pears, such as the small-sized Seckel and the Concorde, will get some added promotional attention this fall. Stemilt created special display materials for the Concorde pear as the company ramps up to sell a significant amount of the variety currently under production in the Northwest.
Mr. Pepperl said that the petite Seckel will be positioned as the pear for kids, "perfect as a lunchbox treat."
The pear category continues to show strong growth, and Mr. Pepperl credited pear conditioning programs for the positive increase in demand. Stemilt began its pear-ripening program in 2002 by building state-of-the art conditioning rooms at its largest facility in Wenatchee. Mr. Pepperl said that Stemilt was one of the early shippers in the Northwest to bank on the future of pear conditioning.
"Customers buying our ripened pears are seeing 15 to 20 percent category growth," Mr. Pepperl said in the press release. "That is amazing growth on a mature item, and it's simply because consumers prefer taking home a ripe, ready-to-eat pear."
Mike Taylor, vice president of sales and marketing for Stemilt, said that the company will sell as many as 1.5 million 44-pound-equivalent boxes of pears, up from 1 million in 2005-06. The larger crop for Stemilt comes at a time when Northwest pear growers are forecasting a smaller crop than was originally predicted in June.
Hailstorms in early July damaged portions of the crop in the Wenatchee district and in northern reaches of Washington state. The June crop projection of 14 million boxes of winter pears and 4 million boxes of summer and fall pears from Washington and Oregon has been reduced to approximately 16 million boxes combined.
"We feel fortunate to have a healthy manifest of pears to offer this season considering the fact that the total Northwest crop is down," Mr. Taylor said in a press release. "The successes Stemilt has experienced recently in our pear program and the solid relationships we've established with some of the very best retail customers in the industry have combined to attract more pear supplies to Stemilt."
Roger Pepperl, marketing director for Stemilt, said that a Pear-a-Rama promotion, which is designed to encourage demos and ads on an assortment of Stemilt pears, has been developed to support the greater selection and supply available from Stemilt. While green d'Anjou and yellow Bartlett are the top pears on the manifest, Stemilt also has large supplies of red Bartlett, red d'Anjou and Bosc.
Organic pears will also be prominent on the Stemilt manifest this season. Mr. Pepperl said that organic Bosc, Starkrimson, red and green Bartletts, and red and green d'Anjou will all be available this season.
Niche pears, such as the small-sized Seckel and the Concorde, will get some added promotional attention this fall. Stemilt created special display materials for the Concorde pear as the company ramps up to sell a significant amount of the variety currently under production in the Northwest.
Mr. Pepperl said that the petite Seckel will be positioned as the pear for kids, "perfect as a lunchbox treat."
The pear category continues to show strong growth, and Mr. Pepperl credited pear conditioning programs for the positive increase in demand. Stemilt began its pear-ripening program in 2002 by building state-of-the art conditioning rooms at its largest facility in Wenatchee. Mr. Pepperl said that Stemilt was one of the early shippers in the Northwest to bank on the future of pear conditioning.
"Customers buying our ripened pears are seeing 15 to 20 percent category growth," Mr. Pepperl said in the press release. "That is amazing growth on a mature item, and it's simply because consumers prefer taking home a ripe, ready-to-eat pear."
