Stemilt highlights retail strategies ahead of rare pear season

The 2024 pear crop is projected to be the smallest in 40 years, as winter freeze damaged the crop while other pears will be left with frost markings. Stemilt Marketing Director Brianna Shales said making comparable sales on pears presents a challenge, but there are five key activities retailers can take advantage of during this rare crop.

“It’s been a long time since the industry has experienced pear volumes like this, yet there are still opportunities to be explored within Stemilt’s pear mix,” said Shales. “Early planning will help retailers maximize this crop. For example, organic pears will have promotion opportunities, while varieties like Red d’Anjou and Happi Pear act as substitutes for others down in volume.”

The first activity Stemilt is encouraging retailers to take advantage of is with organics. With the conventional side of pear offerings down this year, increasing organic promotion is ideal. You can run a monthly organic red and green pear promotion while available to encourage pear purchases within the category.

“Stemilt is a unicorn with an organic pear crop that is up 40 percent year over year,” said Shales. “Organics are a great way to drive dollars to the pear category in times where volumes are not in excess. Better yet, our new, state-of-the-art pear packingline has automated capabilities which will allow us to dial in on handling pears carefully, keeping them fresh, and improving the flavor experience for consumers.”

The second way to bring quality to the table for the pear category will be substituting Bosc for Red d’Anjou pears. The Bosc crop was large last year which means 2024 would be its “off” year. This variety was also impacted by weather, causing a shortage on Bosc industry wide.

“A third variety we’re very excited for this year is Stemilt’s exclusive offering of Happi Pear,” said Shales. “Happi will be available in limited supplies in September and October, but is the pear of the future to start building sales around.”

The fourth way to build pear sales throughout the season is with Stemilt’s Lil Snappers to offer parents and their kids’ convenience as back-to-school season comes around. This kid-centric brand can be a great vehicle for opportunities with smaller sized pears. Another self-merchandising pear bag that retailers can feature is an in-and-out endeavor with frost impacted pears.

“We are introducing a new poly bag, Frostbite Pears, for a value opportunity,” said Shales. “This creative packaging solution is for pears with russet-like marks or rings on the skin, caused by frost. Frostbite Pears might look different, but they have the same flavorful experience known in Stemilt’s Rushing Rivers program.

“With these five key activities we can make the most of this rare pear crop,” said Shales. “Quality over quantity will be the way to go this year and how we’ll be able to continue delighting consumers with world famous pears!”