POM Wonderful looks to boost consumption with retail promotions
POM Wonderful looks to boost consumption with retail promotions
EXTON, PA -- For his company, POM Wonderful LLC in Los Angeles, the category of fresh pomegranates and bottled pomegranate juices has grown by a factor of 10 in four years, according to Kurt Vetter, vice president of sales.
Judging from a display in a Giant supermarket location Oct. 19, here, it's a small wonder that POM Wonderful has caught the nation's attention. The promotion with the Carlisle, PA-based chain, placed just inside the store's front door, featured a dozen bins of fresh pomegranates. The display was flanked by two iced displays of POM juice -- some straight pomegranate juice and others blended. There were recipe information cards available and promotional plastic bags to ease consumers' ability to haul home large quantities of fresh fruit. The bags touted November as National Pomegranate Month. The dedication of the month was the result of the efforts of POM Wonderful, which handles about 70 percent of the nation's pomegranate volume, according to Mr. Vetter.
Mr. Vetter credited Terri Lowden, vice president of JO'H Produce PA in Conshohocken, PA, and Mark Orsi, Northeast regional sales manager for POM Wonderful, who is based in Auburn, MA, for organizing this major promotion and similar ones in southeastern Pennsylvania chains in late October.
The California Pomegranate Council is promoting pomegranates this fall with a promotion in cooperation with Weekly Reader, which provides workbooks and curriculums with a pomegranate theme. On the weekend of Nov. 5-6, the council was also planning to cooperate with the Culinary Institute of America with a Napa Valley promotion.
Mr. Vetter indicated that POM Wonderful would be cooperating with the council during the PMA convention Nov. 6-8 in Atlanta.
Despite the rapid growth, Mr. Vetter said, "There is room for much more upside. Retailers are surprised at how quickly sales have increased and by how many they sell." He added that not every household in America has yet bought a pomegranate. "We don't know how high [pomegranate sales can go]."
Mr. Orsi said that POM Wonderful has supported a great deal of medical research on the health benefits of pomegranates. The results have been overwhelmingly positive, and the news media have eagerly published the good news.
Mr. Vetter said that the versatility of pomegranates provides "more and more upsides for the fruit." The fruit's arils (seeds) are good on salads, he noted.
"People are getting excited" about pomegranates, Mr. Vetter said. "People buy [them] mostly for cooking and a fair amount buy multiple pomegranates for decorations. They'll buy 10 at a time for decoration. Part of the appeal is that people can be a kid again. So many people have not had a pomegranate since they were a child. With the amazing health benefits, it struck a chord."
Mr. Vetter said that pomegranates are primarily shipped from October to December. POM Wonderful's promotions celebrate the start of harvest in October, prepare for Thanksgiving with November as National Pomegranate Month, and then offer display bins with a Christmas theme in December.
"We try to keep [the promotions] fresh through the very short season. We attract consumers with different reasons to buy," Mr. Vetter concluded.
Judging from a display in a Giant supermarket location Oct. 19, here, it's a small wonder that POM Wonderful has caught the nation's attention. The promotion with the Carlisle, PA-based chain, placed just inside the store's front door, featured a dozen bins of fresh pomegranates. The display was flanked by two iced displays of POM juice -- some straight pomegranate juice and others blended. There were recipe information cards available and promotional plastic bags to ease consumers' ability to haul home large quantities of fresh fruit. The bags touted November as National Pomegranate Month. The dedication of the month was the result of the efforts of POM Wonderful, which handles about 70 percent of the nation's pomegranate volume, according to Mr. Vetter.
Mr. Vetter credited Terri Lowden, vice president of JO'H Produce PA in Conshohocken, PA, and Mark Orsi, Northeast regional sales manager for POM Wonderful, who is based in Auburn, MA, for organizing this major promotion and similar ones in southeastern Pennsylvania chains in late October.
The California Pomegranate Council is promoting pomegranates this fall with a promotion in cooperation with Weekly Reader, which provides workbooks and curriculums with a pomegranate theme. On the weekend of Nov. 5-6, the council was also planning to cooperate with the Culinary Institute of America with a Napa Valley promotion.
Mr. Vetter indicated that POM Wonderful would be cooperating with the council during the PMA convention Nov. 6-8 in Atlanta.
Despite the rapid growth, Mr. Vetter said, "There is room for much more upside. Retailers are surprised at how quickly sales have increased and by how many they sell." He added that not every household in America has yet bought a pomegranate. "We don't know how high [pomegranate sales can go]."
Mr. Orsi said that POM Wonderful has supported a great deal of medical research on the health benefits of pomegranates. The results have been overwhelmingly positive, and the news media have eagerly published the good news.
Mr. Vetter said that the versatility of pomegranates provides "more and more upsides for the fruit." The fruit's arils (seeds) are good on salads, he noted.
"People are getting excited" about pomegranates, Mr. Vetter said. "People buy [them] mostly for cooking and a fair amount buy multiple pomegranates for decorations. They'll buy 10 at a time for decoration. Part of the appeal is that people can be a kid again. So many people have not had a pomegranate since they were a child. With the amazing health benefits, it struck a chord."
Mr. Vetter said that pomegranates are primarily shipped from October to December. POM Wonderful's promotions celebrate the start of harvest in October, prepare for Thanksgiving with November as National Pomegranate Month, and then offer display bins with a Christmas theme in December.
"We try to keep [the promotions] fresh through the very short season. We attract consumers with different reasons to buy," Mr. Vetter concluded.
