Stemilt’s premium river valley pear program helped the industry achieve huge category increases through the first four months of the season, according to the company’s recent analysis of retail scan data from Nielsen Perishables Group.

D’Anjou pears were up 24 percent in volume and nearly 26 percent in dollar sales year over year according to national composite data from September through December 2013. Other key pear varieties, including Red d’Anjou, Bartlett and Bosc, also realized increases in both categories.

D’Anjou pears on one of Stemilt’s modern packing lines at its Miller Street facility in Wenatchee, WA.“Though no two crop years are ever the same — and the 2013-14 crop is up in volume and fruit size is larger than the prior crop — the fact that dollar sales have increased for d’Anjou and other key varieties along with volume increases shows that consumer demand for pears is very strong,” Roger Pepperl, Stemilt marketing director, said in a press release.

There are a number of factors that led to the pear category increases, Pepperl said. Harvest in the Northwest was slightly earlier than normal, which allowed retailers to get a jump on the pear season. The total pear crop is up over last year due to this being an “on” year for pears, and fruit size is running a size larger this year.

“About 10 percent of the volume increase for d’Anjou pears can be attributed to fruit size," Pepperl said. "Customers might be picking up the same number of pears but are bringing home more weight when they buy bulk simply because fruit size is larger at retail."

Aside from crop realities, Pepperl believes that increased attention on ripening programs for d’Anjou, value bag offerings, and putting multiple varieties on ad each month is elevating the pear category.

“Here at Stemilt, our pear program has really benefitted over the past several years from capital investments, new products and a focus on getting multiple pears on ad every month during the fall and winter season," he said. "The increased shelf space for pears during a multi-pear ad often results in 15-20 percent increases in volume when compared to one item pear ads.”

Stemilt pears come primarily from two renowned locales: the Wenatchee River Valley and the Entiat River Valley. Surrounded by alpine mountains, these two regions benefit from cooler temperatures during the growing season and high-quality air drainage, which consistently produces premium quality pears.

The two locales are both located in close proximity to four modern packinglines operated by Stemilt or its pear partner, Peshastin Hi-Up. Additionally, Stemilt’s Miller Street facility in Wenatchee features two Thermal Tech ripening rooms to round out the company’s recognizable RipeRite pear-ripening program.

“Our increased investment in packinglines and pear ripening has resulted in a better consumer eating experience," Pepperl said. "We already benefit from tremendous pear quality thanks to the location of our pear orchards, and so we focus on tight inventory turns and delivering ready-to-eat pear pressures to retail on normally hard-to-ripen varieties like d’Anjou and Red d’Anjou."

Stemilt has also increased the volume of bag offerings to provide added value to the pear category. The company includes four varieties of pears in its trademarked Lil Snappers line of kid-sized fruits, and also provides retailers with high-graphic half tri-wall bins, which are perfect for promoting family-sized bags of pears.

“Our pear half tri-wall bins are a great in-and-out merchandising tool to move five-pound bags of pears,” said Pepperl. “It adds one more item to the mix to elevate the category and really appeals to value shoppers.”

Pepperl expects the pear category increases to level down a bit through the spring months as seasonal items — like cherries — start to take some shelf space in produce departments. Overall, the Nielsen data from the primary pear promotion months tells him that consumers are responding to the premium quality of pears, especially when strong merchandising programs are behind them.

“It’s always our goal at Stemilt to continuously improve pear quality in order to provide consumers with an unforgettable eating experience," Pepperl said. "It’s great to see our efforts pay off in the form of strong category growth nationally."