Winter sees sales boost for some organic categories
Organic produce sales heat up as temperatures fall, marketers say.
Citrus and apples are big sellers, said Chris Ford, organic category director with the Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Oppenheimer Group.
“Citrus consumption usually peaks between November and February, and the apple category takes over a lot more retail shelf space this time of year,” Ford said.
Winter is peak sales time for citrus at Homegrown Organic Farms in Porterville, Calif, said Stephen Paul, category director for stone fruit, fall fruit and grapes.
“Those are big push months, with big ads, big volumes,” he said.
Roger Pepperl, market director with Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Growers LLC, agreed.
Apples
“Organic apples are a tremendous item in the winter months,” he said, noting that shoppers will find bulk displays of larger 100-size apples, as well as bags.
The tide starts to turn in organics’ favor in the fall months, Ford said.
“The salad items, the broccolis, especially on the East Coast in early winter when local gardens and farms kind of shut down, that consumption increases,” he said. “And when school starts, a lot of people tend to not eat out as much.”
The same goes for the pepper and tomato categories, which are seasonal and local in summer, Ford said.
Certain items enjoy brisker sales in winter months in both conventional and organic categories, said Michael Castagnetto, vice president of global sourcing with Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Robinson Fresh.
“Potatoes, apples, onions, grapes, pears, root vegetables, pumpkin, squash, etc. — these are the categories that generate the largest portion of their annual sales in Q4,” he said.
Winter sees sales peaks on the vegetable side, for sweet potatoes, beets, leafy greens, cauliflower, broccoli, celery root, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and carrots, said Jacob Shafer, senior marketing and communications specialist for Salinas, Calif.-based Mann Packing Co.
“There are so many vegetables that have their peak season in fall and winter,” he said.
By mid-October, Loxahatchee, Fla.-based J&J Family of Farms was focusing on green bell pepper, yellow squash, zucchini and cucumbers, said Angela Gamiotea, marketing manager.
“We believe that these are staple items in any household, and we want to provide our customers with these options for their consumers,” she said.
Some items and lines know no particular seasonal boundaries. Value-added offerings maintain consistent sales levels year-round, said Nannette Richardson, vice president of marketing with Irwindale, Calif.-based Bonduelle Fresh Americas, parent company of Ready Pac Foods Inc.
“All our organic offerings — Organic Chopped Salad Kits, Organic Spring Mix and elevĀte organic single-serve salads — sell well throughout the year, as consumers are increasingly looking for more organic options,” she said.
Retail consultant Dick Spezzano, based in Monrovia, Calif., agreed that organics need not depend on the calendar.
“If you look at the Nielsen numbers, they’re steady year-round,” he said. “Potatoes are steady. Salads are big sellers in organics.”
Squash, yams and potatoes, as well as apples and citrus, do enjoy strong winter sales, Spezzano said.
Big winter items
Apples and pears, for the moment, are big winter sales items for Selah, Wash.-based Rainier Fruit Co., said Andy Tudor, vice president of business development.
“It’s our goal to stretch organics, at least on main varieties, to take the seasonality out of them and have them go all year,” he said.
Watsonville, Calif.-based strawberry grower-shipper Well-Pict has worked to take the seasonality out of its offerings, said Dan Crowley, vice president of sales and marketing.
“It starts with our spring crop in Oxnard, moves to spring crop in Santa Maria, summer in Watsonville and fall crop in Santa Maria,” he said. “We’ve been able to do that, so 12-months’ supply is a couple of years old.”
