As shoppers prepare for the holiday stretch, fresh produce departments are stepping into the spotlight. Faced with tightening consumer budgets and direct competition from packaged CPG goods, produce suppliers and retail buyers are deploying a two-pronged strategy for the 2026 holiday season: leveraging high-margin specialty “recipe builders” for holiday feasting while anchoring value through targeted price investments on core seasonal staples.
Specialties and Cultural Traditions Drive Basket Growth
For specialty marketers like Vernon, Calif.-based Melissa’s Produce, the holiday cycle represents the highest volume and margin potential of the entire year. The supplier reports substantial seasonal demand spikes across food-centric holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve.
According to Robert Schueller, director of marketing for Melissa’s Produce, holiday meal prep drives dramatic category surges compared to off-peak times:
- Fresh Cranberries and Black-Eyed Peas: Cranberries spike by 700% for Thanksgiving, while black-eyed peas jump 500% leading into New Year’s celebrations.
- Tamale Kits and Ingredients: Sales of tamale kits, corn husks, chiles and sauce ingredients surge 250% across Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, catering to traditional Mexican-American family gatherings.
- Chestnuts and Pearl Onions: Driven by classic holiday sides, chestnuts rise 135% during their Oct.–Dec. window, and pearl onions see a 150% demand bump over baseline.
- Specialty and Baby Potatoes: Driven by Hanukkah latke traditions and Christmas feasts, baby variety potatoes rise 65%, while sweet potatoes and yams jump 110% from Thanksgiving through New Year’s.
“Supplying such specialties adds a higher margin and ring to the retailer, offering a ‘one-stop-shop experience’ for the consumer,” Schueller says, adding that high-margin exotic fruits like Pinkglow pineapples, dragon fruit and cherimoya are increasingly serving as central elements on festive charcuterie and fruit boards.
Reframing Walnuts in the Produce Aisle
The California Walnut Board (CWB) is focusing its fourth-quarter strategy on secondary displays inside the produce department. While walnuts are historically grouped with pantry baking ingredients, CWB research indicates that over 80% of walnut buyers purchase more when items are cross-merchandised directly alongside fresh produce.
“The holidays are a key walnut sales period, and a great time for retailers to promote walnuts,” says Robert Verloop, executive director of California Walnut Board. “While shoppers often turn to walnuts for holiday baking, retailers can drive additional sales with secondary displays in produce, where shoppers are looking for fresh, whole foods to support everyday eating, along with holiday entertaining and cooking.”
To support retail movement, CWB is rolling out its “Feel Good” holiday marketing push targeting older millennials and Gen X shoppers — the demographic with the largest purchasing power. The activation features partnerships with more than 20 cooking and wellness creators, alongside retailer-tagged connected TV spots, digital advertising and in-store sampling events.
Retailers Invest in Price Leadership to Capture Traffic
While specialty items drive margin, retailers are aggressively pricing high-volume staples to secure full-basket loyalty. Aldi announced an $86 million price investment starting Sept. 23, lowering prices across seasonal produce, lean proteins and organic favorites through Nov. 3.
Under the initiative, nearly one-third of Aldi’s daily in-store products are priced lower than in 2025. Reductions target seasonal feast essentials, including Autumncrisp grapes, Bartlett pears, Brussels sprouts, squash varieties, fresh herbs, potatoes and Honeycrisp apples — which dropped to $1.99 per pound (a 35% year-over-year decrease).
“At Aldi, value is a year-round promise, not a promotion,” says Scott Patton, chief commercial officer for Aldi. “Customers trust us to help them make the most of their grocery budget, and we never stop looking for ways to run our business more efficiently so we can pass along savings.”
By combining targeted price reductions on traffic-building staples with high-impact specialty merchandising, retailers and produce marketers are creating a compelling case for consumers to spend their holiday budgets in the fresh produce aisle.
