Cherry suppliers expect good year despite COVID-19 pandemic
Northwest cherry suppliers say they are working to overcome two hurdles connected to the coronavirus COVID-19 as they hurtle toward a new season. One is fear; the other, money.
Once those concerns wither, the deal itself could turn out to be one of their most successful, they say.
“Ultimately, there are a lot of unknowns regarding what consumer buying habits will be in light of this economic turmoil, but we’re remaining positive that consumers are looking for something new and fresh, and something to celebrate,” said Jon Bailey, sales manager with Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Oppenheimer Group.
“This is especially so since they are no longer spending their dollars at restaurants, so they might as well treat themselves with a special fruit like cherries while they are in-season.”
That seasonality is a marketing asset, Bailey said.
“This adds an air of exclusivity and urgency to cherries that other fruit lacks, so get them while they last,” he said.
The ongoing health crisis is uncharted territory for the produce industry, but Northwest cherry suppliers say they are fortunate, at least, to enter the market after California.
“It’s a little bit of an unknown, as far as the COVID-19, and we’re fortunate that we get to see California go through this prior to the Northwest cherry season,” said Tim Evans, general sales manager with Chelan, Wash.-based Chelan Fresh Marketing.
Operations adjusting
Fields and sheds across the industry have adjusted to social distancing, check-in/check-out and other protocols stemming from the pandemic, marketers say.
“As far as the orchard and packingshed, food safety is top of mind, anyway, so there’s a lot of things that are being done that build on that and making sure spacing is right and good sanitation for hand-washing, etc.,” Evans said.
“The warehouse has put together some pretty good planning on how they’re going to be dealing with it. The cherry lines we have don’t require near as many people as they used to because of all the electronic, optical sorting we have now.”
Yakima, Wash.-based Sage Fruit Co. is taking a similar “safety-first” approach, said Chuck Sinks, president of sales and marketing.
“Steps are taken in the warehouse and packing lines to ensure safety comes first across all points of contact with customers’ product,” he said.
“Employees at all facilities are protected with the proper materials to keep a safe distance and still be able to function at a high capacity.”
Working with customers also takes on a new dimension, said Danelle Huber, marketing specialist with Wenatchee, Wash.-based CMI Orchards.
“It seems this situation changes nearly daily as new suggested precautions and regulations are released,” Huber said. “We’ve been focused on being as supportive as possible for our customers, making sure they have the tools they need to stay afloat during these unprecedented times.”
Dealing with the unknown is central to marketing/merchandising plans during these unprecedented times, said Laurel Van Dam, director of sales with Kelowna, British Columbia-based BC Tree Fruits Cooperative.
“Every retailer and other packer that we talk to doesn’t know how consumers globally are going to take to cherries this year,” she said.
“Will COVID-19 and the economic fallout from it hurt overall demand for what some consider a luxury fruit? We’ll be watching the markets closely to see how California and Oregon/Washington do.”
Consumer enthusiasm likely won’t be a problem, said B.J. Thurlby, president of the Yakima, Wash.-based Northwest Cherry Growers, an association representing 2,500 growers in the region.
“I think it’s a very positive sign that produce sales in general were up 17% in April,” he said.
“We’re growers trying to sell cherries, which are much like berries. Strawberries and raspberries are in the top five of all produce items. That gives me real hope that by the time our cherries come out in June, we’ll be coming out of this pandemic, and people will be excited for something different.”
Dan Davis, director of business development with Wenatchee, Wash.-based Oneonta Trading Corp., shared that hopeful view.
“With the uncertainly due to COVID-19 we’re cautiously optimistic for this season,” he said.
Protecting workers
Yakima-based Domex Superfresh Growers is approaching the COVID-19 crisis “with a sense of duty” to employees, communities and customers, said Catherine Gipe-Stewart, communications manager.
“We are adhering strictly to recommendations of the World Health Organization, Center for Disease Control, and other federal and local agencies,” she said.
“Fortunately, we’ve been able to maintain an uninterrupted flow of apples and pears through the pandemic, and we are anticipating the same when cherry season arrives.”
Domex leadership anticipates challenges, but it remains “optimistic that we will continue operate smoothly and deliver cherries through the summer,” Gipe-Stewart said.
COVID-19’s impact on the apple deal provides a likely clue about what it could mean to cherries, said Bill Knight, domestic sales manager with Wenatchee-based Northern Fruit Co. Inc.
“From an apple standpoint, we’re probably at about 75% capacity, packing,” he said. “We’ve lightened up our crews to give everybody more room. We have before and-after to sanitize things.”
Check-in and check-out times for workers are longer, which takes time to organize, Knight said.
“Numbers-wise, we’re about 75-80% capacity,” he said.
“Everything happens a little slower and with a bit more care, but so we don’t get quite as much done.”
The cherry deal likely will work out similarly, Knight said.
“The way our packing is organized, unless something changes, we’re probably going to have to eliminate some drops and packing stations, but we’ll have to wait and see,” he said.
“We’re going through the procedure of hiring extra folks for cherries, as well as apples. We’ve got new technology on cherries and optical sorting, but we still have to have a crew and the way our drops and packing stations are set up, they’re a little too close for our current situation and have to figure something out.”
The Northwest cherry crop likely will fall in the 18 million to 20 million-box range, compared to last year’s take of about 23 million boxes, and that should be a good number to work with this year, given the circumstances, Northwest Cherry Growers’ Thurlby said.
“We think having a little bit smaller cherry crop matches up with our market,” he said.
‘Comfort food’
Cherries are “comfort food,” and that’s just what consumers are looking for during uncertain times, said Blaine Markley, director of domestic sales with Selah, Wash.-based Rainier Fruit Co.
“It’s true that new shopping patterns have emerged, but consumers are also creatures of habit and increasingly resort to traditional and time-tested products — and seasonal products like cherries fit the bill,” she said.
Wenatchee-based Stemilt Growers LLC also is cognizant of changing shopping routines and is responding accordingly, said Brianna Shales, communications manager.
“The changes to shopping patterns at retail is certainly something we are monitoring closely, and we expect more of an emphasis on digital and online with shoppers to last for a while,” she said.
“Fortunately, our marketing efforts at retail can shine in both the physical and online store because we’ve focused our cherry program around differentiating through brands.”
Related content:
COVID-19 updates
Northwest cherry news
