Amid the coronavirus pandemic, video conferencing is the new thing with Yakima-based Northwest Cherry Growers, said B.J. Thurlby, president.
“We’re doing all our retail and marketing calls on Zoom and go-to media,” he said. “It seems to be working well, the ability to speak to a retail group through your computer.”
It’s an efficient system, he said.
The organization, which represents about 2,500 growers in the Pacific Northwest, also has been working on getting the word out on cherries as a health food, Thurlby said.
“We’ve worked hard over the last decade to build a really strong health message, and we’re seeing more people shopping online than before,” he said.
The organization has been working on an online promotion for years, and it is ramping up those efforts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thurlby said.
“We’re really seeing an opportunity this year,” he said. “We have promotional dollars to try to improve our position in the market, get online. Seventy percent of cherry sales are impulse.”
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