Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Growers recently finished a major capital project to bring a new electronic pear packing line to its Olds Station facility.
Brianna Shales, marketing director, said the line features Unitec pear-sizing and -sorting technology to increase the marketer’s packing capacity and consistency in size and grade.
“We also have increase bagging capacity for pears,” she said. “This joins our two Thermal Tech TarpLess ripening rooms for pears, and automated distribution center to provide a one-stop shop for pear needs.”
Stemilt has pear orchards primarily located in the Wenatchee and Entiat River Valleys, which Shales said are mountain locales where the best pears are grown.
“We have our own orchards and also market the pear crop for Peshastin Hi-Up growers cooperative,” Shales said. “All of our pears are marketed under the Rushing Rivers label. Stemilt is also a leader in hard-to-grow organic pears, and we are home to a new pear variety, Happi Pear. It’s the first branded pear to hit the market, and we can’t say enough about its eating qualities and flavor.”
There have been moderate changes in pear varieties over the past decades for Stemilt, she said, with the main change being that some specialty pears have decreased in volume.
“The biggest change for us is that Happi Pear has joined our variety mix as our first branded pear,” she said. “We are excited to expand volumes of this as more trees are planted and come into bearing age.”
Crop outlook
The 2024 pear crop is down significantly in volume, Shales said.
“This will be the shortest crop of pears we’ve experienced in 40 years,” she said. “This is because of a winter cold snap that damaged pear buds and led others to have frost markings. For Stemilt, we will be down to half a crop of conventional pears, but our organic pears have increased substantially as we market Hi-Up’s great organic pears again this season. Varietywise, most all are down, but the bosc crop was the most impacted and will have very few this year to market.”
Pouch bag pears have become a part of the category, led by Stemilt Growers’ Lil Snappers 3-pound pouch bag program and 2-pound bag on organic pears, Shales said.
“We have a new poly bag, Frostbite Pears, to help market the frost-impacted fruit this year,” she said. “This is a great value play to help consumers see beyond the look of the fruit, because the flavor is on point.”
While still a small percentage of its overall pear volume, Shales said Happi Pear is a bright spot for Stemilt Growers, showing volume increases from a year ago.
“We will be working closely with retailers to plan pear promotions around the right varieties, help them find value with frost-marked pears and grow organic pear sales with robust promotion opportunities,” she said. “We are encouraging retailers to keep the faith in pears this year during a small volume crop because we are strategically growing pears in the future and need to maintain shelf space and consumer interest in the category.”
Shales said retailers can maximize pear sales by looking for the opportunities within the crop.
“Organics, Frostbite pears, smaller sizes with Lil Snappers, and a fun Happi Pear introduction are all good vehicles to try in a year where you won’t comp the volume you typically sell on pears,” she said.
