Sampling program for Florida peaches expands
Shoppers will again have the chance to sample Florida peaches as production gets going toward the end of March and beginning of April.
Six retail chains plan to work with the Florida Specialty Crop Foundation to sample the fruit in 165 stores, said executive director Sonia Tighe.
“We did that last year in a limited number of stores, and the sales lift figures were just excellent, so we expanded that this year,” Tighe said.
In addition, Florida peaches will be on ad for 970 stores across three chains.
The foundation has partnered with the state’s Fresh From Florida program on those marketing efforts, which are funded by a specialty crop block grant.
Other elements of the program include consumer outreach via social media and trade advertising.
The foundation has been working to get potential buyers familiar with the basics of Florida peaches, which are unique in several respects.
“We really focused on the fact that the time frame is mid-March to early May, and that they are a tree-ripened crop,” Tighe said. “They are an entirely different crop than a Georgia peach or a California peach, so we’ve had to do some education at the retail level on how to handle it and also what our market window is.”
The foundation is writing another grant request, hoping to receive support for another two years of promotional efforts.
The organization will submit its request by the end of March, will know by the summer whether that request will be included in the state package, and then will wait to hear whether it is approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If everything goes as planned, more funding will then be available in January.
Florida peach production has expanded significantly in the past decade, and Tighe said there is room for even more growth.
“There are still some chains that we would like to get into that we have not been able to get into yet, so I do think there is potential for growth,” Tighe said. “As the trees mature we expect more volume even from the acreage we have, so we want to grow that market so that we can handle all the volume that comes out.”
