Florida strawberry production for Wish Farms should see an increase in volume for 2022-23, says Nick Wishnatzki, public relations manager for the Plant City, Fla.-based grower-shipper.
“In Florida last season, we marketed around 2,100 acres of red strawberries, both conventional and organic, as well as Pink-A-Boo Pineberries,” Wishnatzki said. “This season will be close to a 10% increase, with that number going to around 2,300 acres.”
The crop, Wishnatzki said, is coming on nicely and consistent with expectations.
“There will be ample opportunity for retail promotion as supply starts to ramp in January through February and into March,” Wishnatzki said.
Florida strawberries are very popular within the state, but Wishnatzki said distribution is heavy throughout the U.S. southeast.
“We also ship a significant portion to the mid-Atlantic, Midwest and as far north as Ontario, Canada,” he said.
Marketing push
More than ever, consumers are interested in where their food comes from and how it is grown.
Leaning into that trend, Wishnatzki said Wish Farms is focused on sharing informative footage that brings everyday shoppers to its farm virtually.
“This season, in particular, we will be using video to help tell this story,” he said. “The innovation and hard work showing tractors making the beds and laying plastic with GPS precision, to harvesters planting strawberry plants by hand is eye-opening for most of the general public.”
In addition, he said Wish Farms is working alongside select retail partners to create custom omnichannel campaigns with geo-targeted social media and Google Ads to promote this season.
“By directing consumers to an interactive webpage where they can learn about growing practices and find specific retail locations to purchase Wish Farms berries, it allows us to stay top of mind throughout the season,” he said.
Beyond creating original strawberry recipes, Wish Farms plans to tap into some of the latest food trends circulating on TikTok and Instagram, such as butter boards, hand pies, muffins, healthy smoothies, and infused flavored “pretty water.”
“Research shows that consumers search Instagram and Pinterest on their phones and tablets for unique, but easy recipe inspiration,” he said. “With targeted ads and influencer collaborations, we expect our reach to consumers to be amplified.”
Pink-A-Boo potential
Wishnatzki said Wish Farms is building on last season’s success with Pink-A-Boo Pineberries.
“Our education and awareness campaign was a major marketing win,” Wishnatzki said. “On TikTok, the top six posts featuring Pink-A-Boo Pineberries achieved 42,600 shares, 1.7 million likes, and reached over 10.5 million viewers.”
Together, the popular hashtags of #PinkABoo, #pineberries, #whitestrawberry and #whitestrawberries have over 23.3 million views, he said. Key “foodie” influencers like @foodgod, @stickaforkinme and @clairecouvsmith have all mentioned or posted about them.
Despite the viral success of social media posts about the pineberry, Wishnatzki said a significant segment of the population has not experienced the unique tropical flavor of the variety.
“Having increased our supply this season, we anticipate that it will keep pace with strong demand while providing a nice boost for our retail partners,” he said.
