Sell cranberries on their nutritious and candy qualities — at the same time

As those shining garnet globes pop up in stores this fall, don’t forget to market the functional health benefits, as well as snacking opportunities and recipe versatility of your fresh and dried cranberries.

Fresh cranberries are available at retail September to January, and the dried cranberries that often line the shelves in fresh produce departments can cover all the rest of the months.

North American-grown cranberries are a pretty sustainable crop, too.

Cranberries are a perennial crop, so they come back year after year, avoiding soil erosion and tillage, Cranberry Marketing Committee board member and Massachusetts grower Adrienne Mollor said in a marketing video.

“Crops that have been in the ground the last five years, 10 years, 20 years and 100 years are still producing crops today,” she said.

Learn more: Cranberries

Small cranberry-farming families still play an important role in the harvest, according to Ocean Spray, one of the world’s largest producers of cranberry products, including fresh. The average cranberry farm has been handed down for 2.5 generations, so the farmers been harvesting the same bogs for generations. About 25% of farmers at Ocean Spray are fourth generation or greater.

So, tell that farmer story on your signage and social media to sell your cranberries.

The committee also recommends sharing these messages in promotions to increase sales:

• Cranberries are “America’s Original Superfruit” and one of three commercially grown fruits native to only North America.
• A serving of fresh or frozen cranberries contains 7 milligrams of vitamin C and 1.8 grams of fiber, and provides polyphenols not commonly found in other fruits. Cranberries may also help maintain urinary tract health.
• All forms of cranberries are versatile and can be added to sweet or savory recipes and drinks.

Check out USCranberries.com/retail for more tools to drive cranberry sales.

At the New England Produce Council’s Produce, Floral and Foodservice Show Aug. 24-25, in Boston, U.S. Sales Manager Janice Stallone said that Decas Farms, based in Carver, Mass., joined with Fruit d’Or, a large organic cranberry grower based in Villeroy, Quebec, and its Patience Fruit & Co. brand.

“So, we’re working on innovation,” she said.

A member of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association, Decas grows and sells fresh cranberries but also a variety of dried packs and snack packs. The Decas Farms LeanCrans dried cranberries with 50% less sugar and no artificial ingredients are the fastest-growing items, now carried by the Market Basket retailer in New England.

And the Patience Fruit brand launched three flavors of SourCran sour candies made with organic cranberries and no added sugar, artificial sweeteners, colors or dyes.

“It has four ingredients, and it goes next to those SmartSweets candies,” Stallone said.

The idea? “When fruit is candy,” the marketing material says.

Cranberries are also ripe for agritourism.

By the end of August, Massachusetts cranberries were getting ready for harvest, and bog tours were scheduled to start by the end of September.

Of course, imports are an option: The U.S. imported 114.5 million pounds of fresh cranberries in 2021, mostly from September to December, according to the USDA.

Wisconsin is the largest cranberry-producing U.S. state.

Domestic cranberry production has been steadily declining in the largest regions over the last decade, with the Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota region as top producer, followed by the Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut region, according to the Cranberry Marketing Committee. Then, come the production fluctuations of New Jersey and Oregon, neck and neck, followed by Washington.

The report showed these states produced millions of pounds of cranberries for fresh and processed markets.

Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota:

• 2021: 390 million pounds
• 2020: 460 million
• 2019: 490 million
• 2018: 530 million
• 2017: 530 million

Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut:

• 2021: 160 million pounds
• 2020: 190 million
• 2019: 200 million
• 2018: 220 million
• 2017: 180 million

New Jersey:

• 2021: 57 million pounds
• 2020: 51.4 million
• 2019: 44.8 million
• 2018: 44.8 million
• 2017: 42.3 million

Oregon:

• 2021: 48.8 million pounds
• 2020: 54.6 million
• 2019: 51.5 million
• 2018: 54.5 million
• 2017: 47.4 million

Washington:

• 2021: 15.8 million pounds
• 2020: 18.6 million
• 2019: 14.2 million
• 2018: 18.1 million
• 2017: 13.1 million