I was looking through some maps online when Russ T. Blade peeked out from behind my monitor. “Rusty,” as regular readers know, is the miniature, imaginary produce manager who occasionally appears to talk shop.
Rusty: Tracing out some Google Maps trips, are we?
Me: Yeah, looking at taking a trip somewhere now that we’re on the cusp of yet another summer. Time to, you know, see some sights and maybe do a little fishing.
Rusty: A trip that doesn’t involve a trade show or a growing area?
Me: Not any longer. Though, I do miss being on the road for those things. It was always a thrill to visit a grower or shipper to see harvests, growing areas and packing facilities.
Rusty: So, someplace like that has to come to mind right off the top of your head. Which buyer trip comes to mind?
Me: Probably the Northwest cherry trip. I went there with a group around 2005. We saw multiple growing areas in Oregon and Washington. I guess I think about that as cherries are just now coming into availability out of California.
Rusty: OK, and we all know that the Northwest deal is right on the heels of California. Seems to me that Oregon and Washington typically start in mid-June, peak in mid- to late July and wind down in early August, depending on the crop size.
Me: The Northwest cherry trip was unreal — all the beautiful rolling hills lined with cherry trees and the packing facilities, with all the rushing clean water within to move the cherries from unloading to packing; I described it as a water park for fresh cherries.
Rusty: As in, cherries get cooled, washed, sized, graded and packed with lightning speed?
Me: You got that right. In retail, cherries remain perhaps the last true seasonal commodity that helps set the produce department apart. With a limited run, fresh cherries are something that customers look forward to each year. When cherries are at peak supply, the sales per square foot are the best in the entire store. So, it pays to market and promote these gems right.
Rusty: My crew is well trained. We set up cherry displays fresh every morning: Don’t break the cold chain, display in more than one area on the sales floor and rotate faithfully. Customers are naturally going to sample the goods, so keep trash cans handy for the pits.
Me: In my trip, I especially recall how the prized yellow-blushed rainier variety was harvested: only in the early hours before the heat of the day set in, picked and immediately cooled in giant field cooling sheds. The delicate rainiers command the highest retail in the category, but wow, I consider the variety to be the best eating fruit of the year, bar none.
Rusty: That’s some compliment, considering the hundreds of produce items you have managed through the years. And all from this one buying trip?
Me: Partly, but also from stocking them year in and year out. The trip was just, you know …
Rusty: Oh, geez — the cherry on top?
Me: You walked right into that one, pal.
Armand Lobato’s more than 50 years of experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions. He has written a weekly retail column for two decades.
