Pear Merchandising Wrap Up

Pear Merchandising Wrap Up. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

We’ve been doing a series on the challenges and issues surrounding pear merchandising. At a recent panel discussion one of the topics were the innovations. Tim Evans with Chelan Fresh.

EVANS: From a social media perspective, Randy mentioned QR Codes and being able to scan the barcode, there’s actually an app out there where you can actually scan the barcode, take you to the grower video and like you said get his pulse but the more we do to educate the consumer like that I think it’s a huge opportunity for us.

Scott Marboe discusses the importance of packaging.

MARBOE: You have to find different ways to grab the consumers attention and grab their eye to make an impulse purchase with it. I know we’ve done some certain things with smaller size pears and clamshells that they’ve been really beneficial to growers and the industry as well as getting people to buy it.

Another innovation is sliced pears. Domex Superfresh Growers Howard Nager.

NAGER: When you look at innovation and you look at technology just look what’s happened in the produce industry over the past 10 years with the value added categories. Who would have thought that chopping up lettuce and putting it in a bag and selling it for $4.99 a bag was going to work. How can we take this product and provide a value added product to consumers that makes it easy, affordable, efficient. Thats on the horizon as well.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.