OGC’s VP of Sales & Sourcing Shares How to Capture Sales During the Final Weeks of Summer
The days are getting shorter, and there’s a fresh crispness to the mornings. Seasonal change is upon us once again! Mike Boyle, OGC’s VP of Sales and Sourcing, shares a solid strategy to ensure summer sales remain high until it’s time to switch solidly to fall sets.
Don’t Transition to Fall Too Quickly
As we get past the Labor Day holiday, there’s a natural inclination to feel like summer is winding down, and it’s time to shift retail focus towards the fall harvest. However, moving merchandising plans too quickly into autumn crops can negatively impact performance across the produce department. Particularly this year, with summer in the Pacific Northwest starting late, there are still a lot of high-value commodities left to be picked and sold before making the seasonal shift. Continuing to push summer crops not only ensures that grower partners are supported, but also is key to strong revenue performance for produce departments during this transitional window.
Keep Soft Fruit Commodities Top of Mind
The current warm, sunny weather should also influence us to remain diligent in supporting the last few weeks of summer crops. In general, soft fruit commodities (berries, grapes, melons and stone fruit) are high value and create more consumer impulse purchases when they remain the focus of your merchandising. So prioritizing space and promotions within those categories and keeping summer alive in your department is highly beneficial to capture those sales dollars for as long into September as possible.
Berries
Pay attention to the shifting berry category. Adjust displays to feature the best eating varieties and continue promoting with aggressive retails and in prominent locations. While total volume is declining on Northwest blueberries, the fruit is still eating great and the higher average prices will drive sales in the category. September can also bring some excellent quality California strawberries and raspberries for your customers to enjoy. Merchandise specialty Northwest grown berries, like Ladybug Brand kiwi berries, to add something new and unique to the set and help add incremental sales.
Grapes
Another important category to focus on is grapes. Late summer into early fall is a great time of year for this category from a flavor and quality perspective so give them the merchandising space they deserve. Blend the best of California table grape offerings with Northwest specialty varieties for a highly impactful set.
Melons & Stone Fruit
Continue to push the last stone fruit and melon varieties for the next 10-14 days. You’ll be helping growers finish their seasons strong, and this time of year the flavors are on-point! There are still significant sales to be captured before the category dramatically diminishes for the season.
Select Early Fall Varieties
One way to guide consumers into fall fruit categories is to pick important early varieties, like Honeycrisp apples or Bartlett pears, and build a bountiful set incorporating several varieties of figs adjacent. This blend of hard and soft fruit commodities can drive a lot of interest and sales for your department while giving a very seasonal feel. Then, if you have additional space, rotate other early varieties of apples or Asian pears into the set that consumers can only experience for a short time each year. Jonagold, for example, is an amazing September apple fresh off the tree.
There is plenty of time to merchandise and promote the fall harvest theme from late September through Thanksgiving, so take advantage of all the wonderful summer fruit offerings still available!