As if it isn’t sweet enough that California cherries are the most profitable item in the produce department, this year the California Cherry Advisory Board is making it even easier for retailers to take advantage of the sky-high profits that can be generated during the short California cherry season.
The 2010 California Bing cherry season is on its way and industry information indicates the crop should be plentiful with promotable volume expected beginning with Memorial Day weekend and through June. Timing and volume should be ideal for retailers to make considerable profits on fresh California cherries – provided the cherries are merchandised properly and given the right display space.
According to the California Cherry Advisory Board, category management research continually proves that fresh cherries are one of the most profitable items in the produce department. But all too often, they are not given adequate display space. To be specific, cherries have been shown to generate $201 in profit per square foot of retail space. But, on average, cherries are given only 8 square feet of display space – much less than the space that other lower profit items, like citrus and apples, are given during this time of year.
This year, the Cherry Advisory Board is launching an all-out effort to help retailers understand the profit potential of California cherries. A series of direct mail flyers is on its way to retailers and a simple how-to video that will make it even easier for retail produce departments to merchandise cherries to take full advantage of their profitability.
“We wanted to take advantage of the simple, graphic communications that can be easily disseminated via the Internet,” said Chris Zanobini, who oversees marketing programs for the California Cherry Advisory Board. “The information is meant to educate produce personnel in a fun, fast-paced and entertaining fashion so that making more money becomes easy for retailers who merchandise California cherries properly.”
The California Cherry Advisory Board is also making cherries more simple for consumers with a new “how to” video and step-by-step directions for making a quick homemade cherry pie. The recipe uses pre-made pie crust and a crumb topping, but is designed to deliver all the delicious taste of a homemade cherry pie made from fresh California Bing cherries – but at only a fraction of the work. The video demonstration on how to make this pie is posted on the California Cherry Advisory Board’s website at www.calcherry.com as well as on the very popular WikiHow website.
“Retailers should consider linking this “how to” demo for making fresh Bing cherry pie to their own websites because it’s a simple answer for consumers who want to make their own pies and it’s a recipe that uses about five pounds of cherries for each pie,” said Zanobini. “Like everyone else, the Cherry Board is working hard to utilize the Internet to sell more fruit. This is one way to do it.”
Source: California Cherry Advisory Board