Supermarket Perimeter - July 2021 - 47

In addition to apples, Superfresh began shipping organic cherries in
June, supplementing the company's conventional cherry program that
runs through late August.
Organic blueberries will ship from mid-June to the end of August.
For the second
year, Stemilt is
packing premium
organic peaches and
nectarines under its
Top Pick label.
More acreage, longer seasons
Thanks to increased acreage, Yakima, Wash.-based Domex Superfresh
Growers expect to ship more organic apples than ever this year, said
Catherine Gipe-Stewart, the company's communications manager.
Superfresh's high-volume organic varieties - gala, fuji and granny
smith -will ship through July. Galas will be available in promotable
volumes, but fuji and granny supplies will be tighter, Gipe-Stewart said.
And while Superfresh's organic golden delicious, honeycrisp and
pink lady apples wound up in June, they shipped later this year than
they ever have before. Some varieties are seeing huge production
jumps this year, with pink lady leading the way with a more than 200%
increase. The same is true for club varieties: the company's Autumn
Club volumes are up by 35%, and organic Cosmic Crisp volumes more
than doubled.
" We are pleased to extend our offerings to near year-round as our
volume grows, " Gipe-Stewart said. " We will start packing organic gala
and honeycrisp apples in early August, creating a nearly year-round
organic Washington grown program. We highly encourage retailers to
plan aggressive new crop promotions of new crop organic gala and
honeycrisp in August and September. "
About half of Superfresh's blueberries are now organic, and the
percentage continues to increase, Gipe-Stewart said. Organic kiwi
berries will pick up the slack in September after blueberries wind down;
for the first time, this year's crop is 100% organic. Superfresh also is
shipping organic apricots this summer.
Superfresh is also the top grower of organic pears in the United
States, Gipe-Stewart said.
New for the company this year is refreshed Superfresh Organics
branding. What Gipe-Stewart calls " new stately purple packaging " is
available for pears, apples, and cherries.
" The bright pops of color create eye-catching grocery displays, and
the purple signifies to consumers that these products are organic, "
she said.
Better storage, near-year-round coverage
Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Growers expects to ship organic
apples through the summer, said Brianna Shales, marketing director.
" We have great qualities on core varieties like fuji, pink lady, gala and
others to carry retailers through the summer, " she said.
More than 30% of the apples Stemilt grows are certified organic.
Volumes are growing every year, and that growth is focused on the
varieties consumers are clamoring for, Shales said: Honeycrisp, fuji, and
pink lady, as well as up-and-comers like SweeTango.
Organic apples used to have a shorter season,
Shales said. For several years now, however, the
industry has improved storage practices in order
to supply core organic apples for most months
of the year.
SAGE ROLLS OUT NEW ORGANIC CHERRY POUCH BAG
In the 2021 cherry season,
all of the organic dark
sweet cherries marketed
by Yakima, Wash.-based
Sage Fruit will be packed
in new Bio-Able Solutions
pouch bags.
With increased consumer
concerns over singleuse
plastic, as well as a
heightened awareness of
the availability of more
sustainable options, The
Earth-friendly pouches are
a perfect fit for Sage, said
Chuck Sinks, president of
sales and marketing.
" We are actively seeking
alternative solutions to
traditional packaging, "
he said. " Unfortunately,
traditional plastics do
not rapidly degrade in
our natural setting, and
if they are not properly
recycled, they build up
in landfills, pollute the
environment and disrupt
our ecosystems. "
Bio-Able Solutions packs
directly addresses plastic
and food packaging
sustainability, he said.
supermarketperimeter.com
Enabled with bioassimilation
technology,
|the bags are 100%
recyclable and uniquely
formulated to fully
degrade in both marine and
terrestrial environments,
leaving behind zero microplastic
waste.
The pouches are ASTM
5526 certified, ASTM
6954 Tier 1 certified and
FDA-approved.
JULY 2021 - 47
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Supermarket Perimeter - July 2021

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