Spark Post Independence Day Sales With Stemilt's Kyle's Pick Cherries

WENATCHEE, Wash. – Start your post Fourth of July cherry sales off with a bang by giving your consumers what they want: big, sweet cherries. Kyle’s Pick™ premium cherries will deliver Stemilt’s highest quality cherries with the best flavors, largest sizes, and immense firmness beginning the second week of July.

“July will be a big month with promotable cherry volumes, and can be made even bigger with Kyle’s Pick™ cherries,” said Roger Pepperl, marketing director at Stemilt. “Kyle’s Pick™ is a premium cherry program where we reserve the best varieties, largest sized fruit, and dessert flavors for specially marked packs to leverage impulse sales during this important promotion time.”

Stemilt’s cherry king, Kyle Mathison, is a fourth generation grower who dedicates his time to find and grow the best varieties from around the world. Premium varieties like Skeena and Sweetheart along with Bing from the renowned Stemilt Hill locale, can all be found in the Kyle’s Pick™ program. Skeena, a variety that originated in Canada is a luxurious cherry, with big sizes, extreme firmness and an explosive flavor that will play a large part in Kyle’s Pick™ packs. Pepperl encourages retailers to push advertisements and promotions around big cherries with exceptional flavors to bolster impulse buys.

“Cherries are primarily an impulse buy,” states Pepperl. “Retailers need to supply big and beautiful looking cherries that capture the attention of the consumer.” Pepperl also recommends that retailers promote Kyle’s Pick™ cherries through large displays in areas of heavy traffic that will increase impulse purchases. Pop-up display bins can be used to build large displays, or for a secondary display location.

Sharing the flavor promise and Kyle’s passion with shoppers via the Kyle’s Pick™ program is another way to successfully merchandise cherries in July. According to a recent survey, nearly 60% of consumers said that they did not know enough about their food and that it is difficult to find out information about how food is grown, processed, transported and sold. At Stemilt, transparency is applauded.

“We want retailers to share as much information about our products as possible and Kyle’s Pick™ is a great program to start with. Kyle has embarked upon this incredible journey to produce high quality, flavorful, and big-sized cherries. Each cherry that enters into a Kyle’s Pick™ bag has the quality standards approved by Kyle himself, truly making these cherries, Kyle’s Pick.”

The Mathison family has been growing cherries on Stemilt Hill for over 100 years, and Kyle’s been leading Stemilt Hill cherry harvest for more than four decades. Stemilt Hill has exceptional growing conditions that help contribute to the high quality of Kyle’s Pick™ cherries. The region’s microclimate protects the cherries from heat during the summer days while cool night air allows cherries a break to reenergize and gain full luster and sugars.  The volcanic soils within this microclimate possess rich, unique nutrients that feed the trees and provide strength. 

Kyle also creates high quality, natural compost from regenerating green waste from Stemilt orchards and packing facilities. “Kyle’s works hard to deliver the best quality cherries possible. His ‘prescription food’ aka his compost is all-natural and a great source of nourishment that allow his trees to flourish, especially when combined with the volcanic soils,” states Pepperl.  “Clearly, his tactics are working because his cherries are the biggest and best.”

Stemilt will harvest and pack Kyle’s Pick™ cherries in both pouch bags and clamshells through mid-August, until the company transitions to its high-elevation locales and unique A Half Mile Closer to the Moon™ cherry program. With more selling weeks in this cherry season than the last due to a lack of compression among varieties and growing districts, it’s important the retailers plan promotions for cherries all July and well into August. 

“Retailers who build momentum with Kyle’s Pick™ in July and then follow up with Moon cherry promotions in August will see great cherry category results, which is vital given that these seasonal fruits contribute 3.5 percent of total produce dollars all year,” said Pepperl.

##

About Stemilt

Stemilt Growers is a leading tree fruit growing, packing and shipping company based in Wenatchee, Washington. Owned and operated by the Mathison family, Stemilt is a leading shipper of sweet cherries and organic tree fruits. Stemilt has also demonstrated a commitment to sustainable agriculture and social responsibility since 1989, when founder Tom Mathison launched the company’s Responsible Choice program. For more information about Stemilt, visit www.stemilt.com and follow Stemilt on Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube.

Source: Stemilt Growers