Glassboro, NJ – The New Jersey Peach Promotion Council (PPC) has produced an original video, available for the 2014 selling season, especially for produce retailers, wholesalers, shippers, distributors, and packers on what to look for in selecting, displaying and selling Jersey-grown peaches. "Nothing beats a Jersey peach!" says grower John Hurff of Schober Orchards, and the PPC wants to assure that buyers get the very best and display them to best advantage.
The video is meant to assist produce directors, managers and bin stockers, with helpful hints for storing and displaying. “Jersey peaches lend themselves to prominent, colorful displays,” says Jerry Frecon, Rutgers pomology professor emeritus and a spokesperson for the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council.
The DVD illustrates:
- How peaches are hydro-cooled to 32 degrees (F) and how markets can keep them at that temperature until put on display for sale.
- How peach displays should be rotated, with longest displays in front, harder shorter displays in back of bins. Check for softness and keep softer fruit in front
- How packing houses can pack to retail specifications: baskets, egg-crates, boxes, bulk Special bubble packaging, etc.
- How packing houses use electronic weight and sizing machinery for exact 2 ¾ inch diameters, demanded by most retailers
Studies show that consumers will pay for quality, and they choose Jersey-grown peaches in season over peaches from out of state, because of their superior quality. With closeness to major markets, Jersey peaches are picked by hand at optimum maturity, when color, flavor and sugars are high, and can be available to markets the same day, thus preserving the sugars and juice
“Get to know your supplier, our growers,” says Frecon. “You're always welcome to visit any of the orchards, peach wholesalers, packers, or distributors.”
The New Jersey Peach Promotion Council has a variety of collateral available to help markets sell this ‘favorite fruit of summer,’ including the annual Peach Buyers Guide, a consumer video that can be shown on a market’s closed-circuit TV loop, large banners, and brochures.
To order a DVD and or other collateral, contact the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council by email at info@jerseypeaches.com, or via facebook.com/newjerseypeaches.
The New Jersey Peach Promotional Council is a non-profit voluntary organization of growers, shippers, wholesalers and associated industries dedicated to maintaining a viable peach industry in the Garden State through the orderly marketing and promotion of NJ peaches.
Source: The New Jersey Peach Promotional Council
