WENATCHEE, Wash. – While many find themselves diving head first into the chips and salsa during Cinco de Mayo celebrations, Stemilt suggests retailers also promote sweet flavors around May 5th. With its iconic name, beautiful red-over-orange hue and unique tropical flavor, Stemilt’s signature apple variety, Piñata®, is the ideal fruit to promote in produce departments during the festive springtime holiday.
“Cinco de Mayo is the prime time for Piñata® apple promotions,” states Roger Pepperl, marketing director at Stemilt. “The holiday is festive, colorful and, here in the United States, all about food and celebration. Piñata®apples have the flavor profile and aura to fit into those celebrations.”
The Piñata® apple is a natural tie-in for Cinco de Mayo promotions due to its bold, tropical-themed packaging, and of course, the fun name of the apple. Piñata® packaging is great for building large in-store displays in high traffic areas. From bulk to branded pouch bags like the 5lb. Apple Lover and 3lb. Lil Snappers®, Stemilt has a wide variety of package types to allow the produce team to get creative with displays regardless of department size.
“Every year, we see highly creative Piñata® displays. Some stores have included pineapples with their displays and others bring the piñata party favor into the display. This apple has lots of personality and can really brighten up the produce department in the spring, all while boosting apple sales,” said Pepperl.
The Piñata® apple is a cross between three heirloom varieties including the Golden Delicious, Cox’s Orange Pippin and Duchess of Oldenburg. Stemilt bought the rights to grow and market the fruit in 2004. Today, Piñata® is a sought-after club apple variety with consumers raving about its unique flavor profile and culinary abilities.
“There are few true culinary apples out there and the Piñata® is one of the standouts,” states Pepperl. “The apple can withstand high heats and baking temperatures, making it perfect to bake with or even sauté. It has a wonderful texture and still maintains its flavor even after it has been heated up.”
Pepperl says that the crop will be hitting stride around Cinco de Mayo making for great availability in a range of sizes and packaging options. It will be available in Stemilt’s industry-leading Lil Snappers® 3lb. pouch bags for kids, as well as a branded 5lb. pouch bag. Stemilt’s has bulk and bag availability on both Artisan Organics™ and conventionally-grown Piñata® apples.
“Piñata® came off the tree in a range of sizes, making it a great apple to promote via bulk and bagged displays. The branded packages are great for driving impulse sales, while our flavorful organic apples are there to please the fast-growing crowd of organic shoppers,” said Pepperl.
Cinco de Mayo won’t mark the end of the Piñata® season, as the apple is available nearly year-round thanks to partnerships with premier grower-marketers in both Chile and Argentina. This allows retailers to continue sales momentum from Cinco de Mayo promotions throughout the summer season.
Stemilt is supporting retailers participating in Cinco de Mayo promotions of its Piñata® apples through a social and digital blast that will reach Millennial and Gen Z consumers nationally on popular food-focused sites and social handles. The company also has many assets, including social media content, to support retail promotions both at and beyond the point-of-sale.
For more information about Piñata® apples for Cinco de Mayo, contact your Stemilt sales representative.
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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 the leading shipper of sweet cherries and one of the nation’s largest suppliers of 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, Instagram, Pinterest, and You Tube.
Source: Stemilt Growers
