Daisy Girl Leads Branded Organic Apple Sales

CMI Orchards is preparing to have another exceptional year for its Daisy Girl Organics™ brand.   Organic production at CMI Orchards will be in another growth year with volumes projected to increase +67% over last year with plans to expand distribution during the 2018 season.

According to George Harter, Vice President of Marketing at CMI Orchards, Daisy Girl™ continues to be a success in volume, sales and distribution.  “For the third year in a row, Daisy Girl™ is the #1 selling branded organic apple in the U.S.,” said Harter.  “It really shows how much consumers trust and are loyal to the Daisy Girl™ brand.”

“Daisy Girl™ organic sales for last season, ending July, 2018, show an amazing success story for the brand,” said Harter.  “Nielsen data shows Daisy Girl™ sales increased a whopping $5.8m or +23% over the season prior. This growth is exceptional with the huge sales base that Daisy Girl™ commands in the U.S. market. This is the second year CMI’s Daisy Girl™ brand has generated growth upwards of +20%.  Daisy Girl™ branded variety Kanzi® and Honeycrisp lead the way with extreme increases in distribution and sales,” said Harter.

During the 2017 PMA, CMI Orchards introduced their eye catching, easy to execute, Daisy Girl™ Ship’n’Shop display bin, which has proven to be a highly successful merchandising tool in driving sales.  “The pallet display bin ships with 16 cases of organic fruit and is extremely easy to build, creating an instant retail destination for organics,” said Harter.  “Our two-box Daisy Girl™ display is an industry favorite and has helped drive organic sales throughout our customer base,” Harter said.

“We just launched an exciting organic ad campaign to highlight premium branded organic apples, available in Ambrosia, Kanzi®, Kiku®, Envy™, and Smitten™,” Harter explained.  “Visit www.cmiorganic.com to see a case study which demonstrates the effectiveness and success of merchandising using CMI’s Ship’n’Shop bins.  One large U.S. retailer generated an increase in sales of 185%.  We feel confident that these results can be replicated by any retailer that trials our Ship’n’Shop display,” said Harter.  

CMI’s Daisy Girl™ sales reflect a strong consumer response to the two-pound organic pouch bag.  The Daisy Girl™ pouch bag was introduced six seasons ago at a time when packaged organic apple sales were dominated by traditional three-pound poly bags.  “The two-pound Daisy Girl™ Gala has held the position of #1 branded organic apple—across the entire U.S.—for the past three seasons, with no sign of its success slowing down.  According to Nielsen data, Daisy Girl™ has 6 of the top 8 organic two-pound pouch bag items in the branded organic category, providing solid footing for any customers looking to grow their organic business,” said Harter.

Harter says that one of the often-overlooked benefits to packaged organic apples is the shelf flexibility that packages give retailers.  “In the past, co-mingling issues meant organic and conventional apples could not be displayed side by side.  Packaging eliminates this issue and our most successful retail partners have discovered that putting a strong organic brand like Daisy Girl™ pouch bags in a premium up-front position is driving consumer conversions and strong sales gains.”

“The organic apple harvest in Washington is just getting underway with strong prospects for the coming year,” said Harter.  “We have increasing organic acreage coming into production to help drive retail distribution and promotions.  The number of retail stores continues to grow for the Daisy Girl™ brand, with Nielsen data showing +10% increase in store count for the 2017-2018 season bringing the store distribution total to 13,648,” reports Harter.

“We are very excited about the huge opportunities for our upcoming season with CMI’s +67% increase in organic production, our aggressive organic ad campaign and the ever-growing number of stores selling CMI Orchards’ Daisy Girl™ brand,” said Harter.  “We have the tools to drive success for any retailer, and we’re eager to line up some promotions to kick-start this organic season in the best way possible.”

About CMI Orchards

CMI Orchards is one of Washington State’s largest growers, shippers and packers of premium quality cherries, apples, pears and organics.  Based out of Wenatchee, WA, CMI delivers outstanding fruit across the U.S.A. and exports to over 60 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.cmiorchards.com

Source: CMI Orchards