WENATCHEE, Wash. – And just like that, fall equinox has arrived. As most of us scramble to dig out sweaters and coats from the back of the closet, Stemilt Growers is already planning for the holidays and ready to promote the spookiest holiday yet – Halloween! Stemilt is unleashing its second holiday-themed 5lb pouch bag to encourage high volume apple sales in produce departments around the country.
“The Halloween themed bag is a great way for retailers to get into the spooky holiday spirit all while being able to decorate their produce department shelves easily,” states Brianna Shales, communications manager at Stemilt. “These bags are fun to look at, capture the eye of the consumer and push high volumes of apples – a win for all parties involved.”
Stemilt will begin loading the Halloween-themed 5lb pouch bag October 2 and will continue through October 20, giving retailers plenty of time before Halloween to increase sales volumes. Varieties available to be packed include Gala, Fuji, Pink Lady®, Red Delicious and Granny Smith. Approximately eight bags ship in Stemilt’s Inspiration Orchard™ display ready carton (DRC).
“The Halloween pouch bag is a great in-and-out item for October, which is an important time for apples because of the attention garnered through National Apple Month. It’s the same size as our Apple Lover’s bags, which many are using as an everyday item, and available in key varieties to help bolster those apple sales,” said Shales.
Stemilt has found great success with their Apple Lover’s 5lb bag since releasing it in 2016. The bag is ideal for capturing the once-a-week shopper and perfect for families planning holiday meals.
“October is apple season and these holiday-themed bags are a fun way to drive sales during a time when many have apples on their mind already,” states Shales. “More time is spent in the kitchen baking and cooking in the fall, so retailers should capitalize on this and push this Halloween-themed 5lb bag to move volume and see an increase in sales dollars during this season.”
In 2016, Stemilt created their first holiday-themed bag during the Christmas season, which followed a candy-cane look. It will be back again later this year following a successful launch.
“When we released the 5lb Christmas themed pouch bag last year, it was quite the hit,” states Shales. “So we wanted to piggyback off that success and celebrate Halloween with festive packaging and fall’s favorite flavors of apples.”
Stemilt is just past the first peak of its apple harvest, and is seeing great qualities and finish on the varieties it has harvested so far. Sizing is down slightly over last year, making for more bagged fruit opportunities to move volume.
“This time of year is great for apples. We have fresh, high quality apples coming off the trees and the cool weather encourages consumers to bake and plan for their holiday menus,” states Shales. “These bags will only continue to encourage those actions.”
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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
