Promotable Options Available for an Organic Thanksgiving

Organic leaf items continue to command sky-high prices, and carrots—a Thanksgiving staple for many recipes—are in short supply, but there are still options for organic retail promotions, including fresh organic herbs.

Ethan Abendroth, senior buyer for Earl’s Organic Produce on the San Francisco Wholesale Market, said organic sweet potatoes—always a fan favorite for the turkey-centric holidays—are an excellent produce item to promote over the next two weeks.

Ethan Abendroth, Senior Buyer, Earl's Organic Produce

“Supplies are steady, and all sheds are shipping,” he said of the organic storage sweet potato crop. “Right now, we are seeing very high velocity on organic sweet potatoes with aggressive pricing being offered by growers and distributors.”

Of course, Abendroth added that "aggressive pricing" in the fall of 2022 has a different feel than a year ago. “When you talk about promotions, price points look different. They are at least 10-15 percent higher than a year ago,” he said.

“Supplies are steady, and all sheds are shipping. Right now, we are seeing very high velocity on organic sweet potatoes with aggressive pricing being offered by growers and distributors.” - Ethan Abendroth

Inflation is the culprit as input costs are higher, and growers must be discerning as they offer ad prices. “We’re not asking for rock bottom pricing, just a reasonable cap,” Abendroth said.

Scanning his sales sheet, Abendroth said organic asparagus also offers some promotional opportunities moving into the Thanksgiving holiday and into Christmas. Asparagus from Mexico is ramping up, and supplies should be increasing over the next month.

Rick Kilby, who also handles some vegetables and other crops for Earl’s, chimed in with a few other options. First, he noted that organic leaf items “are still red hot and getting hotter. The storms that hit Salinas and Watsonville this week have ended most of that production. We’re going to be looking toward the desert next week (as the Thanksgiving pull begins) for lettuce.”

Rick Kilby, Buyer, Earl's Organic Produce

Lettuce, Kilby said, is one of the few wet crops that may have some availability out of the desert districts prior to Thanksgiving. Cutting of most other vegetables won’t get started until after the holiday.

Organic carrots are hard to find due to the late summer heat wave in Bakersfield, but one bright spot is organic celery. “Growers planned to have volume available for Thanksgiving, and we are seeing a significant increase in supplies,” Kilby said. Demand for organic celery is very good, with affordable FOB pricing and promotional opportunities for celery for Thanksgiving ads.

“Growers planned to have [organic celery] volume available for Thanksgiving, and we are seeing a significant increase in supplies.” - Rick Kilby

While the organic green onion market is tight, Kilby said the price did come back to earth a couple of weeks ago, and the product should be available for the Thanksgiving shopping list.

Brussels sprouts might make a fine addition to this year’s menu as there is good availability, Kilby said. “And organic Romanesco could be a nice substitute for broccoli, which is scarce right now,” he said.

Lastly organic green beans are a popular Thanksgiving item that will have some availability but at a strong market price. Kilby said organic green bean supplies will be increasing over the next few weeks, but the volume spike will come a bit late for Thanksgiving.

“And organic Romanesco could be a nice substitute for broccoli, which is scarce right now.” - Rick Kilby

Michael Boskovich of Boskovich Farms in Oxnard, CA, agreed that organic celery offers a good opportunity for promotion leading up to Thanksgiving. “The conventional market is tight, and we’ve seen prices rise, but right now organic celery is plentiful,” he said this week.  

Michael Boskovich, Organic Sales, Boskovich Farms

Organic cabbage and organic radishes are two items in good supply that can adorn a Thanksgiving table. “Radishes are a very good option right now,” he said. “We have good supplies.”

Boskovich said organic green onions came down in price a couple of weeks ago, but they are starting to climb back up. “Mexico had a couple of picking holidays last week, and supplies are tight,” he said, guessing that it will be a high-demand item over the next couple of weeks.

“Radishes are a very good option right now. We have good supplies.” - Michael Boskovich

As home cooks get ready to make their Thanksgiving feasts, Duncan Family Farms in Goodyear, AZ, has weighed in to reveal that there are retail merchandising and sales support opportunities for its line of 18 fresh organic herbs.

“During the holiday season, we see the usage of rosemary, sage, and thyme increase by as much as 300 percent,” said Patty Emmert, community relations and marketing manager for the company. “This particular herb trio is known as the poultry blend, and when sold together, can increase sales up to 500 percent. We are happy to offer this special blend to serve consumer demand and offer our customers a product that is highly sought after.”

Patty Emmert, Community Relations and Marketing Manager, Duncan Family Farms

In addition to that popular Thanksgiving blend, Emmert noted that a well-stocked herb section at retail will increase sales: “The holidays provide retailers an opportunity to capitalize on display solutions and cross-merchandising to increase basket rings throughout the season," she said.