Promotional Opportunities Abound for Stemilt Organic Apples This Storage Season

After an excellent fall harvest, Stemilt organic apples are in good supply—with many opportunities for promotion over the coming months. 

“We fortunately had a great growing year for both conventional and organic apples, so we’re looking at a crop with increased volume and excellent quality in 2024,” said Stemilt’s Marketing Director Brianna Shales. “Last season, a smaller volume crop led to less opportunities for organics and apple promotions. But the tides have changed in 2024 as organic volumes have increased year over year for Washington state by 40 percent.” 

Brianna Shales, Marketing Director, Stemilt

Shales said Galas, Honeycrisps, Fujis, Pink Ladies, and Granny Smiths are all great options for organic apple promotions this year—as are Cosmic Crisps, which have risen in volume due to an increase in organic production. 

“Frequent multi-variety ads and broad display space will be a retailer’s best friend to bring the consumer’s attention to apples,” Shales said. “If you’ve ever wanted to make a New Year resolution around growing apple category performance, this is your year!” 

Shales also suggested bagged apples as an excellent retail offering in 2024.  

“Because this is a big year for apples, we encourage retailers to include bags of Artisan Organics Lil Snappers in their regular apple mix,” she said. “Over the past year, consumers preferred the 3lb bag size to purchase apples in. Of the 43 percent of apples sold in bags during this time period, 74 percent of those were the 3lb size. Lil Snappers is Stemilt’s brand of kid-size fruit that comes in a high-graphic, 3lb pouch bag that stands up on store shelves or in the refrigerator by itself. One of the biggest benefits of carrying Lil Snappers is their ability to do all the merchandising for you—they come in colorful euro cartons and display-ready bags.” 

Shales said Stemilt’s larger Artisan Organics bag is another good option for retailers. “If you’re looking to upsize organic apple purchases, bringing in a 5lb Artisan Organics bag for a short period of time, or as an in-and-out, can be very effective,” she said. “We’re starting to see more retailers carrying this size and seeing success with it.”  

“Last season, a smaller volume crop led to less opportunities for organics and apple promotions. But the tides have changed in 2024 as organic volumes have increased year over year for Washington state by 40 percent.” - Brianna Shales

“The key to success this year will be those multi-variety apple promotions for both conventional and organic,” Shales said, emphasizing this strategy for a second time. “There’s plenty of fun themes to tie apple promotions into at the beginning of the year to get consumers excited for organic apples each month.” 

The EZ Band, an eco-friendly paperboard package Stemilt launched in 2022, is another great option for retailers, Shales said. “There’s a lot of excitement for this package because it provides retailers a scannable solution to ring up bulk-size organic apples. We know bags perform well for organic apples, so the EZ Band has been another good vehicle to highlight organic apples for the consumer who normally would buy bulk.”  

Shales said she’s seen retailers employ different strategies for the EZ Band, with some using it as an in-and-out promotional item and others stocking it consistently. “We’ve received some consumer feedback and appreciation for the package not being plastic,” she added.   

With organic apple demand on the softer side, Shales said this season’s large crop means retailers need to adopt a promotional mindset in order to grow volume and organic’s share of the overall category. “Organics make up 15 percent of apple sales on average across the US, and this is the year to increase that number by focusing on selling more volume,” she said.  

Shales noted that Stemilt keeps its storage apples fresh with the company’s dynamic controlled atmosphere systems. “We have smaller controlled atmosphere rooms for organic fruit, which help improve quality, and frequently open new rooms for packing,” she said. “Packing orders to demand leads to inventory turns and puts freshness in the hands of retailers and consumers.”  

“Over the past year, consumers preferred the 3lb bag size to purchase apples in. Of the 43 percent of apples sold in bags during this time period, 74 percent of those were the 3lb size." - Brianna Shales

Overall, about 25 percent of Stemilt’s apple offerings are organic, and Shales said the company has focused on growing its organic share of the most popular consumer varieties—Fuji, Gala, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith.   

Looking ahead to next season, Shales said it’s still too soon to have much insight into the coming crop.  

“It is early to tell, and we don’t yet know much about crop realities until bloom has come and gone,” she said. “One thing we do know is the storage organic apple season is here and in good supply. We’ll be able to go from one crop to the next with those core varieties on hand. We’re not going to see any gaps, which is assuring when it comes to organics.”