Stone fruit is one of the few remaining truly seasonal categories, available only ‘in season’ and not year-round. This elusiveness creates excitement for eaters of all ages, so don’t let them down – feature these juicy gems by providing fruit that creates strong loyalty and repeat business. Flavors vary widely, from delicate apricots and fragrant yellow peaches to downright sweet cherries and floral white nectarines. Each type has distinct characteristics and seasonal peaks that are important to understand when looking at promotions, display options and pricing.

While the berry category is known for being a huge driver in department success, in total sales dollars, cherries and other stone fruit may generate a summer sales spike. Having the best-eating fruit can be a strong differentiator, and key to moving units is pricing. Sacrificing margin percentage on stone fruit with the goal of achieving an attractive price point will keep fruit moving, avoid waste and move more cases.

Customers buy with their eyes. With stone fruit, larger sizes can be more appealing and even taste better. Premium fruit sizing on peaches and nectarines is 40-52 ct., and on cherries 10 row and larger. Plums vary in size; larger-sized varieties can sell through quicker as it takes fewer purchases to move the case.

“While it's tempting to buy for the price, winning customers over will always be about rewarding them with great eating, juicy organic fruit that they remember,” encourages Jeff. “In offering something average, you lose the opportunity to be a differentiator.”

The key to displaying peaches, nectarines and apricots is to have a large footprint so that the fruit is noticeable without stacking more than 2 to 3 fruits high; daily rotation is critical.

Great peaches and nectarines are picked at about 10-11% pressure and can bruise if not handled correctly. Over stacking can create store-level waste and lead to bruised fruit for customers when they get it home.

Plums and cherries are much hardier and can be stacked more aggressively. Rotation on plums is needed and it’s essential to keeping cherries fresh and sellable.

Plan Display Space and Position Based on Sales

While selection is important, be sure when allocating space that it's based on sales:

Make yellow peaches and nectarines prominent; feature white flesh types adjacent with good color breaks.
Focus on plum and pluot varieties that are eating best. Talk to your OGC Account Representative about selecting the best basic set of six to eight varieties (red, black, green/yellow, dapple, etc.), featuring key favorites as they cycle through as the season progresses.
When considering merchandising, cherries will drive the strongest impulse sales, even at the highest retail. Place them front and center.

Focus on what tastes great and sales will grow!

What Does Tree Ripe Mean?

While many growers/shippers talk about “tree ripe,” it’s more of a concept and way of waiting to harvest than a defined term. Stone fruit continues ripening after it has been picked, and maturity, pressure and sugar content at time of harvest can impact the ripening time at store level or on the kitchen counter. Tree-ripe fruit takes less time to be ready to eat, needing only a couple of days at room temperature.

Did you know that if stone fruit is left on trees for too long, the fruit loses its balanced sweet acid flavor, and the juicy but firm texture dissipates? Stone fruit harvesting is a true art form, and picking the best box of fruit combines science and experience; partnering with great growers makes all the difference in the world. No one does this better than OGC’s Stone Fruit Buyer, Brian Keogh. Read on to learn about the importance of hang time.

Three Tips for Selecting Stone Fruit for your Department

#1 Variety is Important. OGC sources stone fruit by variety for each specific window, ensuring only the best when it comes to sugar, acid, flavor, texture and size. Our Buyers understand variety and partner with growers who help us source the best varieties in each window of time, and our growers’ years of experience in the orchard mean we consistently deliver unbelievable fruit to produce departments. All varieties of stone fruit are usually picked 2-3 times at most during the season. That means that depending on the region and how early or late growers wait to pick, any given variety is only available for 10-14 days. This presents an exciting opportunity to create a dynamic promotional plan that inspires shoppers to discover something new.

#2 Hang Time. While there are rules on when the fruit is mature enough to pick, it varies from 12-14 lb. pressure to as low as 8-10 lb. The lower the number, the softer the fruit. Most stone fruit is picked at higher pressure, making it easier to ship and reduce waste; fruit picked on the green side, while potentially developing some, even good flavor, will never reach its potential in either flavor and certainly not the texture eaters look for.

#3 Brix. People love sugar and Brix is a measurement of sugar in produce. Each variety of stone fruit has a different Brix that growers look at when they pick. Yellow peaches and nectarines can vary from 9-14%; cherries can be as high as 20-24%. While sugar is important, it’s not as critical as variety and pressure. Some varieties don’t develop as high a Brix, but a great sugar-to-acid ratio still creates amazing flavor quality.

Good growers watch the fruit on borders of their orchards, where sun exposure is strong, to see when it’s turning, taste the fruit and decide if it’s time to pick. Weather is also considered, with the growers asking themselves, “Can I wait a day or two? Who is my customer, and what do they want from the fruit I offer?”

One last thing to note is that the first pick is generally the best. The first pick comes from the top of the trees with the most sun—fruit experiencing the most heat units is the best.

Apricots & Apriums

Apricot season starts in early May out of California, with Northwest flowing from the end of June into mid-July. The difference between varieties is significant. Many great classic eating varieties have given way to hardier ones bred to handle retail versus flavor.

A few types, like Blenheim apricots, are regarded as classic, delicate varieties and offer a great eating experience. The Blenheim ripens from the inside out, so they’re picked when their skin still has a green cast. Picking tree ripe can also make a big difference. Apricots are very delicate, so avoiding overhandling or over displaying them is critical.

Like berry breeding, growers realize that for apricot popularity to take off, they need to find the winners — varieties with that rich traditional apricot flavor like Robada, Kylese, Golden Sweet and Goldbar.

Aprium varieties have, for the most part, become good-eating apricots. Flavor Delight and Tasty Rich are two offerings that most growers now just sell as apricots. Newer to the scene are white apriums such as the Cot’n Candy, a medium-size variety, which has incredible, sweet, juicy flavor. Expect to see more options in the coming years.

Cherries Are a Big Draw

Of all our fruits, cherries have the most upside potential for driving impulse purchases and sales. When shoppers see big dark cherries at a “fair price,” they spend.

Cherry sizing is based on the number of cherries to make a solid row across a “cherry box.” The smaller the number, the fewer cherries it took to fill a row, meaning a larger cherry. Cherry pits are all about the same size, so the larger the cherry, the more flesh relative to the pit.

While shoppers believe the more mahogany the color, the sweeter the flavor, every variety matures in different colors. Coral is traditionally redder, and Chelan is deep purple. Still, “color sells.” When selecting cherries, there is a balance between cost, retail and margin.

Cherry types are divided into red Dark Sweet and yellow blushed Rainier. Several varieties are seasonally offered in the dark sweet category, with Bing being the most famous and certainly one of the best.

Cherry growers continue to find the “What’s Next” by experimenting with lighter-colored varieties with a tarter flavor, to classic pie cherries with Dark Sweet dominating the category. Most cherry lovers see Rainier as the pinnacle.

Rainier is hard to grow because of its delicate nature, which causes it to bruise easily due to windy conditions, packing, trucks bouncing around and retailers not handling them carefully. Great Rainier cherries can be above 25 Brix with a dark red color around a warm yellow background. It’s essential with this variety to keep inventory tight, rotate often, not over-display and be okay with charging a price to get the best fruit.

“Make a little less of a margin and make many friends! There may not be any more iconic fruit than Rainier cherries,” Jeff shares from years of experience.

There are three distinct cherry seasons. The import season out of the Southern Hemisphere is very short, with organic supplies available for two weeks from the end of December into early January. California cherries start in early May, with the best varieties available at the end of May into early June. Early varieties are characterized as lighter in color and smaller without the eye appeal we see with the later varieties, where there is both size and fuller color.

Northwest cherries start mid-June and typically last into early August, peaking around the Fourth of July. No place in the world grows better cherries than the Northwest. They’re that special!

OGC Buyer Brian Keogh notes that this year’s season is unique. Frosty weather in the spring damaged berries in the north and harvest volumes are down across the Northwest. The season will be very compressed and end by July 20th. Rainier could end the first week of July and Oregon cherries will arrive around the Fourth of July holiday. Capitalize on those sales while fruit is available!

Peaches & Nectarines

Over the past 50 years, modern agriculture almost ruined the peach and nectarine markets, with varieties bred and grown to produce fruit grown to ship across the country while limiting waste at the retail end. Fruit that is more apple-like than the peach everyone remembers but now seldom experiences.

The good news is that breeders realize the need to develop varieties that offer good flavor and appealing color. Unfortunately, most shippers still pick early to ship, never giving the fruit the time to mature to a point where it's succulent, rich and sweet with a juicy experience that requires a sink.

OGC sources from a collection of certified organic, artisan growers who understand the potential of peaches and nectarines, carefully selecting varieties, being diligent when to pick and are careful in handling them to offer fruit lovers something to savor, remember and become committed eaters. This is the beauty of having the best stone fruit.

Jeff says, “It's less about all the dollars and more about becoming known as the place to get the very best; customers who love peaches and nectarines will seek them out if available, reward you with repeat business and, maybe most importantly, tell their friends where to get a peach you eat with a towel!”

There are hundreds of selections within the peach and nectarine category, some starting as early as late April and others not maturing until late September. In the Northwest, harvest starts early/mid-July and goes through September.

Yellow peaches and nectarines can be categorized as “traditional” or sub-acid; most white flesh varieties are sub-acid. Breeding sub-acid varieties accelerated with the opening of the Asian market, where people eat their fruit firm, more like an apple, looking for sweet flavor. Over time, most sub-acid varieties of peaches have been phased out as customers seek more acid to balance the sugar and give the fruit a more complex, rich and pleasing peach flavor.

Yellow and white nectarines are split with close to 50% sub-acid, as customers love the sweetness of a white nectarine. Sub-acid fruits will have either “Honey” or “Sweet” in their name. In trials, the love of sub-acid nectarines versus traditional (much higher in acid) varies from customer to customer, but understanding your customer and preferences is a win for everyone.

The ideal size for peaches and nectarines is 40-52 ct. This is where you get the best flavor and eye appeal. While big is typically more tasty, smaller can offer a price point and appeal to families who select fun-size fruit for kiddos. Know your shoppers and what fruit sizes and price points are relevant to their needs and strike the right balance.

While it’s worth noting varieties that are favorites, they vary to a degree every year due to growing conditions, and just as eaters find a favorite, harvest is over and it’s on to the next variety. One constant is the importance of learning about farmers, their growing practices and their commitment to carefully picking the best-eating varieties and letting the fruit hang.

“When displaying peaches and nectarines, you’re handling something special and delicate, something almost to be revered,” says Jeff. “Selling a great peach and nectarine is a gift, an art, something to strive to achieve!”

White-fleshed and donut varieties remain available with less demand than their traditional counterparts but prized for their floral flavors. At this point, white nectarines have more success, delivering a richer, sweeter flavor than their peach counterparts. Donut varieties are available and considered a fun novelty rather than an everyday offering.

Plums

Over the past 20 years, the plum category has seen incredible change. The traditional Japanese and European varieties have been replaced with larger, sweeter varieties and most varieties have bred out the bitter skin that was so prevalent in the early times.

Introduce eaters to a basic assortment of four to six plum types, including at least one black plum, preferably with dark red flesh, a red plum, a dapple variety and a yellow/green plum. Aim for a strong assortment without creating complexity that may slow sales.

Big plums may sell the best, while smaller varieties can have excellent flavor too or hit a certain price point. For example, Santa Rosa is a fan favorite. Black Diamond and Black Splendor provide an early-season flavor punch.

Bring Excitement with Interspecific Varieties: Pluots, Pecotums & Nectoplums

In today’s produce landscape of all the interspecific varieties, pluots are the ones that have caught on. In the 30s, breeders started cross-pollinating different plums, apricots, peaches and even cherries to come up with fruit that would have some of each variety's characteristics, looking to find the best of both. There are no GMOs; it just takes hard work and years to go from cross-pollinated fruit to selling quantities.

Pluots are plum x apricot crosses that look like ordinary plums, with many having complexity and flavor that have taken the plum category by storm. At one time, some growers had upwards of 40 different varieties, now realizing growing a few great plums and pluots is the sweet spot to maximize sales.

Starting light in June, peaking mid-July to August, pluots are different than other stone fruits where customers have savored varieties— eaters want to know by name what they are buying.

Honey Punch is the most common and very beloved. Flavor Grenade, Flavorosa, Flavor King and Flavor Supreme are among the best. And for yellow pluots, the Emerald Beaut is special. There are a ton of great choices. The pluot breeders have found winners, with Zeiger Genetics leading the innovation out of California. It’s an opportunity to take shoppers from feeling neutral about plums to truly loving pluots.

There is a whole range of one-off selections that, while rare, are so special that offering them will truly differentiate the store. For example, Spice Zee nectoplum is amazing; the fruit is almost black and a blend of nectarine and plum — you have to eat it to believe it. Flavorella plumcot is seldom grown due to the challenges in cropping, with Verry Cherry plums gaining sales yearly. These interspecific varieties will continue to make their way onto the market to delight eaters who love the best fruit and great stories.

Focusing on varieties that deliver great flavors and maintaining careful handling and display practices will reward you with strong shopper loyalty, and the word will spread about your store being the place to find the best fruit.