Blink and you just might miss the Pacific Northwest cherry season. This limited crop is highly coveted by consumers, boasting the perfect blend of juiciness, crunch, and flavor. As the weather warms up, those cherry trees blossom, and soon retail displays are filled with red-hued fruit. Being a source of knowledge for shoppers is key, so take a few insights from these category experts…
“To capture the attention of shoppers, retailers should deploy omnichannel campaigns that showcase cherries as a summer indulgence packed with nutrients and versatile in recipes. Drive category growth through intentional promotions, cross merchandising, and integrated consumer cues that trigger excitement. Promotions should be prominent both in-store and online as customers search e-commerce sites for seasonal inspiration. After a few tougher years, the 2024 cherry season brought a fresh wave of excitement: bigger and better cherries, higher shipments, and increased promotions. FirstFruits Farms is all in on another successful season, bringing shoppers more of what they love with our exclusive Gem Drops packaging—because summer just isn’t summer without cherries.”
“Cherries are a superfood for a reason! Packed with vitamin C, potassium, fiber, antioxidants, and melatonin, they’ll help reduce inflammation, improve heart health, and even get you a better night’s sleep. With countless ways to connect to our customers, we can help folks live a healthier life when we explain why food like this truly is medicine. The fast and furious Northwest season is nearly here. In our office, we like to say take your vitamins, but maybe we should start saying eat your cherries!”
“Cherries are vitally important to the produce department every summer, and Stemilt is the only grower-packer-shipper in the United States with a cherry season that runs from the season start to its finish line! It’s very cliché to say, but the one area buyers can focus on to make their cherry category successful each year is to work closely with the supply peaks and valleys to promote cherries at the right moment. Missing the key promotion windows or promoting cherries at the wrong time can make a difference in dollar performance this category brings to the produce department every summer. Stemilt and Category Partners surveyed 2,000 U.S. cherry consumers last summer and found that cherry buyers are loyal, with quality as the top driver in purchases. Consumers associate quality with price, so using cherries as a loss leader isn’t the best strategy for sales growth.”
“At CMI Orchards, our passion for exceptional conventional and organic cherries shines through every harvest. Our signature Nature’s Candy™ program features Sweet Red and Rainier cherries, while our XXL program packs the biggest, juiciest cherries we grow. CMI’s extensive portfolio spans from Strawberry cherries—with bright ruby hues, creamy white flesh, and a hint of berry flavor—to our coveted Skylar Rae® cherries, which are supremely sweet, crunchy, and bursting with flavor. We’re also proud to offer our American Dream® cherry program, a patriotic, flag-themed promotion perfect for Fourth of July displays. With a meaningful give-back component supporting military and veteran charities, this program celebrates the spirit of the season while driving cherry sales. With innovative packaging, POS, and retail tools, we offer a one-stop shop for capitalizing on Washington’s brief yet spectacular cherry season.”
“Cherries are in peak season when customers are enjoying their summer and can be a great impulse purchase. We encourage buyers to be aware that each season is different and presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities each year. A winning cherry season can be attributed to intentional merchandising, with fruit prominently displayed, and at a price that represents value to the customer. National retailer data shows that cherries are purchased by all demographics throughout the season, regardless of cost. However, sales increased significantly when prices dropped during peak season. Omni-channel pricing is extremely important in grabbing consumer attention and guaranteeing a ring.”
“What we’ve seen on the trees this season is a crop of ample volume and high quality. This crop will be ideal for retailers pushing cherry promotions as well as the cherry-loving consumers who add them to their baskets. Washington gets started at the beginning of June, and the season will run through August, if not later. The weather in this region has been ideal for early cherry development, and that’s crucial to good quality. Northwest cherries are harvested in a very high-quality manor that ensures a good shelf-life. We really take care as an industry to harvest the fruit correctly, and it shows in the high quality of our product.” 
