Stemilt packaging goes green for St. Patrick’s Day

Stemilt is looking to St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 to promote its larger-sized Granny Smith apples. The company will place a decorative leprechaun sticker on its “Apple Lover’s” 5-pound pouch bags to help retailers promote the Granny Smith apples alongside St. Patrick’s Day, while simultaneously driving up the average purchase size through the 5-pound grab-and-go bag.

According to Stemilt’s Fruit Tracker program and analysis of Nielsen Fresh Facts retail scan data, Granny Smith has consistently been the #4 selling apple variety in the U.S. since the new crop started in September 2016, with an average of 11 percent of apple category sales.

According to Stemilt marketing director Roger Pepperl, a St. Patrick’s Day bulk ad on size 72 and larger Granny Smith apples is ideal for capturing a larger ring with consumers.

“Sizing up is one of the easiest ways to drive sales in the category, as people tend to purchase the same number of apples when buying bulk, but will be purchasing more weight because of the larger fruit size. Bulk accounts for more than 64 percent of all apple sales, and must be a focus as we head into the springtime,” said Pepperl.

Pepperl also recommends using larger sized Granny Smith apples in 5-pound or 6-pound bag options to provide consumers with a grab-and-go bag at better value than bulk. “Large bags are great for in-and-out promotions and driving tonnage up. It’s a perfect way to capture impulse sales through large displays at the front of the store,” Pepperl said.

Stemilt’s success with a candy cane themed bag during the holiday season drove the company to add the festive St. Patrick’s Day sticker on 5-pound Apple Lovers pouch bags of Granny Smith apples for a limited time.

For more information about Stemilt’s St. Patrick’s Day promotion opportunities, contact a Stemilt representative.