WENATCHEE, WA - With festive name and a tropical flavor, Stemilt’s signature apple variety, Piñata®, makes for the perfect accompaniment to Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the produce department. The surprisingly sweet and tart Piñata® is ready in all its crisp and juicy glory to bring its expanded supply to this new, ideal promotional window.
“The quality and condition of this year’s Piñata® apple crop is fantastic,” said Roger Pepperl, Stemilt’s Marketing Director. “Beautiful color, high Brix (sugars), and balanced acids. Piñata® is an apple that gets better every year, and is the perfect tie-in to Cinco de Mayo promotions being held in early May in produce departments.”
Harvested in mid-October each year, Stemilt explained in a press release that it has steadily expanded the supply and season for Piñata® since adopting it as an exclusive apple variety back in 2004. Today, Stemilt is able to consistently supply the unique combination of heirloom apples—Cox’s Orange Pippin, Duchess of Oldenburg, and the well-known Golden Delicious—all the way from harvest until June. This promotional window is one that Stemilt noted is ideal for Cinco de Mayo.
The 2015-2016 season saw Piñata® apples featured in over 7,000 U.S. supermarkets, with additional distribution in export markets including Canada. Now, for 2017, Stemilt has found success with Piñata® apples in Mexico, the company says, thanks to the apple’s high Brix (sugar) flavor profile and Golden Delicious roots.
As always, merchandising is key for these upcoming Cinco de Mayo promotions, with Stemilt ready to dispatch a number of different vehicles. Bulk and pouch bags are available for Piñata®, including Stemilt’s well-known Lil Snappers line of 3lb. pouch bags. Stemilt also has a 5lb. pouch bag for Piñata®, designed to stand-up on display and help drive both impulse sales and a larger purchase size.
“Bulk Piñata® apples should be on display along with promotion in produce departments leading up to and during Cinco de Mayo,” added Pepperl. “Retailers can also use one of our pouch bag options as an in-and-out to drive impulse sales. Lil Snappers® 3lb. pouch bags are ideal for reaching parents and kids, while the 5lb. bag appeals to apple lovers everywhere.”
The in-house marketing team at Stemilt supports Piñata® for retail and consumers in a variety of ways. Piñata® comes packed in high-graphic, tropical-themed cartons to perfectly market its flavor profile at the point-of-sale. Stemilt is well-prepared to assist retailers with:
- Signage
- Photo assets
- Recipe assets
- Social media
And for consumers, Stemilt engages with shoppers regularly via the Piñata® Facebook page, conducts media and influencer outreach around the apple, and has a free downloadable recipe eBook to inspire shoppers to use Piñata® in new ways.
