NEW ROCHELLE, NY - As we round out the remaining months of winter, LGS Specialty Sales is making sure consumers endure the last bouts of cold weather with sweet categories in their grocery carts. With the company’s W. Murcotts variety and table grape offerings on the tail-end of their seasons, I chatted with Luke Sears, President and Founder, to ensure LGS Specialty Sales’ retail and foodservice partners are well-stocked with high-quality fruit well into spring.
“We are currently wrapping up our Peruvian grape season, which includes Reds, Jack’s Salute, Timcos, and Allisons. Chile is also going strong with Sweet Celebrations on Reds and Arra 15s on Greens. We are seeing a growth in our grape volumes compared to last year’s season, so we will have a strong supply through March and early April,” Luke shared with me. “On the citrus side, we began importing W. Murcotts from Morocco in January and expect to have a strong supply through March and April. In fact, we’re reporting a 15 percent increase in volume compared to our 2019 W. Murcotts season.”
In terms of quality, Luke noted that grapes have been good across the board, with LGS’s varieties boasting great quality in terms of color, size, and sugar content. The Murcotts, too, are boasting great eating quality, with what Luke described as an ideal acid/brix ratio and strong orange color. The Murcotts are peaking at medium to large sizes.
“This season, we saw great quality W. Murcotts fruit from Morocco with overall high sugar content equaling an excellent eating piece of fruit,” Luke explained. “We also recently unveiled a special pink packaging for the Darling Clementine line to use around holidays like Valentine’s Day, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and more.”
This special pink packaging is a strategic way for retailers to draw consumers’ eyes to LGS’s varieties in-store, even beyond pink-themed holidays.
Another way to draw attention to the LGS Specialty Sales name is by teasing new varieties in key categories.
“With more new grape varieties coming into production, LGS expects a positive finish to the season,” Luke concluded.
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