DELANO, CA - With a promising horizon for California table grapes in our future, retailers will need to employ best practices to keep product moving and top of mind.
“Retailers should take advantage of the earlier start to the California season and look for promotional opportunities sooner rather than waiting for the traditional calendar cycle,” Stefanie Pandol, Marketing and Sustainability for Pandol Bros, tells me. “Being proactive with ordering, merchandising, and ad planning can help maintain momentum and keep consumers engaged throughout the summer.”
This includes implementing early promotions, impactful in-store displays, and consistent communication about quality, freshness, and availability, all of which are key to keeping grapes top of mind during peak consumption periods.
“We believe consumers will be especially drawn to the upcoming California grape crop because of its excellent eating quality, texture, size, and flavor profile. While green seedless varieties currently continue to lead consumer preference, there are exceptional offerings across both green and red grapes this season that we are very proud of,” Stefanie adds.
One of these is Ivory, the earliest variety, which Pandol markets as Sugar Crunch.
“It has shown very consistent quality and strong early-season performance. The Ivory season then helps transition us into Sweet Globe, which, when harvested at peak maturity and optimal brix levels, can be one of the best-eating green grapes of the season,” Stefanie notes.
On the red seedless side, Pandol Bros is happy to announce that Candy Snaps are approximately two weeks earlier than normal, and the fruit is looking excellent this season.
"Consumers, especially children, respond very positively to the candy-flavored varieties because of their unique sweetness and memorable flavor profile. Lastly, we’re especially proud of our Sweet Celebration program, which continues to deliver an outstanding eating experience,” she says. “The variety is large, firm, and sweet, offering consumers a bold burst of flavor.”
Due to the earlier California crop, Pandol Bros has high-quality, promotable domestic fruit available for key summer holidays, beginning with the Fourth of July and extending through Labor Day. In addition to the strong quality, this season is also projected to bring solid volumes, creating meaningful promotional opportunities for retailers throughout the summer.
“Our preparation has focused on maintaining strong communication with our retail partners, so they understand the season's adjusted timing and can plan promotions accordingly,” Stefanie explains. “By aligning early on supply windows, merchandising, and promotional opportunities, we can better support impactful holiday programs and maintain strong movement throughout the season.”
ANUK will continue to report on the domestic grape season, so stay tuned with us here.
Companies in this Story
Pandol Brothers
Pandol Bros. grows, ships and markets fresh produce, including dozens of varieties of grapes along with cherries, citrus…
