<p><strong>Sacramento, CA</strong><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Rivermaid Trading Company, formerly All State Packers, is seeing record demand for this year’s crop of Bartlett Pears from the Sacramento River Valley – the region that has consistently produced the first fresh pears in North America every season for over 150 years. Not only have Bartletts been commercially grown in the Sacramento River region for more than a century and a half, but many come from 150-year-old trees that continue to thrive and produce excellent fruit for Rivermaid.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><strong>Helping Retailers Enjoy the Sweet Taste of Success</strong><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“The unprecedented demand for Sacramento River Bartletts shows that retailers and industry users are thinking more and more strategically about the value of high-quality, high-flavor fruit that’s first to market,” said Patrick Archibeque, Chief Executive Officer for Rivermaid Trading Company. “It’s no secret that the demand for these unique Bartletts has been a key driver of our success since as far back as the 1950s.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Rivermaid’s Chief Marketing Officer, Ken Carter, believes Sacramento River Bartlett Pears present retailers with an excellent business opportunity: “By being the first on the market each year in early-to-mid July, these pears arrive in a critical window of time – appealing to consumers eager to reconnect with that sweet, refreshing Bartlett flavor.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “Retailers that haven’t been part of our Sacramento River Bartlett program are finally starting to see what they’ve been missing,” Carter said.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><strong>Unmatched Quality, Unparalleled Flavor</strong><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Rivermaid Trading Company’s Sacramento River Bartlett Pears are as high in quality as they are in sales potential. Archibeque points to the baby food industry, well-known for having the highest quality standards in the food business, and being the most selective when it comes to flavor and safety. “Baby food processors source over 50% of their pear volume from Rivermaid’s early season crop,” he said. “If these pears didn’t meet their expectations, they would have dropped us as their primary source many years ago.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Contributing to the quality and flavor of these pears is Rivermaid’s use of the industry’s most advanced agricultural techniques and post-harvest handling practices. To ensure optimum quality and flavor, Rivermaid conditions 100% of their early Bartletts size 100 and larger during the first week of harvest, and conditions size 150 and larger upon request. Where other early season pears have a well-deserved reputation for being hard, green and flavorless, that is clearly not the case with Rivermaid Bartletts.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><strong>The Pear Experts</strong><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Year after year, no other company grows, packs or manages more pears than Rivermaid Trading Company. The company not only ships the highest volume from the Sacramento River region but from California’s Lake County as well, consistently meeting the rising demand for flavor and quality. With the popularity of the company’s early-season Sacramento River Bartletts, Rivermaid has expanded its reputation among retailers, consumers and industry users as the undisputed pear experts.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">For more information please contact Ken Carter, Chief Marketing Officer at: 530-681-1465 [email protected]<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.rivermaid.com" target="_new">Rivermaid Trading Company</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
