Summer is a key selling period for many categories across the supermarket. This is very much the case for fresh produce, according to the suppliers Retail World spoke to.
For Perfection Fresh’s products, spring and summer represent a key selling period, says Head of Marketing Luke Gibson.
“Many of our lines are grown under protected cropping, which enables us to produce year ’round,” he says, “but longer daylight hours and warmer weather lead to increased crop performance, delivering an abundance of premium fresh fruit and veg to retailers.
“As we head into the warmer months, we expect to see supply increase for our tomato and cucumber lines out of South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. It also signals the beginning of our grape and mango seasons: grapes from Emerald and Sunraysia and mangoes from the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland.
“We also expect plenty of summer berries as they move into the cooler grower regions of Victoria and Tasmania.”
On the subject of fresh berries, Driscoll’s Australia National Sales and Product Manager Mark Conroy says that during summer these are “consistently one of the largest value-generating produce lines”.
“Over the last five years, the berry category has rapidly become one of the major promotional produce lines during key summer trading periods,” he says.
“A high-performing berry category has also been proven to provide positive sales momentum for the broader store produce performance.”
Adding to the conversation, WA Farm Direct General Manager, Trading and Business Development Justin Shield points to the supplier’s plentiful fresh products that “peak” in summer.
“Stone fruit and berries are our two major programs during the summer period that we concentrate on in Western Australia,” he says.
Read more about fresh in the October issue of Retail World.
