With a myriad apple varieties to choose from this season, the key to selecting the right ones for your stores is simple.
“Know your customer,” says Todd Hultquist, spokesman for the U.S. Apple Association, Vienna, Va.
The fact that apples are “tiered,” with varieties coming and going throughout the year, makes the choice a little easier and allows you to feature a constantly rotating mix.
Mushroom sales in the early part of the year were up in terms of pounds sold and dollar value.
Retailers in the Pacific Northwest saw the biggest increase —13%—in the volume of all types of mushrooms sold during the first five months of the year compared with the same period last year, according to a FreshLook Marketing Group report to the San Jose, Calif.-based Mushroom Council. Data account for mushroom sales in grocery stores, but not club stores, mass merchandisers or supercenters. Retailers in the south central and mountain regions of the U.S. saw increases of about 10% in pounds of mushrooms sold.
Market to the smallest shoppers and their moms will follow.
