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It’s been a rainy few weeks here in our Salinas – Watsonville region. With this off and on rainfall we have begun to phase out of our current season here, while prepping for the next one. As you can see below, we had the help of our friends at Ohlone Elementary School in Watsonville last week with our organic strawberry planting. With that said, while we are preparing for the next season of fruit we are still receiving berries in Watsonville – with both Watsonville and Salinas still harvesting strawberries until weather and quality permits – quality remains decent and counts are in the upper 20s. We likely see this continuing for a few more weeks. Raspberries are still in production, while blackberries have come to an end in their season.
Santa Maria:
Weather this week will fluctuate from the mid-60s to mid-70s with chances of showers over the weekend on Saturday. Counts among conventional strawberries are 22-24, and 26-28 on the organic strawberries. The quality remains consistently good between both organic and conventional berries, with organics peaking over the next 3 weeks.
Mexico:
Weather this week will fluctuate in the upper 70s, with nighttime lows staying consistently in the mid 40s and no chance of rain. Counts range in the mid 20s with good quality among strawberries and raspberries, and production increasing. Weather in Maravatío is similar to Zamora, with temperatures in mid 70s and nighttime lows in the 40s – this region is the coolest and most moderate among our Mexico growing regions – resulting in firm, good quality fruit. Irapuato is steady in the 70s with lows in the 40s – a bit cooler than last week. Quality wise strawberry counts are in the high 20s, firm and good looking. Blueberries look excellent as usual. Los Reyes is the hottest among our regions with highs in the low 80s this week and nighttime lows in the 50s – quality among blackberries is good, and production is expected to increase in coming weeks.
Blueberries:
It’s a slow start for our Chilean blues. We are receiving our first vessel from Chile in the middle of next week to get our season started, with Chilean blues to come in December just in time for a blue Christmas.
Florida:
Temperatures in this region are consistent this week in the low 80s with nighttime temperatures dropping to the low 60s and high 50s at night. No rain is in our immediate forecast. Volume is picking up here and quality is looking good among our strawberry varieties.
For up-to-date weather conditions in all of our growing regions, click on the region below. Wunderground.com is our go-to weather resource for fast and reliable weather updates.
What’s one thing all brands have in common? According to a recent Nielsen report - the ability to power and influence consumer decisions. With the abundance of choices at their finger-tips – interest across the store goes beyond just product type, package size and flavor. Shoppers want more. With a heightened focus on fresh food items and product offerings, brands are now playing a pivotal role more than ever. Over the last five years, the produce department has increased its brand presence exponentially. Between 2012 and 2016, the total produce department grew $13.2 billion. And within that period, branded produce dollar share increased 7.7 percentage points, now representing 38.5% of total produce dollars. However, 55% of consumers don’t have a specific brand in mind before they purchase fresh produce. So how are brands dominating so much in this space?
The answer is by adopting to meet consumers’ evolving needs, particularly in the areas of health and wellness, convenience and innovation. Consumers are more connected than ever, giving produce brands an opportunity to engage directly with shoppers. How you ask? Produce brands can leverage the reach and loyalty of consumers who are in stores shopping for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands, while FMCG brands can take advantage of the growth and frequency of produce shoppers. Developing branded produce products can help expand consumer education around label claims, which would lead to a more comprehensive marketing strategy to engage directly with shoppers about what qualities matter most to them that influence purchase decisions. And lastly, the role of branding will continue to elevate the value of fresh foods sold across the retail space. These are all key insights we plan to keep in mind with our retail partners as we head into the New Year, and will showcase as a reference point on our updated Trade Page.
We LOVE to hear from our consumers, and we’ve made it easy for shoppers to contact us with questions, comments and feedback on our contact page. Once consumer’s fill out the form with pertinent information such as where they shop for berries, what type of berries they purchase, etc. we are then able to properly respond to consumers regarding their questions, or those that simply just want to let us know how much they loved their California Giant berries! Here’s a sneak peak of our latest message from Sandy Chapin – a Cal Giant shopper from North Dakota.
This Salinas Nob Hill has had their Cal Giant strawberries going fast!
