Met with both Lee and Art of The Fresh Markets to present the 2009 NW cherry program. These gentlemen oversee perishables at The Fresh Market Stores. They are an upscale store whose focus is on perishables. They have 77 plus stores with more planned. These are high volume stores that do an excellent job in merchandising fresh produce.
They will promote cherries every week from conventional and organic. The cherries will be put in their e-mail ad that is sent to 125,000 plus customers weekly. This will be used to qualify them for the NW cherry promotional agreement. They use 10.5 row plus in size and price isn't an issue with their customers. They like the 2# bags and are very satisfied with the dollar contribution. They are ready to promote. They had California cherries in their stores this week. Quality looked good.
As for soft fruit, they are committed to their California suppliers and some local fruit in the area.