It’s going to be a great year for sweet cherries, said Chuck Sinks, vice president of sales and marketing for the Elgin, Minn.-based Honeybear Brands, a grower and marketer of apples, pears and cherries.
Sinks said retailers should start to see ample volume starting around June 12 and close to a million cases overall.
“Mother Nature’s been very good to us, and there should be a plentiful amount of cherries to advertise,” he said. “The quality of the cherries looks great on the trees.”
Sinks said there will be ample opportunity for retailers to cross-promote leading into the Fourth of July holiday.
“We should have plenty of cherries for the Fourth of July ads,” he said. “We’ll have plenty of cherries for after the Fourth of July and to promote them until the end of July or the first week or two of August.”
And, with Honeybear’s recently announced partnership with Starr Ranch Growers, the company will now have two cherry warehouses packing in the Pacific Northwest, offering custom packs.
“We should be able to take really good care of our retail partners,” he said.
Sinks said the sweet cherry industry is excited to start the season, as the last couple of seasons have been a challenge; with everything looking good into harvest, it can be a beneficial season for both growers and retailers.
“We really need a good cherry season for both the grower and the retailer,” he said. “And it’s important that retailers know that we need a good season for the grower and the retailer.”