CMI Orchards, its growers and partners have tapped into current consumer trends to build its business.
“Our shared expertise and emphasis on data analysis helped us identify consumer and retail trends, then position our efforts to maximize those opportunities,” explained Bob Mast, president of CMI Orchards.
Here are some trends CMI highlighted:
Online shopping: “We were focusing on ways to support retailers recognizing that a large portion of shoppers were already migrating to online purchasing versus in-store. When COVID-19 hit last spring, we were positioned to pivot to the changes in consumer shopping habits,” explained Rochelle Bohm, brand manager for CMI Orchards.
How technology helps to propel growth
The umbrella of CMI Orchards’ owners and partners are using cutting-edge technology from the orchard to packing facilities.
“A big focus at CMI Orchards is to strategically forecast marketplace dynamics 10 years from now. This helps us understand how technology can be used to help our growers produce fruit in the most efficient manner to meet anticipated consumer demands,” explained Bob Mast, president of CMI Orchards.
One example of this is the software used in orchards to monitor soil moisture levels at different elevations. “This digital monitoring provides real-time data on temperature, soil moisture and wind speed to my phone. This helps maintain proper fruit size and reduces disease and waste in our organic blocks,” explained Mike Robinson, co-owner of Double Diamond Fruit.
Washington growerâs KIKU® apples see strong growth
CMI Orchards has announced significant growth in KIKU® brand apple sales and production.
KIKU® sales have grown 37 percent in volume compared to last year.
According to Nielsen Answers on Demand, over the past 52 weeks KIKU® ranked seventh in both sales dollars and volume for branded apples in the U.S. KIKU® sales have increased 37 percent in volume compared to last year and are now sold in 3,800 stores throughout the United States. The entire branded apple category is up 21 percent.
âPeople compare KIKU® to its cousin, the Fuji apple, all the time, and they discover that KIKU® has a more intense and sweeter flavor. Itâs a fantastic eating experience with a beautiful striped ruby-red color. We love hearing reports from customers that KIKU® apples are their favorite. We ended up picking just slightly over our estimate, which is a great position for us to be in and gives us more opportunitie