Stemilt Finds Home For Small Fruit Through Intent Marketing

Don’t let small fruit get you down, says Brianna Shales, communications manager at Stemilt Growers. The central Washington state company who grows, packs and ships apples, pears, and other tree fruits turned small fruit into a branding success through their distinguished kid-sized fruit program, Lil Snappers®. “Lil Snappers® creation back in 2011 was to help elevate consumer demand for smaller fruit,” states Shales. “And, here we are, six years later and the program has grown tremendously. We offer multiple varieties in high quality grades which are helping retailers drive sales and target a specific and important shopper group in the future – parents and kids.”

Parent consumers and their kids tend to be the driving force behind the brand, however, Shales says it is not limited to just children consumers. “Lil Snappers® packaging is designed to catch the eye of any consumer, and the small fruit is ideal for any consumer who prefers a smaller size apple or pear to a larger one.” Each Lil Snappers® 3lb. bag holds ten pieces of fruit, which means that a household with two children could pack a serving of fruit every day for a week with Lil Snappers®. Stemilt has discovered that parent consumers have generally found the Lil Snappers® most appealing due to the variety of flavors, high quality and convenience.

“The grab-and-go style of the pouch bag is great for shoppers who don’t have time to buy apples or pears in bulk and they prefer a smaller piece of fruit,” states Shales. “Consumers know when they pick up a bag of Lil Snappers® they will get high quality, flavorful fruit every time.” Lil Snappers® is available in 3lb. pouch bags for both conventional and organic apples, and conventional pears. Organic pears are available in a 2lb. pouch bag. “Organic pears are a niche item, but Stemilt is passionate about offering a full line-up of Lil Snappers® through our Artisan Organics™ program. The 2lb. offering for organic pears allows retailers to offer a lower retail price and drive sales to both the organic and pear categories,” states Shales.

Stemilt offers Lil Snappers® in multiple apple varieties, including Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp Pinata®, and Pink Lady®. Organic varieties offered include Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pinata®, and Pink Lady®. “These varieties offered are the flavors that kids actually want to eating,” states Shales. “Our consumers are parents of children, but those children are the fruit consumers of tomorrow, so we need to learn what they like and keep offering those varieties.” Stemilt also offers multiple pear varieties including Bartlett, Bosc, Concorde, d’Anjou, Red Pears, and Tosca in both conventional and organic.

The Lil Snappers® program is also selling well online, reports Shales. “Retailers have seen a great deal of success when selling the Lil Snappers® brand online,” states Shales. “The biggest challenge retailers will face when it comes to e-commerce will be the consumer trusting someone to pick out their fresh produce. This will not be an issue for Lil Snappers® brand. The consumer understands what they are getting when they decide to purchase our brand – high quality, flavorful fruit the whole family will benefit from.” This trust has been evident the last six years as the Lil Snappers® program has grown tremendously in both sales dollars and varieties.

In 2016, the year over year volume for the brand was up 131.1 percent and dollars up 123 percent and Shales is confident that the small fruit success will keep coming. “We expect to see a continual climb of success for this program,” states Shales. “At the peak of the season, we will see smaller fruit sizes, making this year’s crop a perfect time to build the Lil Snappers® brand at your store. Plus, Stemilt is expanding their organic availability with multiple varieties, so we will see an increase across the board with our organics category. Not only does this open more doors for organic consumers, it gives retailers more opportunity for success with the Lil Snappers® program.”

Source: Stemilt Growers