California's stone fruit season started early and supply of peaches, nectarines, and plums is plentiful. According to Four Seasons Produce's Brian Dey, the flavor and eating quality of both conventional and organic stone fruit is outstanding this year — but moving the volume requires retailer commitment to merchandising.
The early and overlapping California season has been well-documented, but the key message from the trade right now is that quality is there to support promotion. With strong supply and excellent eating quality converging, this is a prime window for retailers to drive incremental stone fruit purchases.
For buyers and category managers, this is a moment where aggressive display-building and promotional pricing can genuinely move product — watch for growers and shippers actively pushing retail programs to help clear the supply.