This dragon fruit display sold 75 cases in three days for River Valley Co-op in Northampton, Mass. Prior to the promotion, the store was moving about a case or two per week.
During the sale, River Valley Coop offered dragon fruit for $3.99.
“Margin was razor thin at the time, but it created excitement for the store and department,” said Brian Dey, senior merchandiser and natural stores coordinator for Four Seasons Produce, who worked with produce manager Henry Kryeski on the promotion. “There was sampling, social media, commodity information, recipes and increased conversation throughout the whole store about ‘those cool green and pink things’ over in the produce department.”
Most importantly, the momentum continued after the sale ended.
“There were steady repeat purchases after the display waned and promotion concluded and consumer interest for this fruit was at an all-time high,” Dey said. “These purchases, however, were at the regular retail and margin, so the thin margin at the time of the display worked wonders in getting more fruit into baskets at the regular retail.
“Whenever dragon fruit is available now, it is always carried here and offered to the community of Northampton, Mass.,” Dey said. “There are no longer one-basket displays either, as the demand when available has exploded since the summer.”
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