Editor's note: This article appears in the September-October issue of PMG magazine. Keep an eye out for the newest digital edition coming soon.
In 2019, more than 175 million Americans told the National Retail Federation they planned to celebrate Halloween.
With this fall's orders the same or up slightly, pumpkin growers are confident their bulky crop will find a home on doorsteps across the country despite the pandemic.
“Orders are brisk, maybe up a little from last year,” said Michele Youngquist, president of Bay Baby Produce in Mount Vernon, Wash., who began harvesting her specialty pumpkins on Aug. 10.
Hilary Long, vice president sales and marketing for Keenes, Ill.-based Frey Farms, said nostalgia for fall traditions, particularly this year when visits to the pumpkin patch and Halloween itself may be curtailed, may prompt consumers to decorate their homes more than usual with pumpkins and gourds.
“We predict consumers are going to buy more,” Long said. “We haven't seen any decrease in orders, and we're adding new customers like Amazon Fresh.” She's also seen a surge in online orders for three- and five-count mesh bags of mini pumpkins and decorative gourds under the farm's new Sarah's Homegrown by Frey Farms brand.
Frey Farms' executive vice president John Frey said 70-80% of customers still want medium-sized carving pumpkins, but the category has evolved to include heirloom varieties in every shape and color. He credits founder Sarah Frey and her bin of “Autumn Couleur” heirlooms, trademarked in 2004, for creating the demand for these unique varieties and extending the pumpkin season.
“Sarah increased the window for when people start to buy pumpkins,” Frey said. “We're finding a higher demand for grey and white pumpkins early in the fall. As the weather cools down and the leaves change color, especially in northern states, there's a higher demand for orange. Florida won't have a huge amount of sales until October.”
Long describes displays of white pumpkins and gourds as “cool and fashion-forward,” while Youngquist says her pristine white pumpkins “pop” beside traditional orange varieties.
A colorful pumpkin display also encourages more impulse buys. “A customer may grab an orange pumpkin then they see a grey, perhaps a Jarrahdale … then they grab a tan, and the number of items going in the cart rises,” Frey said.
Displays of flatter pumpkins that stack easily, including Porcelain Doll, Blue Doll, Cinderella and Fairytale, also encourage multiple sales, said Matthew DeBlouw, president at Mike Pirrone Produce Inc., who's stacked three varieties in his Capac, Mich. office.
“It's a cool look,” said DeBlouw, also a fan of the seriously warty Knucklehead pumpkin. “I believe people will still want to decorate this fall, partly as a way to keep life normal in these crazy times.”
He and other growers spent the last weekend in August packing pumpkins so stores can set their fall displays right after Labor Day.
While pumpkin bins have become a common sight inside the store and outside once the weather cools down, Bay Baby Produce offers a half-pallet display filled with one to five of its signature items. Favorites include the Sparkler pumpkin flecked with yellow, a long- stemmed white Tiger with orange stripes, a pure white Casper, black silhouette images painted on pie or Wee Bee Little pumpkins and the company's hand-decorated Pumpkin Patch Pals.
“With five different items on one pallet, it's a great way for retailers to preemptively set their stores,” Youngquist said.
“We've seen at least the same number of commitments for loads this season and have added a few new customers, so I'd say demand is strong,” said McDulin. The company expects to ship more than 700 loads between now and Oct. 24 from farms in six states, starting with Colorado.
To meet retail requests, Schmieding has added pie pumpkins to its 2020 line-up.
“Heirlooms and pies have brought new energy to the category without cannibalizing the jacks,” he said. “The key for the retailer is to display, display, display so you can capture incremental seasonal impulse purchases.”
DeBlouw is also watching demand grow for pie pumpkins. “They're easier for young kids to handle, and you can get pretty creative with them, from painting to carving,” DeBlouw said. After Halloween, kids can help mom make a pumpkin pie or soup, though many of the heirloom varieties also have edible flesh.
Jackson Melons Inc, based in Henderson, Texas, grows pie and carving pumpkins in the western town of Plains, Texas, said salesman Kevin Green. “We expect to start shipping around Sept. 10, but we're not sure how demand and movement will be,” Green said.
While southern growers worried about hurricanes in late August, employees at Van Groningen & Sons in Manteca, Calif., were brushing ash off their pumpkins from forest fires and hoping their crop didn't get sunburned in the 100-degree heat.
Despite those worries, “the crop's looking really good, with yields up a little from last year,” said Danielle Ratto, senior saleswoman.
Along with traditional carving pumpkins and bins of mixed heirlooms, Van Groningen is offering a new mini Fairytale and a football-sized Jester pumpkin, striped red and white, to its western U.S. customers.
The farm is also famous for its “Pamper'd” pumpkins. “While most people pack in the field, we clean and pack our pumpkins in the shed, which retailers appreciate,” Ratto said.
As for the season itself, “we hope with more people staying home they'll decorate their homes more,” she said. “Our watermelon sales were insane, and we're hoping pumpkins follow suit.”