Blueberries and Strawberries Are the Mainliners at Wish Farms

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Blueberries and strawberries are the mainliners at Wish Farms

November 14, 2014

Wish Farms, a third-generation family-owned-and-op-erated business in Plant City, FL, has staked its national reputation for quality and innovation with more than 50 years of expertise under its corporate belt. Amber Kosinsky, director of marketing, said the company is one of the larger strawberry growers and processors in the eastern United States, building its reputation on the core principles of quality, integrity and responsiveness.

In addition to strawberries, Wish Farms grows and markets blueberries and some seasonal vegetables.

Wish Farms is a year-round supplier of blueberries, and Kosinsky said this season has been a good one.

Beginning in 2009, Wish Farms implemented its

1 / 3 patented How's My Picking? program, giving consumers an opportunity to provide product feedback. (Photo courtesy of Wish Farms)“Argentina blueberries are available now,” she told The Produce News in late October. “Chilean volume will be starting about the second week in November. Our import blueberry program continues to grow exponentially. We have retained all of our growers from last season and added a few new grower-partners to the mix.”

Quality, she said, “continues to be very strong.”

The company markets both conventional and organic blues. “Our organic offerings continue to increase year to year,” she commented. “The upcoming Florida blueberry season will be a big one for us. We will be significantly increasing our organic blueberry volume.”

According to Kosinsky, the company’s strawberry acreage will be similar to last season’s. Florida strawberry production will ramp up in mid-November with promotable volume in early December. “This season we are primarily growing Radiance as well as Festival and Albion varieties,” she went on to say. “We continue trials with newer varieties like the Florida Sensation.”

The company’s “Misty the Garden Pixie” label is easily recognized in the produce department.

“We do have ‘Strawberry Joe’ labels available on a limited supply and [they] will be dedicated to a select group of customers,” she added.

For the past few seasons, Wish Farms has offered a variety of on-pack co-promotions on the “Misty the Garden Pixie” strawberry label. “We plan to implement similar programs this upcoming season,” Kosinsky said. “We will be partnering with well-known brands that pair nicely with fresh Florida strawberries. The promotional labels will offer a money-off coupon to the consumer.

“We’ve seen great results with these types of co-branding promotions,” she continued. “Featuring a coupon on our label gives consumers incentive to purchase our strawberries in addition to the partnering product. These types of programs help move our fruit and provide opportunity for co- branding displays in the produce department.”

Wish Farms continues to engage consumers with its How’s My Picking? program, a patented traceability tool tying consumer feedback to various aspects of the harvest process. “We will be launching our How’s My Picking? Grocery Money Sweeps at the start of our Florida strawberry season,” she said. “Each one-pound package of strawberries will have a promotional label promoting the sweepstakes. Consumers will be asked to tell us what they think about our product by submitting a How’s My Picking? survey via www.HowsMyPicking.com.”

Consumers completing the survey automatically are entered to win $100 in grocery money. “One winner will be awarded each week from December 1 through the duration of the Florida strawberry season,” Kosinsky added.

Wish Farms also actively works to connect consumers with the company through in-store signage and displays. “Consumers have a growing interest in knowing where their food comes from. One creative idea that retailers have been [using ] the past few seasons is displaying signage alongside our Wish Farms berries with a photo of our owner and a short bio about our company,” she stated. “Gary Wishnatzki is third-generation family owner of Wish Farms, and we have a great American story to share. Displaying his photo and a short blurb about his family business connects the consumer with our product.”

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Point-of-sale material available includes floor clings, display case messaging and information cards that clip onto strawberry flats.