Stores use sampling to attract shoppers

Excerpts from an article in The Packer Tropical Fruit Marketing special sections by Abraham Mahshie published on 04/23/2010 10:00AM

Tropical fruit marketers are employing a wide range of strategies to increase consumption this year, ranging from traditional signage and in-store sampling, to appealing to social responsibility and community engagement.

Mary Ostlund, marketing director for Brooks Tropicals Inc., Homestead, Fla., said stores should consider promoting two foods at once to show how tropicals can be used in nontraditional ways.“I put a thin slice on top of a hamburger,” she said of the company’s green-skinned avocados. “Right after you’ve turned (the meat) on the grill, it allows (the avocado slice) to melt ever so slightly.”