Next month, Crespo Organic Mangoes will launch its annual Summer Mango Mania promotion, which will feature a brand-new retail display bin that holds about 11 cases of fruit.

“Summer Mango Mania is the collision point between our peak production time in Nayarit and Sinaloa and at the height of consumer summer demand. It’s designed to move as much fruit as we possibly can at the lowest possible price point when we are at the peak of our season,” said Nissa Pierson, who handles the promotional campaign for the Crespo Organic brand, which is grown in Mexico by El Grupo Crespo and packed at Empaque Don Jorge, the largest mango packing facility in Mexico.

Nissa Pierson, Sales and Marketing, Crespo Organic Mangoes

Pierson noted that the high-graphic and colorful mango bin features educational messages with QR codes that will even take the user to bilingual mango education and recipes. “With these bins, retailers can create big magical, educational displays,” she said.

Developed at the urging of Four Seasons Produce, a full-service produce wholesaler based in Ephrata, PA, the bin is available to all Crespo Organic customers.

Brian Dey, senior merchandiser and natural stores coordinator for Four Seasons, said the bin will give retailers one more great marketing tool to move a large number of organic mangoes. “Nissa and Crespo do an amazing job each year on this Summer Mango Mania promotion,” he said. “We had suggested a couple of years ago that a bin that you could put anywhere in the store would be a great promotional aid, and now they have developed it for us. It has great graphics and lots of educational information."

Brian Dey, Senior Merchandiser and Natural Stores Coordinator, Four Seasons Produce

"At Four Seasons we are going to start our promotional contest on June 14 and run it through July 30,” Dey said.

“With these bins, retailers can create big magical, educational displays.” - Nissa Pierson

Four Seasons has received great buy-in from the retail community, with some stores ordering as many as 8–10 bins for this year’s event. “It’s very easy to sell this promotion to our customers,” Dey said. “We are expecting great supplies of both round and Ataulfo mangoes at a great price. Many of the stores will use a combination of the bins and the boxes to build great displays.”

Dey started marketing this year’s promotion in early May, and he said the response has been excellent. “Retailers are chomping at the bit to get started. Fifteen years ago, organic mangoes were merchandised in the back of the department with a little display, but now everyone wants them. They are organic, healthy, and they are a relatively inexpensive fruit. That’s a great merchandising combination.”

Pierson said the bin is 30 by 15 by 30 inches and was modeled after some avocado bins she saw in grocery stores. It fits about 11 4-kg cases mangoes and about 40 three-pound bags. “It can be placed anywhere in the produce department or store and gives smaller stores a mango destination,” she said, adding that the bin is reusable, and the educational content on the bin can be a great sales driver.

The Mango Mania promotion coincides with the shift of peak production to the coastal state of Nayarit in Central Mexico. Pierson added that June and July are the sweet spots for the organic mango production that originates in the state of Nayarit and carries through to peak production in Sinaloa.

Fifteen years ago, organic mangoes were merchandised in the back of the department with a little display, but now everyone wants them. They are organic, healthy, and they are a relatively inexpensive fruit. That’s a great merchandising combination.” - Brian Dey

As a point of fact, she said this Crespo-specific bin is the first organic mango retail bin to be offered to the trade. Crespo has been touting it to all of its existing customers over the past few weeks, and Pierson said there should be supplies of the bin available for new customers as well.

She added that 2023 is shaping up to be an excellent season for organic mangoes. “It started out a little shaky, but we have moved through those early supply issues, and there should be good supplies through the end of August,” she said, adding that the fruit is sizing well, with 10-12 count mangoes in very good supply for the round varieties, and Ataulfo mangoes peaking in the 12-14 count range.

Pierson said the Summer Mango Mania promotion will feature true promotional pricing, but she added that growers are facing higher costs across that board, and this is reflected in this year’s price points.