The Cranberry Marketing Committee (CMC) held their annual summer meeting in southern New Jersey this year, and Pine Island Cranberry was delighted to host visiting members for dinner on the lawn!
It was a great chance to meet and chat with others within the industry, as well as to hear about some of the work the CMC has been doing to increase consumption year-round. CMC Executive Director Scott Soares is very pleased about how that’s been going, especially with regard to focus groups and social media outreach. “Our social media campaign along with in-store promotions and demos have more than tripled summer sales,” he says. “We’ve demonstrated that we can move the needle if we do the right thing; we’re learning more about these tactics and trying to get the word out.”
CMC’s Scott Soares (left) chats with Parker Mauck of Massachusetts.
Assistant Manager Mike Haines was especially pleased for the opportunity to speak with other CMC members in a less-formal setting. “It’s good to have an occasion to talk with people from other growing areas,”, he says. “Wisconsin has such a large cranberry community that they have a lot of opportunities for ‘cross-pollination’, as Dad likes to say. There are a lot more growers to bounce ideas off each other with regard to varieties, drainage, all the day to day stuff. We’re always looking for ways to improve, and expanding our associations can help give us some new ideas.”
Mike Haines (left) and Fred Torres.
CEO Bill Haines agrees: “It’s a lot of fun to get to know the growers on a personal level. We were really happy to have the industry here, and are glad that everyone enjoyed themselves.”
And one final shout-out to our Pine Island team who were all willing to do whatever it takes to make sure everything went smoothly: GM Fred Torres facilitated all the prep work around the office such as mowing bogs and trimming vegetation, while our Facilties/Equipment team (particularly Louis Cantafio, Mike Guest, and Carlos Baez) made sure everything we needed was working and that the building was in tip-top shape. But none of it could have been done without the hard work of Administrative Assistant Debra Signorelli, who put together an absolutely fantastic event. Thank you for everything!