"After ripening, pear sales grew by 20%"

In the Netherlands, this is still not done, but in the United States, pear ripening has been implemented for around ten years. One of the pioneering pear ripeners is Stemilt Growers. Roger Pepperl talks about the process and about the need for pears to ripen. "Europeans go to the grocery store more often than Americans, I do not understand why you buy products that you cannot use right away."

Stemilt Growers is a major producer of pears (among other products) in the U.S. state of Washington. Based in Wenatchee, the orchards are located on the slopes of the mountains and banks of the Wenatchee and the Entiat rivers. "This is a very good area for growing pears," says market manager Roger Pepperl. In the north-western United States, a total of between 18 and 21 million boxes of pears are marketed, 2.2 million of which are filled with Stemilt pears.

By the end of the 90s, and in the first years of the new century, the American pear market was in trouble. The Anjou, Stemilt's main variety, was not popular and prices were generally not so good. Besides the Anjou, the company also grows, among others, the Bartlet, a summer pear. "To increase our sales, we started about 10 years ago with the ripening of pears. The beginning of the winter is usually the worst part of the season, as Anjou pears are quite hard and ripen very slowly at home."

The grower built ripening rooms and the fruits were packed in Euroboxes, with space between the pears to allow all fruits to come into contact with the air currents. In the ripening room, the temperature is set to 21 °C and ethylene is added to the atmosphere in order to speed up the ripening process. "The process is similar to the ripening of bananas, with the difference that afterwards we can store the pears in a cold room." The mature pears are stored at a temperature just above the freezing point. The whole process takes three days, the last day the temperature is lowered.

Anjou pears have first to be stored in a cold room for 40 to 50 days after the harvest before being ripened. "If you do not do this, the quality will be affected." Many different pear varieties can be ripened and Stemilt also offers this service to other growers. 

The Bartlet pear harvest takes place in August and the fruit is sold until January. "After October and November, this summer pear does no longer need to be ripened because the effect of the fruit's own ethylene is more than enough." Anjou pears are harvested in September, sales begin one month later, but they only reach their peak in November. "During the first few months, we can reach good sales volumes thanks to ripening; this used to be much more difficult because these pears are very hard and therefore less attractive."

"Ripening changes the fruit. The pears have more flavour and are juicier." For the Anjou, Roger describes the process as a "science", while for the Bartlet it is more of an "art". The unripe pears become softer through the ripening. Stemilt pears are harder than those of other pear ripeners "because retailers should also be able to make use of them," explains Roger. 

Ripened pear sales have been a great hit. Because there is no difference between the appearance of ripened and unripened pears it takes about two months before a clear change in sales is seen, but after that period retailers increased their sales by 22%.

"You recognise ripened pears only through taste. Consumers expect to be able to eat the fruit immediately; if it is not, they are disappointed, but if it can live up to their expectations they come back," argues Roger. 

He illustrates this with the example of bananas, avocados and tomatoes, the first products to be ripened. "Ultimately, it is normal that they are ripe." The fact that in Europe ripe avocados are sold next to unripe ones is incomprehensible for American pear ripeners. "Europeans go to the grocery store more often than Americans; I do not understand why you buy products that you cannot use right away."

Ripened pears, provided that they are kept in refrigerated storage, have a longer shelf life than, for example, ripened bananas; therefore, Stemilt is thus able to deliver its Wenatchee ripened pears to all states of the U.S. Some retailers have doubts about the shelf life of these pears, but Roger provides two arguments. "Firstly, the ripening of the Anjou has little impact on their shelf life; secondly, given that most retailers have fresh produce delivered every few days, a very long shelf life is not necessary." He affirms that the shelf life of these pears is longer than the frequency with which they are replaced, and ripe pears sell faster.

The volume of pears ripened by Stemilt is based on market prospects. "We request such prospects from our clients and use past data to determine the volume of pears we have to ripen." Ripened pear exports are still uncharted territory. Roger sees opportunities for export, but "to do that it would be important for the destination markets to have a proper cold chain."

About half of Stemilt's pear harvest is ripened. Roger foresees a great future for ripened pears. "I see no reason not to do it. I often tell retailers that they should only sell ripe pears if they want their customers to be satisfied." (SB/RM).