Ontario’s newest fruit crop, the Cold Snap pear, is gaining popularity and is now available through five major retail grocery chains. The pear is giving Canadian growers a new profitable crop option, and offering consumers locally produced fruit throughout the winter.
Ontario researchers at Vineland Research Innovation Centre set out to develop a new winter hearty pear to provide a new opportunity for Ontario growers. The resulting new variety – trademarked Cold Snap pear – was licensed to Vineland Growers Cooperative, a 300-member fruit and vegetable growing and processing cooperative in Ontario’s Niagara Region.
When the new pear was ready for commercial orchards, 80,000 trees were planted in Ontario and the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. After three years, the new trees began producing enough fruit to take to market. That’s where some of the most interesting challenges began.
“The hardest part of launching a new product is customer awareness and buy in,” says Matt Ecker, Sales and Business Development Manager with Vineland Growers Cooperative. “The Growing Forward 2 (GF2) funding we received through the Agricultural Adaptation Council helped us develop and deliver messaging about the new pear directly to consumers through in-store demonstrations.”
Growers who planted the new pear may also see advantages. Cold Snap pears are grown in high density plantings. As the trees mature and grow into full production, growers can expect to yield up to 20 tonne/acre of fruit – or nearly double the yield of low density orchard plantings.
Higher yields bring greater efficiency and profitability for growers. And the consumer marketing efforts will continue to build demand and bring higher returns to growers for this high value food product.
“Most consumers don’t realize they can buy Canadian pears into the winter season,” says Ecker. “We’re continuing our marketing and brand awareness push with consumers. We have marketing partners in Nova Scotia. And as we continue to grow consumer demand for our pear, we have plans to expand production with growers in British Columbia.”
Cold Snap pears will be available in five retailers in Ontario and Quebec for the 2017 season: Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Wal-Mart and Costco.
For more information:
Laura Feil
Agricultural Adaptation Council
Tel: +1 519 822 7554, ext 629