PORTLAND, Ore. – August 26, 2020 – Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW) is pleased to announce that Neil Ferguson has been promoted to Creative Marketing Manager. Ferguson started at PBNW in 2017 as the organization’s Communications Specialist and has been continually taking on new responsibilities in social media, digital advertising, media communications and website development, driving innovative new promotional tactics and spearheading a range of creative content. Prior to joining the produce industry, Ferguson worked as a marketer, social media manager and journalist. “As a newcomer to the produce industry when I started at PBNW, the last three years have been…

PORTLAND, Ore. – August 20, 2020 – After careful evaluation, the pear industry is releasing the first official estimate of the 2020-21 fresh pear crop for Washington and Oregon. Pear growers and producers from Washington’s Wenatchee and Yakima and Oregon’s Mid-Columbia and Medford districts have estimated this year’s fresh pear harvest at 16.6 million standard box equivalents, or approximately 366,000 tons of fresh pears. The estimate is coming in slightly above last season’s harvest. “Growers throughout Washington and Oregon are reporting beautiful fruit and good sizing,” stated Kevin Moffitt, president and CEO of Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW). “We are expecting…

Multi-faceted initiative includes influencers, website content, social media ads and more PORTLAND, Ore. – June 16, 2020 – Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW) consistently develops fresh and innovative promotional strategies for USA Pears in a rapidly changing retail and consumer landscape. In direct response to meat shortages and higher prices throughout North America, the organization has launched a new initiative pairing fresh pears with plant-based meat and plant-based proteins, inserting pears into the increasing amount of consumer interest in and consumption of these foods. “Recognizing the interest in plant-based meat amid the scarcity and higher prices in the meat department, we…

New video offers storage tips and reminds consumers that pears can be a long-lasting produce item.  PORTLAND, Ore. – April 29, 2020 – Northwest pears are still in season and available, and in response to the shifting retail landscape, Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW) has been working to stay innovative with a number of communication tools. These include directing consumers to our 400+ shoppable recipes through organic and paid social media, focusing content on recipes that are easy to make at home, promoting pears for online shoppers, and helping consumers who are looking for longer lasting produce items. PBNW has shared…

Sweepstakes and digital media initiative to reach consumers, dietitians and retailers PORTLAND, Ore. – February 20, 2020 – To encourage consumers to keep thinking about fresh fruit as a healthy staple during an optimal time of year, USA Pears is once again launching the #WhatsInYourFruitBowl initiative. 2020 marks the third year USA Pears will be running #WhatsInYourFruitBowl, which takes place March 1-31, and this year is set to be the largest, most multi-faceted initiative yet. According to research, habits are more likely to be formed when there is a consistent cue. The simple and ubiquitous presence of a fruit bowl…

Pears tap into hot and spicy snack trend. Video is available for viewing here. PORTLAND, Ore. – January 7, 2020 – With the fourth annual ongoing efforts to present pears in new and exciting ways and reach new audiences, the organization has embraced the current popularity of hot and spicy snack foods by creating a short, humorous video highlighting pears and hot, spicy and savory chips. The video is aimed at generating pear interest among young adults and teenagers, as well as people of all ages who enjoy snacks such as Hot Cheetos and spicy Doritos. “Hot and spicy snack…

Worldwide pear sampling event returns for 4th year Access approved images, logos and retailer tools HERE PORTLAND, Ore. – November 13, 2019 – Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW) will once again celebrate World Pear Day for the fourth year in a row. The event marks the start of National Pear Month, proclaimed as December each year by U.S. Department of Agriculture. Taking place on December 8th, World Pear Day will celebrate peak pear season with festivities around the world where consumers will get to enjoy fresh pear samples from the Northwest at a variety of venues. The international event will be chronicled extensively…

Harris Teeter recognized for creative pear category tactics resulting in sales boost PORTLAND, Ore. – October 18, 2019 – Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW) is excited to present the award for 2019 Pear Retailer of the Year to Harris Teeter. Presented on the show floor of the 2019 PMA Fresh Summit, the award is based upon tactics devoted to pear category improvements in merchandising performance and sales increases throughout the year. “Over the course of the past season, Harris Teeter put forth commendable efforts to build their pear category,” stated PBNW President and CEO Kevin Moffitt. “On behalf of more than…

Step aside pineapple, there’s a new fruit pizza topping in town PORTLAND, Ore. – September 4, 2019 – As part of the kick-off for the 2019-20 Northwest pear season, USA Pears will launch a campaign centered around pear pizza. The beginning of 2019 was marked by the great pineapple pizza controversy, but we are proudly declaring that there is nothing wrong with using fruit as a pizza topping. That being said, now it is time for pineapples to step aside for pears to triumph as the ultimate fruit to use as a pizza topping. The quest for world pizza domination…

PBNW awarded over $1.5 million in additional ATP funding PORTLAND, Ore. – August 13, 2019 – Pear Bureau Northwest (PBNW) has been awarded $1,540,830 in the second round of the Agricultural Trade Program (ATP) funding – part of the U.S. government’s larger trade mitigation relief package. Between the two allocations, the organization has received a total of $2.1 million in funding to be used for promotional activities to offset the impacts that the Northwest pear industry has faced due to recent retaliatory tariffs in China. With the funding, PBNW will be targeting top export markets for the next two seasons.…