Instore - September 2018 - 12

merchandising

ON DISPLAY

Holiday pies

For an industry that relies so heavily on holiday sales, the retail instore
pie business faces a bit of a conundrum: the holidays mean indulgence,
but American consumers are more and more concerned about what
they put in their bodies.
Fortunately for Akron, Ohio-based Gardner Pie Co., fans of its pies can
indulge with a little less guilt, says Tom Cavanaugh, the company's vice
president of sales and marketing. "Holidays are a time where people
indulge but eating better is now a part of people's lifestyles," he says.
"When they indulge, they have an eye on indulging responsibly. So we
talk that up as much as we can."
And for Gardner Pie, when they talk it up, they're not blowing hot air.
The company has established its clean-label bona fides by baking pies
with no high-fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors. "Why should you
start eating something where you can't pronounce half the ingredients
just because it's the holidays," Cavanaugh says.
Indulging responsibly also can mean smaller portions, and Gardner
Pie now sells just as many, if not more, half-pies than it does whole pies,
Cavanaugh says -whether it's the holidays or not. Much of that can be
attributed to smaller households, but health-consciousness also plays
a central role.
The surge in half-pie sales does not, however, mean that people are
eating less pie, Cavanaugh says. "I don't think we've seen a negative
correlation between dessert sales and people's desire to eat better.

Manufacturers have figured out ways to deliver products that taste
great and are indulgent yet are cleaner," he says.
Gardner Pie of course sells plenty of pumpkin, pecan and sweet potato
pies when the fall and winter holidays roll around, Cavanaugh says. But
the company also differentiates itself from its competitors with special
pies no one else has, like its homemade Colonial Apple Pie.
You can tell there's something special about the 4-pound Colonial as
soon as you look at it. The pleated crust folds up and in, unlike with
traditional two-crust pie. "It has a real unique look, almost like a fluted
top, and works very well as a gift," Cavanaugh says. "One of the keys to
its success is that it has a very special appearance." Gardner Pie sells
Colonial Apple year-round, but Cavanaugh estimates that 80 percent of
sales are generated around the holidays.
The pie is a part of a series of Colonial pies featuring the unique
pleated look; others include Apple Black Raspberry, Apple Cranberry,
Apple Raisin and Apple Red Raspberry. "With holiday time indulgence,
you want to put your best foot forward with your family and friends,"
Cavanaugh says.

Beyond pumpkin and apple
Pumpkin, French silk and apple are the top three holiday pie sellers
for Tippin's, a division of Kansas City, Kansas-based Balls Foods, which
ships its pies to grocery stores in 14 states, says Mark Boyer, Tippin's
president. French silk, because it's priced higher, actually is "neck
and neck" with the venerable pumpkin when it comes to dollar sales,
Boyer says.
"If you asked 100 Tippin's customers, 80 would say French silk is our
signature pie," he says. "No one comes close to our French silk.
They take three days to make."
Pecan, sweet potato and Dixie (similar to pecan but with
chocolate) are among the other Tippin's pies that shine
at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Full-size pies are the
big sellers, but the fastest-growing segment for Tippin's
is 4-in pies, and 6-in pies also sell well at the holidays, a
reflection of today's smaller families, Boyer says.

12 * SEPTEMBER 2018 * instore

GARDNER PIE

Apple pie sales
are a good gauge of pie sales
in general, according to Gardner Pie.

Another top seller at the holidays for Gardner that's outside
of the pumpkin/pecan/sweet potato/apple group of usual
suspects is the company's Very Berry Pie, a four-berry pie - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries -that fits into the
"rich, indulgent" paradigm many people associate with the holidays.
Available in 8-, 9- and 10-inch formats, Very Berry is a long-standing
customer favorite, Cavanaugh says. "There's just a richness about it that
screams 'special.'"

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Instore - September 2018