Looking to get your creative juices flowing?  Have a knack for creating eye-catching displays?  Veritable Vegetable has partnered with Marian Farms to offer a seasonal promotion of certified organic and Biodynamic green seedless Thompson grapes. The grapes are offered in recyclable paper totes that are approximately 2+ pounds each. A case is 17-pounds and holds 7 totes. We invite all retailers to join the contest and get creative while highlighting the value and flavor of Marian Farms Thompson grapes. Along the way, enhance customers’ shopping experience and boost produce sales!

Contest Criteria

• Build a creative display of Marian Farms organic Thompson grape totes purchased from VV in your store.
• Displays must be up in-store for at least one week.
• Use point of sale signage provided by VV in the display, highlighting organic Biodynamic Thompson grapes and Marian Farms.
• Items used in the display other than Marian Farms Thompson grapes are not required to be purchased from VV.
• To enter the contest, send display pictures to veritablevegetable@gmail.com by October 11th. Please include your store name in the subject line of the email.
• Earn contest points by posting your display on social media and using the hashtag #GrapeEscape2020. Don’t forget to mention @MarianFarmsBiodynamic and @VeritableVegetable!
• Contest will run from September 14 – October 11, 2020.

One winner will be selected for each of the following categories. Winners will receive a $250 VISA Gift Card.

Most Creative Display | Most Thompson Grapes Sold

Meet the Grower

Marian Farms is a 75-acre Demeter certified Biodynamic farm and distillery in Fresno, California. The farm is owned and operated by Gena Nonini the third generation of her family to farm and steward the Marian Farms property. By farming Biodynamically, the farm creates a diversified, balanced ecosystem. These practices include maintaining living soil and adding vitality to crops by generating and integrating fertility through composting, cover cropping and crop rotation.

Gena partnered with VV early on to market her sweet grapes and delicious almonds to customers; today, Gena sells oranges, almonds, raisins and grapes exclusively through VV in the Bay Area.

What is Biodynamics?

Biodynamics is a holistic, ecological, and ethical approach to agriculture. It restores, maintains, and enhances ecological harmony. Biodynamics was developed in 1924 by philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner. It’s the oldest, non-chemical agricultural movement and even pre-dates organic agriculture by nearly twenty years!

Biodynamic agriculture encourages observing, sensing, and listening to the land to develop an intimate relationship with it. Biodynamics seek to understand the subtle environmental cues by observing the rhythms and cycles of the earth, sun, moon, stars, and planets. Biodynamic farming practices have been found to be more resilient to environmental challenges and to be more energy efficient.

• Emphasizes use of manures and composts, excluding the use of synthetic fertilizers on soil and plants.
• Composts are enhanced with medicinal herbs that stabilize and restore nutrients and microbial diversity–aiding in restoring climate balance.
• Features crop diversification and use of local breeds and varieties to cater to the uniqueness of each landscape.
• Biodynamic calendars provide detailed astronomical information and indications of optimal times for sowing, transplanting, cultivating, and harvesting.

Merchandising Tips

• Free-Standing Displays: Place displays near registers and capture customers as they check-out. Grapes can be out of refrigeration for short periods of time; place them in the cooler at the end of the night.
• Smaller Displays: Grapes are soft and can be easily damaged if too much weight is on top of them. Limit to 2-3 layers of product.
• Color Contrast: Pops of color are an effective way to draw attention to a display and break up a sea of similar produce.
• Cross Merchandise: Use other Biodynamic products in your displays— produce, wines, juices, apple sauce, nuts, or oils. Heirloom apples, dates, figs, crackers, cheese, or wine also all look great next to Thompson grapes.
• Signage/Labeling: Customers want to identify what they are buying, quickly. In addition to our provided signage, put up some of your own. Good signage is eye-catching, easy to read, and has all the relevant information. Educate customers on Biodynamic practices—it’s what makes these grapes special!
• Training: Make sure all your staff is trained on handling, sorting, and displaying grapes. Highlight what Biodynamic farming is and how it relates to grape size and flavor.
• Social Media: Snap some photos of your grape display and share it on your social media platforms. Tell customers where to quickly locate grapes in your store. Post a video with a staff member sampling and describing the flavor of the Thompson grapes to entice customers! Aim for clear, high resolution images or videos with short and concise captions.

Download Marian Farms Thompson Grape Contest Flyer