Ring the bell and sound the alarm – stone fruit harvest is starting in California with the first organic apricots hitting OGC’s docks this week and red cherries following closely behind. By June, the first nectarines and peaches will arrive and finally plums and pluots.

To help guide you through this delicious season, we’ve put together a Stone Fruit Toolkit full of resources.

It’s an understatement to say that there are many varieties of organic plums and pluots to choose from. To guide purchasing plans and increase category knowledge, download and print OGC’s primer describing the various shades, flavor profiles and windows of availability for the over 55 gems in this delicious category.

The stone fruit category presents exciting opportunities for your department to stand out by delivering amazing quality and flavor. Sweet success is as simple as selecting the best-eating fruit, understanding seasonality, merchandising appropriately and leveraging the expertise of OGC and our organic grower partners.

September, often seen as a transition month, is a micro-season in itself, overflowing with late-summer favorites at peak flavor and nutrition.

Meet OGC Buyer Brian Keogh (a.k.a. BK) in the orchard to kick off the start of the 2024 Stone Fruit Season.

Here’s where to focus energy for the next few weeks by building prominent displays for a strong finish to stone fruit season that supports growers all the way to end.

Tasting like gummi peach rings, but better, this organic white peach is a delicious addition to late summer eating.

CA Season Still Going Strong, Northwest Options Now Available

With new varieties rolling in every week, these juicy gems of stone fruit season continue to delight shoppers.

Starting to see the summer sales slump? With road trips, vacations and packed summer schedules, it’s not uncommon for shoppers’ time and attention to be drawn in many different directions. This is a great time to focus their attention on key summer items to capture all possible sales with eye-catching and informative POP!

Stone fruit orchards in California are heavy with sweet and succulent apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums and pluots. OGC recently had the opportunity to visit several of our incredible grower partners in the Central Valley to reconnect and see how this season’s fruit is coming along.  

Lusty and luscious organic apricots from our friends at Frog Hollow Farm have something of a cult following. Asked for by name, these juicy gems leave little room for improvement and are enhanced by their whimsical label and the convenience of grab-and-go clamshells.

The first varieties of stone fruit have begun to arrive from our grower partners in California. While the Northwest remains decidedly in the clutch of springtime’s cool temps and intermittent showers, these juicy gems are a delicious reminder that warmer days are on the way!

Learn what to expect in this stone fruit forecast!

Founded in 1893 upon the fertile soil of Kingsburg, California, Peterson Family Farm is more than just an exceptional stone fruit grower. Learn how Vernon Peterson has assembled a group of farmers and a team of workers he regards as a family to produce fruit that’s beyond organic.

Click to download a set of stone fruit POP that will help your shoppers confidently select, store and enjoy their juicy gems at peak ripeness!

Nikiko Masumoto, a third-generation stone fruit grower in California’s Central Valley, talks about variety selection, intuitive eating and her goal of challenging implicit bias about food. More than just growers of impeccable peaches and nectarines, learn why Masumoto Family Farm is a leader in progressive thinking.

Plump, juicy, packed with flavor and completely crave-able, the Northwest cherry season is here, and with it arrives strong volume, great varieties, and a multitude of size profiles and pricing to meet all needs.

When OGC’s stone fruit Buyer Brian Keogh wants to know how a variety from Valliwide Marketing is eating, he picks up the phone and calls Mason Parkinson. Mason can be relied on for a straight answer and makes it a point always to test the fruit. Learn why selecting stone fruit from Valliwide is a delicious choice!

OGC Buyer Brian Keogh and OGC Ambassador Tom Lively share updates on the California stone fruit season, as well as tips and tricks for selecting and storing peaches, nectarines, pluots and more. Don’t miss out on hearing from these stone fruit experts!

Stone fruit from California has landed and with it the promise of sensuous sunny days filled with delectable peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries, plums, and pluots. The enthusiasm for this category at OGC is palpable, not only for the depth of flavors and colors it offers but that it provides produce-nerds something to really sink their teeth into.

Learn more about what to expect this season and why the name “Zaiger Genetics” makes the eyes of our stone fruit buyer, Brian Keogh, light up!

In searching for a grower to introduce to you this week, we knew that showcasing David and Dorothy of D.E. Boldt, their gorgeous historical property in Parlier, CA., and the stunning stone fruit this multi-generational grower produces, is aptly timed. The best of their season is currently being plucked from their orchards.