Find Your Pearmate: Drive Sales with the USA Pears Campaign

Great produce programs start with the right mix of timing, storytelling, and in-store execution. This spring, IGA has a unique opportunity to deliver all three through the USA Pears campaign, designed to help move a record-breaking pear crop while driving incremental sales and shopper engagement across your stores.

After last year’s smallest pear crop in over 40 years, this season is seeing a major rebound, with volumes up significantly year over year. That means more supply, strong quality, and a critical need to move product quickly to maintain freshness and avoid carryover inventory.

For IGA retailers, this isn’t just a supply story, it’s a sales opportunity. Together with USA Pears, IGA has built a campaign to support independent grocers with:

• Increased shopper awareness through targeted digital ads
• Stronger produce movement during peak supply
• Simple in-store execution with unified creative across all three varieties
• Incremental sales lift driven by coordinated national and local efforts

The Focus: Three Core Pear Varieties

The campaign centers around three high-impact varieties that will be featured together across all marketing:

• Green Anjou: A customer favorite with a juicy, classic pear profile
• Red Anjou: Mild, sweet, and eye-catching for displays
• Bosc: Firm, crisp, and ideal for cooking and snacking

All three will be promoted simultaneously to simplify execution and maximize visibility in-store.

The campaign focuses on moving three pear varieties: Anjou, Red Anjou, and Bosc.

Campaign Timing & What to Expect

This is a coordinated national effort combining retailer education, digital media, and in-store activation. For retailers and produce teams, reference the above varietal education and below merchandising tips for optimal success.

The shopper-facing campaign begins May 6, 2026 and runs through June 17, 2026. That's six weeks of National Digital Ad campaigns designed to drive shopper demand while giving stores a simple, consistent message to execute. Look for shelf tags via the national digital ad offer email, and find in-store signage to reinforce messaging, like these images of pears with nametags and flavor profiles, on the USA Pears website.

Merchandising Tips to Maximize Impact

To get the most out of the campaign:

• Build multi-varietal displays featuring all three pears together
• Use signage to highlight flavor differences (“Sweet,” “Mild,” “Crisp”)
• Cross-merchandise with cheese, nuts, and wine for basket-building
• Keep displays full and fresh , as this is a high-volume movement window

Be Ready for May 6

What can your store do to prepare? Three things:

1. Secure inventory of Green Anjou, Red Anjou, and Bosc pears
2. Plan display space and signage placement
3. Align your teams on execution ahead of the campaign launch

The national digital ads begin May 6, 2026, so ensure your store is stocked and ready to meet the demand.

With strong supply, national marketing support, and simple execution, the USA Pears campaign is built to deliver results for IGA retailers. By leaning in early and ensuring your shelves are ready, you can turn this bumper crop into a bumper sales opportunity. Stock up, display big, and help your shoppers find their “Pearmate.”