Pumpkin queen urges retailers to extend the selling season past Halloween

Facts from the original

• The article is dated Aug 25, 2017 and written by Tom Burfield.
• Pumpkins are a venerable Halloween tradition, but pulling pumpkin promotions right after Oct. 31 could mean missing out.
• Sarah Frey is a grower, author and entrepreneur.
• The New York Times referred to Frey as "the undisputed pumpkin queen of America."
• Frey is founder and CEO of Frey Farms in Keenes, Ill.
• Frey says there is a big opportunity for retailers to lengthen the selling season for pumpkins.
• Sales of cooking pumpkins actually increase during the weeks following Halloween as consumers kick off Thanksgiving shopping.
• Consumers look for beautiful heirloom-variety pumpkins and cooking pumpkins to make a unique culinary dish — a conversation platter — for Thanksgiving.
• Frey is author of "For the Love of Pumpkins: A Visual Guide to Fall Decorating with Pumpkins and Ornamentals."
• Frey Farms is one of the largest — if not the largest — pumpkin growers in the country.
• The company produces big, orange jack-o-lanterns, decorative pumpkins and cooking pumpkins.
• Frey markets cooking pumpkins as the Pumpkins of the World and Autumn Couleur lines.
• Frey got her start in produce at age 8 selling melons out of the back of a truck with her mother.
• At 18, she bought the family farm out of foreclosure.
• She now runs the operation with her four older brothers.
• The family owns about 15,000 acres in seven states.
• The company also produces watermelons, cantaloupes, sweet corn, fall ornamentals and hard squash.
• Pumpkins account for less than 25% of the product the company grows, but they are Frey's favorite.
• After searching myriad seed catalogs, Frey started sourcing heirloom pumpkin seeds from around the world about 15 years ago.
• She discovered varieties like Jarrahdale from Australia and marina di Chioggias from Italy — both thick, meaty, blue-green selections.
• In many parts of the world, pumpkin is consumed almost daily.
• In Australia, pumpkin is as common as bread is in America.
• Most U.S. consumers don't know the decorative pumpkins they buy every fall are edible.
• Cooking with fresh pumpkins is a hot trend, due in part to the influence of Instagram and other social media.
• People like to look for unique items and showcase them on their Instagram profile.
• Frey encourages retailers to jump on the trend and promote pumpkins as culinary fare as well as decorations.
• The decorating trend is not going to go away; retailers need to do a better job of educating and letting consumers know the pumpkins are meant to cook and eat.
• Pumpkins of the World cooking pumpkins weigh a mere 5 to 8 pounds.
• Pumpkins in the Autumn Couleur line might weigh 20 to 25 pounds.
• The Pumpkins of the World seeds were curated purposely to ensure wonderful cooking pumpkins of a manageable size.
• Not everybody wants to cook up a 20-pound pumpkin and process all of that meat.
• Jack-o-lanterns are easier to carve than cooking pumpkins because they are hollow.
• Cooking pumpkins are thicker and meatier with smaller seed cavities.
• Frey says fresh pumpkins beat canned.
• Frey Farms starts shipping fall pumpkins the last week of August.
• Frey Farms sells painted pumpkins and pumpkin tattoo kits.
• Frey recommends high-graphic bins and an in-store "pumpkin patch" look with straw bales.
• The company ships more than 5 million pumpkins a year.
• Frey Farms was the first pumpkin shipper to bring variety pumpkins to retail.
• Frey Farms works with the top 25 retailers.
• Frey is expanding with the Sarah's Kitchen line of packaged goods made from cosmetically imperfect fruit — purees, soup bases, roasting seeds, pumpkin butter and pumpkin flour.