A commodity group reports its recent push to promote California walnuts during American Heart Month appears to have succeeded in generating more sales.

The California Walnut Board marked this year’s heart month in February by teaming with retail chains in two targeted markets – Charlotte, N.C., and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

As one example of the promotion’s impact, walnut sales at Coburn’s in the Minneapolis area were up 55.4 percent compared to February 2017, the Walnut Board reports in a June 15 news release.

Activities included in-store demos at Coburn’s 19 stores in the Twin Cities region, displays, circular and in-store advertising and dietitian-led “Wellness Wednesday” classes and in-store demonstrations for shoppers, according to the release.

Among other highlights of the project, according to the board:

--Overall retail sales in Minneapolis during a four-week period ending Feb. 25 were up 20.4 percent with volume sales increasing 22.6 percent over the same period from the previous year.

The uptick underscored the impact the program had across the entire region, as it increased walnut sales at participating as well as non-participating retailers, board officials say.

--Cub, another retailer, outperformed the full Minneapolis market, driving a 32.3 percent increase in retail sales and a 60.6 percent increase in volume sold from the same period a year ago.

--In Charlotte, for the four-week period ending Feb. 25, overall retail sales of walnuts were up 18.4 percent over the previous year, with 15.6 percent more in volume sold this year than in 2017.

--Participating Food Lion locations outperformed the full Charlotte region, posting a 29 percent increase in retail sales and a 37.8 percent jump in volume sales.

The walnut industry has been touting its benefits for heart health since the American Heart Association certified the tree nut in 2011, enabling retailers to display its heart-check mark label near supplies of the nut.

With California’s walnut acreage having increased by 10 percent since 2015, the Walnut Board was trying to boost domestic demand even before trade disputes erupted with China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union, bringing uncertainty to international shipments of many U.S. agricultural commodities.

The board intends to repeat its heart month activities in 2019, but it first plans to conduct additional retail programs this summer to drive consumption during a non-traditional time of purchase, according to the release.

California walnuts will be featured in some 700 in-store demonstrations in Costco, Sam’s Club and Walmart stores through early August, officials say. In addition, the board has lined up several promotions with “produce partners,” including pairing walnuts with Stemilt’s Lil Snappers apples for a July promotion in Jewel grocery stores.