Marcus Hartmann, in sales for Bellevue, WA’s Pacificpro, Inc. is excited about the new offerings.
“We’re seeing several older varieties replaced by new club varieties,” enthuses Hartmann, “giving consumers a much larger selection of desirable characteristics: apples that will store longer, maintain pressures, a nice balance between sweet and tart—it’s incredibly positive and reassuring to know the industry is constantly evolving to meet consumer preferences and expectations.”
James Allen, president of the New York Apple Association, located in Fishers, outside Rochester in upper New York, is excited about two trademarked New York brands that are fresh on the market. The Snap Dragon, which has Honeycrisp parentage and is “crisp, red, and juicy” is one, and the Ruby Frost, the offspring of the Braeburn and Autumn Crisp is the other.
Allen says the Ruby Frost is “deep red in color, slices nicely, doesn’t brown as quickly” and has been compared to Empire and sweet Granny Smith apples.
Washington has also seen growth in proprietary varieties. “In 2019, we expect to see the first commercial volumes of Cosmic Crisp, a variety developed by Washington State University and exclusively available to Washington growers, hit the market,” shares Lyons. This new apple is large and juicy, created as a cross between an Enterprise and Honeycrisp.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the Cosmic Crisp, the Buckeye Galas, and more high-colored fruit with 80 percent coloring,” enthuses David Henze, president of C.M. Holtzinger Fruit Company, LLC, based in Yakima. “I think that Honeycrisp and new varieties will result in more consumers.”
Borton Fruit is also at the forefront of new cultivars: forming exclusive partnerships to sell the trademarked Koru and Rockit brands.
For the Rockit, Borton paired with Chelan Fresh Marketing in Chelan, WA to grow and market the apples in the United States, and for the Koru, the company teamed with partners on each side of the country: Oneonta Trading Corporation in Wenatchee, WA and New York Apples Sales, Inc. in New York.
New York Apple Sales’ Byrne is particularly proud of the Koru project, which will have its first domestic crop this year. The past three seasons, the new apple variety has been available in U.S. markets, but only in limited quantities, and only as an import.
Now, New York and Washington growers boast 300 to 400 acres combined for the Koru, with hopes of having up to 1,300 acres by 2019.
Marketing Strategies & Brand Wars
Both apple production giants in the East and West—New York and Washington—have major state and trade group branding programs.
In New York, the ‘Apple Country’ promotion has what Allen refers to as “a huge toolbox” based on what works for demographics by region and also targets groups by level of consumption.
