Page 49 - January_2019

ment station’s development of the RubyFrost. is sweet tart apple, whose parents are Autumn Crisp and Braeburn, ripens later, stores well and is typically marketed from January to April.
“RubyFrost is an incredibly popular apple with consumers,” says Austin Fowler, owner of Fowler Farms, in Wolcott, NY. “It is like eating a fresh-picked apple right out of the orchard in the winter and spring months. We expect a little more than 200,000 bushels this season.”
Newer varieties, Evercrisp and Sweet Cheeks, are available in limited volumes this year from January to March and January to May, respectively, says Andy Figart, sales manager with Hess Bros. Fruit Co., in Lancaster, PA. “We expect volumes on both of these to grow.”
e Pazazz, a Honeycrisp descendent developed by Honeybear Marketing, is another new variety ideal for January and February sales.
“Pazazz volumes continue to increase as our young orchards mature and our growers plant more each season. In the short order, Pazazz will be a million-case variety, with production in Washington, Midwest, New York, Nova Scotia and the Southern Hemi- sphere,” says Roper.
Piñata is the big wintertime apple for Stemilt Growers, in Wenatchee, WA. e trademarked variety is a natural mix of Golden Delicious and two European heirloom vari- eties: Cox’s Orange Pippin and Duchess of Oldenburg. Close to half a million cartons are available this season, according to Roger Pepperl, director of marketing.
ere are other newer apple varieties that
LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF HONEYBEAR MARKETING; ABOVE: PHOTO COURTESY OF STEMILT GROWERS
“We aggressively promote the message of apples being a healthy
choice. Due to seasonal gaps in the availability of other U.S.-
grown fresh fruits, winter is a great time to promote U.S. apples.” — Mike Preacher, Domex Superfresh Growers
Piñata Apple
harvest in the fall, but because of the Piña- ta’s ability to store well, it is ideal to stock and promote in the winter.
During this time, “some great varieties for us are the Envy, Arkansas Black, Opal, and Honeycrisp. When available, we prefer these grown organically,” says John Savidan, produce director for Bristol Farms, a 12-store chain headquartered in Carson, CA.
e Koru, a New Zealand variety and accidental cross between a Braeburn and Fuji, harvests in November and markets through April.
“Our domestic crop is ‘replenished with imported Koru from New Zealand starting in May, which provides a steady supply for retailers,” says New York Apple Sales’ Allen.
Two of the newest apple varieties just ramping up in commercial production are the SugarBee, with Honeycrisp parentage, and the Cosmic Crisp. Both store well, and conse- quently as volumes increase, the varieties will be available in the winter.
“We just introduced the SugarBee this season and are looking forward to doing the same with the Cosmic Crisp next season,” says Harp’s Food Stores’ Roberts.
e Cosmic Crisp, a cross between a Honeycrisp and Enterprise, has performed well in taste and production tests, and it is forecast to replace older varieties such as the
Red Delicious, according to Rainier’s Tudor. “To date, Washington growers have actively been planting trees, and the rst apples are expected in the marketplace in 2019. e big question is yet to be answered based on the ‘all-in’ mentality of this apple. We’ve never seen anything like it. Reports are that nearly seven million trees have been planted and harvest estimates for 2019 could be about 200,000 boxes and ramp up to two million boxes in 2020, six million in 2021, 11 million in 2022, 15 million in 2023 and up. We’ve never seen an apple scaled this fast in produc- tion.”
3. CAPITALIZE ON DIETERS
Nearly half (45 percent) of Americans said their resolution for 2018 was to lose weight or get in shape, according to a November 2017-released survey by mobile banking startup, San Francisco-based Varo Money, Inc. Take advantage of this theme to market apples.
“Many consumers try to improve their diets in the New Year,” says Domex’s Preacher. “We aggressively promote the message of apples being a healthy choice. Also, due to seasonal gaps in the availability of other U.S.- grown fresh fruits, winter is a great time to promote U.S. apples. Plus, since Washington State’s organic apple crop is up about 26
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