NEW YORK – It had to be apples in the Big Apple.
It’s rare to find a real groundbreaking new product or trend at an end-of-the-year event like the New York Produce Show, less than two months after Fresh Summit.
As I talked to attendees and exhibitors during the December 12 expo, I looked for a theme, and I couldn’t help but notice how big a star the apple was.
In addition to many opportunities to sample the newly available Cosmic Crisp, so many apple shippers from around the country had peak season supplies, and most had proprietary varieties aimed at catching the Honeycrisp magic of a $2.99 or $3.99 a pound apple that consumers can’t get enough of.
Let’s start with the Cosmic Crisp.
After a fall of strong advertising and promotions and a promised start of December 1, many consumers found out that was the ship date, not the date it was available in stores. But by the expo, many retailers had the apple, as did many Washington apple exhibitors.
A cross between Enterprise and Honeycrisp, it’s an excellent eating apple, and it ought to see good demand and high retail price points for the nearly half a million cartons expected to ship this year.
However, it will not last for a year in a consumer’s refrigerator, as some media outlets misunderstood.
While Washington shippers want to see Cosmic Crisp success, they’re also pushing their proprietary varieties hard.
Among the special varieties featured prominently on the expo floor were Chelan Fresh’s BB #:170403 SugarBee, Crunch Time Apple Growers’ BB #:358642 SnapDragon and RubyFrost, Oppy’s BB #:116424 Envy and Jazz, Starr Ranch Growers’ BB #:113637 Juici, Domex Superfresh’s BB #:113721 Autumn Glory and Stemilt’s BB #:113654 Piñata and Rave.
How can all these higher end apples capture a spot in the retail market like Honeycrisp?
In one way, they can’t, but they may not need to thanks to the Honeycrisp. A retailer told me the Honeycrisp’s success has allowed stores to price a different proprietary apple at $2.99 a pound, about twice as much as the galas and fujis, but so many proprietary varieties are so good, that they appeal to the sizeable “apple snob” consumer.
The “apple snob” consumer, he told me, can tell the flavor quality difference and not only doesn’t mind a higher price point, he demands it.
This is not to make fun of apple snobs, of which, my fellow Produce Reporter Pamela Riemenschneider self identifies.
This is praise for a category that’s serving segments of consumers.
Growing smaller
I’ve long sung the praises of smaller sized apples, as they are perfect for parents who want to give their kids a healthy, appropriately sized snack.
One of the forerunners was Stemilt’s Lil Snappers 2- and 3-pound bags of smaller apples, but nearly every apple shipper at the New York Expo had a small-sized option.
Chelan is expanding its Rockit apple line to a 3-pound container called the “shuttle pack,” which holds 15-19 apples, said Mac Riggan, director of marketing. The container is 100 percent PETE recyclable, he said.
Brett Reasor, CEO of Starr Ranch, a part of Oneonta Trading Corp. Wenatchee, WA, said marketers are having a lot better time finding demand for smaller sized fruit with pouch bags, which is good because this year is a larger crop with even size distribution.
The increasing importance of proprietary varieties and greater size options are just two ways the apple category shined in New York.
These are part of the necessary innovations that will keep apples as a category that retailers can use to differentiate themselves in the market.
