Securing shelf space in the produce department can be a challenge, especially at certain times of the year, Michigan apple grower-shippers say.
And persuading a retailer to stock a new variety can be like pulling teeth.
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For Belleharvest Sales Inc., Smitten, a club apple variety, will be available on a commercial-volume basis for the first time this year, according Christopher Sandwick, the firm’s vice president of sales and marketing. Sandwick said there are “a number of orchards around the country” producing Smitten. But Belleharvest growers have exclusive rights to produce the new variety the Midwest. Belleharvest will represent the variety “in the Midwest and middle part of the country with our retail partners.”
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Good Fruit Grower caught up with two growers — Michael Zingler and Tony Blattner — who shared the stories behind their decisions to add a new variety, in this case the club apple Smitten.
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Two of the many international introductions that are drawing interest are the New Zealand offerings PremA129 (to be licensed and sold as Dazzle), which is a cross of Scired (a Gala and Splendour cross known as NZ Queen) and Sweetie (a Royal Gala and Braeburn cross), and Smitten, which has grandparents in Falstaff, Fiesta, Braeburn and Gala.
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The Bachelorette's Georgia Love and Lee Elliott pose for very cheesy Valentine's Day shoot complete with fruity bouquets. The couple spent equal time gazing into each-other's eyes as they did at their bouquet of hybrid Gala apples, given the name 'Smitten' by their creators.
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If you’re a horse-betting kind of buyer, this one has the nice lines you want to see. It’s a cross between crowd favorites Gala, Braeburn, Falstaff, and Fiesta, conceived by the same New Zealand breeder of Envy™ and JAZZ™. The blush catches the eye, but it’s the crunch consumers will likely come back for.
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To further enrapture consumers with apples and gain those repeat sales, there are three main features of a variety that New York Apple Sales (NYAS) prizes amongst others: flavor, taste, and crunch. And with hundreds of acres of high-performing varieties in production, there is a lot of excitement for the team and the upcoming season.
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Michigan growers are adding more club varieties to their product mixes.
BelleHarvest Sales Inc., Belding, Mich., for instance, is betting big on them. The company has inked a deal to become the official Midwestern licensee of the Smitten apple, an early-season New Zealand-bred variety that has been on the market for about five years, said Chris Sandwick, BelleHarvest’s vice president of sales and marketing.
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Montague Apples Australian apple producer, Montague, has announced it will be supplying four new apple varieties to Australia supermarkets. One of the new varieties include Smitten™ brand apples.
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For the fall harvest in Washington, president Randy Steensma said the Wenatchee, Wash.-based company’s volume is expected to total about 25,000 cartons. “What we like about the apple is that it is very crunchy and has a flavor profile that is out of this world,” he said.
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“We find growers ask the tough questions now,” said Steensma, who owns Honey Bear Tree Fruit Company in Wenatchee, Washington, and was among the first to plant Honeycrisp in Washington 25 years ago.
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European consumers prefer bicolored apples and in some countries, including Germany, they associate dark red apples with mealiness.
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Prevar Limited is pleased to announce that it has an exclusive licence agreement with the Washington State-based company Pegasus Premier Fruit Co LLC, for the SMITTEN® brand apple to be grown, marketed and sold in the United States and Canada.
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Pegasus Premier Fruit Co., North American licensee for New Zealand-based Prevar’s Smitten apple, has substantially increased plantings of the variety as it prepares bigger commercial volumes.
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New Zealand-based Prevar’s Smitten brand apples will soon be available year round to North American customers, following an exclusive license agreement with Washington State’s Pegasus Premier Fruit Co. to grow and sell the fruit in the U.S. and Canada.
Read MoreThe crisp flesh is hard enough that biting in takes a little effort. Inside, Smitten is more fine-grained than otherwise and a light buttery yellow. The firm flesh breaks into great crunchy chunks, and the flavors are well balanced.
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Giumarra Wenatchee has just gotten into its import apple season and will be supplying a full line of New Zealand apples to North American customers again this Spring and Summer. “We see customer interest in the new club varieties,” says Jason Bushong, Sales Manager for Giumarra Wenatchee.
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