New ways to appeal to apple consumers

The movement of apples from New York state continues to look steady.

Kaari Stannard, president/CEO of Yes! Apples in Glenmont, NY says current supplies of bushels left to market look similar to last year at this time. “We have increased supplies of our club varieties like Snapdragon, KORU and Rubyfrost as young trees come into production,” says Stannard, adding that 65 percent of Yes! apples are grown in Western New York while 30 percent are in the valley and Champlain region.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

In addition, Yes! does import some Honeycrisp and SweeTango apples from New Zealand and Nova Scotia Canada. “Developing an import program on the popular Honeycrisp allows us to segue from our domestic crop into imports and remain a viable year-round supplier for this important variety,” says Stannard. Part of that New Zealand import program also involves bringing in organic Honeycrisp to meet what Stannard says is continuing organic apple demand.

Moving apples via direct-to-consumer (DTC)

Other varietal notes, the Yes! Apples shop is shipping EverCrisp, Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, KORU, McIntosh, Pink Lady and SnapDragon.

Another item that can be found at the e-commerce shop which launched last fall is a Charcuterie Essentials Box that includes EverCrisp, SnapDragon and KORU apples. “With our e-commerce shop, we’ve been able to bring the experience of what it’s like to smell and taste an apple picked right from the tree to consumers all over the country,” says Stannard, noting demand stays fairly constant for apples, a staple item for many consumers. “We see orders in our e-commerce shop coming from all over the country, as far south as Texas and Florida. And we work with retailers across the U.S. We do see a lot of sales from people who grew up in the Northeast and are familiar with apple season and New York apples but have since moved away.”

Other developments for Yes! that may also appeal to consumers is its move on sustainable packaging. Its new cardboard boxes at retailer Costco support the 1% for the Planet initiative and are fully recyclable. Its paper totes are also made from recyclable paper and Yes! has also reduced the amount of plastic required to make its apple bags by up to five percent.

Meanwhile, on pricing, apple prices are up. “The apple industry, similar to other industries, has had to increase pricing due to inflation on cardboard, labor and trucking, among other rising costs,” says Stannard.

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.

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