Honeybear Brings First Organic Chilean Honeycrisp Stateside

Elgin, Minnesota – While much of the United States battles floods, snowstorms and winter conditions, in Chile’s perfect apple growing climate, Honeybear Brands orchards have been in full production, working around the clock to pick, pack and ship the company’s first ever organic Chilean Honeycrisp crop to the United States.

“Ten years ago we started our mission to bring the very best tasting Honeycrisp to national retailers year round regardless of the season or the climate,” says Don Roper, vice president sales and marketing, Honeybear Brands. “We found the perfect growing location in Chile, invested heavily in our production there and we are now at a point with the scale of our production where we can provide a truly year-round, fresh, premium Honeycrisp.  Adding organic production in our southern hemisphere operation is simply the next step in continually bringing the very best varieties and service to our partners and their customers.”

Thanks to months of near perfect growing conditions, Honeybear’s first organic Honeycrisp crop from Chile is coming off the tree with all of the classic hallmarks of a truly great Honeycrisp variety: firm, crisp bite; juicy eating experience and high color.

In addition to Honeybear’s organic crop, the company is also bringing to the United States it’s largest ever crop of conventionally grown Honeycrisp. The first shipments land stateside [the first week of May] on their way to retailers across the country. Honeybear’s conventional and organic grown Chilean Honeycrisp are produced to exacting standards. Grown in partnership with local farmers who truly understand their microclimates, soil conditions and the overall agronomic complexities of growing Honeycrisp, the variety is also grown according to Honeybear’s strict grower protocol designed to protect the land, orchard habitat and produce the very best tasting fruit possible.

“With the significant increase in conventional production and our new organic production, we’re bringing more options to our retailers to help them cater to every customer preference,” adds Roper. “Now it’s possible for our retail partners to confidently offer a year-round Honeycrisp program featuring the best tasting Honeycrisp from our domestic U.S. and Chilean orchards. Consumers can be confident that when they purchase organic or conventional grown Honeybear Chilean Honeycrisp they are holding a really exceptional piece of fruit that has been grown to the highest possible quality standards.”

By 2020 Roper adds Honeybear expects as much as 30 percent of Honeybear’s Chilean orchard production capacity to be fully transitioned to organic production to meet demand.

Honeybear Brands and parent Wescott Agri Products were granted exclusive production and commercialization rights for the Chilean Honeycrisp by the University of Minnesota, developer and owner of the original variety.  The company was one of the first to grow Honeycrisp in Washington state and Chile, and is widely recognized as the premier Honeycrisp label in the United States.

For more information visit www.honeybearbrands.com or contact Honeybear Brands at 952-746-1315

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About the Honeycrisp Variety

The well-loved Honeycrisp variety was first designated in 1960, patented in 1988 and made available to customers in 1991. In recent years, thanks to its unique blend of crunch, crisp flesh and a mixed sweet/tart flavor profile, the Honeycrisp variety has become an in-demand favorite of consumers, cooks, apple-lovers and the retailers that sell it. A challenging variety to grow, Honeycrisp requires the right microclimate to maximize production, yield quality and flavor.

About Honeybear Brands (www.honeybearbrands.com) 952-746-1315

Honeybear Brands is the leading developer and grower of premium apple varieties in the United States today. Starting as a single family farm in the 1970s, Honeybear now has an extensive network of expert orchardists and family farm growers across North America’s best apple growing regions including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, New York, Nova Scotia, and Chile. All Honeybear Brands apples are grown sustainably to a strict protocol that helps protect the environment and the land for future generations. Pazazz, Honeybear’s latest premium variety introduction is now sold in more than 60 markets across North America, helping retailers drive sales, earn repeat custom and truly differentiate their premium apple offerings.

Source: Honeycrisp Variety