MINNEAPOLIS – Select retail markets around the U.S. are set to start 2015 with a real “wow.” Honeybear Brands, the varietal development leader – and one of the country’s first growers of the Honeycrisp – announced the regions and markets selected for the next roll out of their newest apple variety, Pazazz.
Pazazz is developed with a Honeycrisp-like crunch and unique sweet/tart flavor that promises “a wow right now” eating experience. The new variety will be available to select retailer partners in several major metro markets. Honeybear will offer sampling programs to consumers in: Austin, TX; Central Florida; North Carolina; Des Moines, IA; Indiana; Kansas City, MO; St. Louis, MO; North Carolina; Minneapolis and St Paul, MN; and Toronto, Canada.
“2015 will be our largest crop of Pazazz as our young orchards are just beginning to produce fruit,” says Don Roper, vice president sales and marketing, Honeybear Brands. “With only limited quantity available the first two seasons, we offered customers at certain retail partners a sneak peek and an early taste of Pazazz. Reaction from all customers in the sampling markets was phenomenal.
“This season, with the significant increase in production, we are working to expand the program to additional retail partners across the country as we introduce Pazazz’s distinct flavor profile. We know we’ve have developed a winner with Pazazz and we want to see and hear what apple lovers think from Florida to Minnesota.”
An open-pollinated Honeycrisp descendent, Pazazz offers a Honeycrisp-like crunch with a distinct flavor profile. Pazazz is a bi-colored apple with a strong, red-dappled appearance and a thin skin that allows the flavor to burst through. The flesh is attractive and creamy with a texture that provides exceptional crispness and a high crunch factor in every bite.
Pazazz is harvested in late October and while it eats great right off the tree, it becomes an even better apple as its starches and sugars mature through storage. This is a real win for retailers, as Pazazz helps extend their sales of premium fruit into late winter and early spring. For consumers, it’s an opportunity to enjoy an apple that offers a tart flavor explosion and a long, sweet after taste. Pazazz has already developed a strong following in markets where the product was previously sampled. Consumers can now look forward to finding a “new” apple in the produce aisle during mid-winter and specifically ask for the variety by name.
Pazazz will demo throughout January and February 2015, following taste tests at produce industry events in Anaheim, CA this fall where it generated rave reviews from consumers and retailers alike. In 2015, for the first time, retailers will also have a newly launched, high-impact retail Pazazz box designed to create an eye-catching, visual “wow” at end cap displays in produce aisles.
“Honeybear has a unique position in the market as a grower, shipper, developer and marketer of our own proprietary varieties,” adds Roper. “This allows us to ensure these site specific varieties are produced in the best growing locations and our finished product results in a premium quality piece of fruit that exceeds our retailers’ and consumers’ expectations.”
For more information visit www.honeybearbrands.com.
About Honeybear (www.honeybearbrands.com)
Honeybear is a leading grower and developer of premium apple varieties. Honeybear Marketing is a wholly-owned, sales and marketing subsidiary of Wescott Agri Products. The company started as Wescott Agri Products, a family-run apple orchard in the early 1970s. From that start several generations ago, today Honeybear still employs the same hands-on, personal attention to each and every apple variety produced.
Source: Honeybear
