LOCKPORT, N.Y. — The long wait is over as growers across New York State are now handpicking SnapDragon™ apples, a Crunch Time Apple Growers apple. As growers prepare to ship more fruit this season, the first boxes are now arriving in stores. After months of nurturing the crop, growers are excited to get SnapDragon apples, the official apple of the Buffalo Bills, into the hands of consumers.
“Perfectly timed rain and cool evenings are making for a beautiful crop, with great color, perfect size and phenomenal flavor! We’re very excited about this year’s crop,” said Jessica Wells, Crunch Time Apple Growers executive director.
Crunch Time Apple Growers, a group of more than 150 New York State-based growers, announced this year’s crop increased by 25 percent, thanks to trees planted a few years ago that are now producing apples. And that trend should continue for Crunch Time as some growers are in their final year of the most recent SnapDragon acreage increase, which will allow production to continue to increase steadily over the next few years.
Last season, SnapDragon had a monster year, as sales were up more than 30% overall and 40% among Crunch Time’s top retailers. As SnapDragon kicks off this year’s harvest with a larger crop and a new partnership with the Buffalo Bills, sales are expected to outpace last season’s.
Consumers can expect SnapDragon apples at Wegmans, Aldi (NY, CT, PA, FL), Publix, HEB, Food Lion, Trader Joe’s (select stores), The Fresh Market, Tops, Costco (select clubs), ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Sprouts and Safeway (east coast) and many other great retailers in the coming days and weeks.
SnapDragon apples were developed by Dr. Susan Brown of Cornell University in Geneva, NY. Commercially, all of the apples are grown in New York, which gives the variety a competitive advantage over West Coast premium apples in terms of more cost-effective transportation to primary selling regions, thus creating better quality apples and lower shelf prices.
For more information on where to buy SnapDragon apples, visit snapdragonapple.com.
About Crunch Time Apple Growers
When you bite into a Crunch Time apple, you’re not just tasting an incredible apple but the incredible love and labor of 152 family farmers across New York State. Every Crunch Time apple is non-GMO — super crunchy, delightfully juicy, beautifully colored and carefully grown. When you purchase a Crunch Time apple, you’re biting into history while also helping to sustain the future of family farming for generations to come. For more information, please visit CrunchTimeAppleGrowers.com, SnapDragonApple.com or RubyFrostApple.com.
