As the harvest of the ‘standard’ Cripps Pink apple is underway in Washington State the shipments of its earlier version as sold under the Pink Lady® Brand have been displaying very good movement to retail markets as consumers celebrate its new availability.
“The volume of the early Pink Lady® Brand Apple shipped from the state during October was very strong which is good news for its consumers,” says Dr. John Reeves, general manager of Pink Lady America LLC in Yakima.
“A good example of this success was product movement numbers from the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association which recorded shipments for the week of October 21 to 27 of 32,000 cartons.”
As Dr. Reeves points out, this number is part of an impressive month of October as the week of October 14 to 20 saw the movement of 13,000 cartons and the week before totaled 9,000.
While these are solid shipment numbers, the real significance is the impact at retail on traditional Pink Lady® Brand consumers who can now enjoy having this apple available during a time where it previously had disappeared from stores.
This earlier ‘sister’ to the apple already wearing the Pink Lady® Trademark for over a decade is harvested in early October as compared to late October/early November. It also lives up to the brand promise established by standard Cripps Pink which has made it a consumer favorite.
Those consumers are finding the same ‘dessert quality,’ crunch, and a very pleasing pink color in the early Pink Lady and benefitting from a primary difference when it’s time to harvest.
“Where the standard Cripps Pink apple sometimes requires brief storage time for its sugars and acid to balance, early Pink Lady is ready for market right away,” Dr. Reeves says. “It’s actually a tasty and crunchy treat right off the tree.”
Being as much as three weeks earlier, this apple is also a real plus for growers because it’s been the last harvested since its introduction in many parts of the state. Without the risk of damaging freezing temperatures, this apple offers a less stressful time for those growers.
(For additional information contact Alan Taylor at pinkladyrep@embarqmail.com or 509-961-9186)
Source: Pink Lady America LLC
