Lyndonville, NY – Developing a truly new and exciting apple requires a long-term, multi-year development cycle – from initial seedlings to trial plots and finally reaching enough commercial volume to introduce the variety to consumers. EverCrisp®, originally developed by The Midwest Apple Improvement Association, and planted by leading growers like United Apple Sales, (United Apple) is building momentum and becoming a consumer favorite.
Ward Dobbins, owner of United Apple and a fourth-generation grower in western New York, indicated that EverCrisp is right on track, performing well in the orchards and creating the flavor buzz to draw consumers into the apple aisle late in the season.
“Our eastern region growing conditions are ideal for EverCrisp, which has enabled our production to double in each of the last two seasons. With this being our second year of growing the variety, the trees are maturing and we are fine tuning growing practices with the EverCrisp orchards to maximize commercial production. We are also seeing that apple sizing is moderating in the 72/80 count sizes, which is the preferred size range for many retail programs,” stated Dobbins.
Dobbins indicated that additional acreage was planted with EverCrisp last year as part of the long-term plan to keep pace with the consumer demand for the new variety. “We are able to offer our retail partners a high quality, late-season apple from March to June with the ability to sustain increased weekly volumes as well as featured ads and promotions,” Dobbins mentioned.
EverCrisp’s parentage as a cross between Honeycrisp and Fuji gives it an exhilarating burst of flavor that creates its own excitement. Brett Baker, corporate vice president of United Apple, said that the EverCrisp gives apple lovers a fresh taste during a time of year when many varieties start losing their flavor. “We hear from our retail partners that customers are asking for EverCrisp by name. Its flavor profile and crispness make it popular for eating fresh out of hand and great for baking. Quality and flavor are getting stronger every year that we gain experience with the variety.”
Baker said the word about EverCrisp is spreading to a broader spectrum within the produce industry. Traditional retail stores have been quick to add the variety to their apple category. “We are taking care of our long-standing retail customers and adding the variety to both smaller formatted stores and the larger scale club programs. With our increased volume, we are able to push EverCrisp from a regional variety to a much wider presence nationally,” commented Baker.
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About United Apple Sales (www.unitedapplesales.com)
United Apples Sales is a leading northeast grower, packer, shipper, and marketer of domestic apples, pears and cherries. The company has deep roots in the agricultural market starting with its initial farm in 1905. Over the past 11 decades, it has evolved into an integrated produce company that also has import and export capabilities to offer full-year supply assurance and merchandising services to retail, wholesale and canning and juicing companies. United Apples is a member of a select group of orchardists growing new apple varieties: EverCrisp, RubyFrost and SnapDragon.
For additional information about United Apples Sales, please call 585-765-2460.
About Midwest Apple Improvement Association (www.midwestapple.com)
Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA) was formed in the mid-1990s with the goal of developing apple varieties to suit the climate and challenges faced by growers in the Midwest. Today, there are more than 450 members across the United States, Canada and internationally. To date, they’ve bred, grown, harvested and evaluated more than 50,000 seedlings. The MAIA-1 apple variety marketed as EverCrisp®under strict quality control regulations is the first variety to arrive on the market.
