News Releases
FirstFruits Marketing Prepares for a Successful Apple Season with its Unique Varieties
YAKIMA, Wash.; August 4, 2015 - FirstFruits Marketing of
Washington (FirstFruits) is preparing for a successful apple season
with its unique varieties: Sweetie™ apple, an early Fuji apple and
Opal® apple.
FirstFruits represents Broetje Orchards who is at the forefront
of bringing new high-demand varieties to market and recently
expanded its unique offerings with a planting of Cosmic Crisp, a
newly-developed hybrid from Washington State University. One of the
current offerings is its proprietary Sweetie apple, which will be
in stores in early September. Also known as Gala's sweeter,
crunchier cousin, this Braeburn and Royal Gala hybrid is intensely
sweet and juicy with a crunchy texture and is available for a
limited time only. By mid-September, FirstFruits will also be
packing its early Fuji apple, one of the earliest and sweetest Fuji
apples of the season, which will be available as organic and
conventional.
After a stellar 2014 season of growth and consumer build in
purchase, FirstFruits will offer the highly-acclaimed Opal apple to
customers beginning in November. This yellow beauty is crunchy and
sweet and naturally resists oxidation making it slow to brown. As
the exclusive marketer of the prized Opal, FirstFruits will offer
Opal as both organic and conventional and expect supplies to last
through next March.
"Ralph Broetje of Broetje Orchards is an innovator in the
industry and has traveled the world to find the best apple
varieties," said Keith Mathews, CEO of FirstFruits Marketing of
Washington. "The demand for our unique varieties continues to grow
year after year and we're excited to be able to offer them again to
our customers."
FirstFruits' unique varieties will be supported at retail with
point-of-sale materials, merchandising bins, social media content
and produce manager education. In addition, a comprehensive
consumer campaign is planned this winter for Opal. For more
information, please contact East Coast Regional Marketer Dennis
Jackson or West Coast Regional Marketer Tim Corkill. Learn more
about FirstFruits at www.firstfruits.com