CMI Orchards Releases Flavogram®, a New Way of Experiencing Apples
WENATCHEE, WA - Our industry is a fascinating one. Whether we strive to bring healthy products to the table or exciting flavors to the palate, one thing is for sure: premium quality and exceptional tastes are at the core of our intentions. CMI Orchards can attest to this, as it recently released an innovative new program, Flavogram®, to help consumers compare literal apples to apples.
“While taste-testing new and undiscovered varieties from around the globe as part of our ongoing research to bring new and innovative varieties to market, consumers confirmed our belief that the complexity of apple flavors extends much deeper than just how sweet or tart an apple tastes,” President Bob Mast explained. “In a conversation with Mike Wade, one of CMI’s Owners and an accomplished winemaker, he explained the wine industry’s approach to describing flavors. The CMI team was inspired to further develop the way consumers look at the complexity of apple flavors and thus the Flavogram program came to life.”
Flavogram is a tasting guide that describes the flavor journey of each apple from the first bite to the lasting impression on your taste buds. According to the release, the guide is a specially designed color-coded system that provides visual clues to help describe the flavor experience for each apple variety in an easy-to-navigate chart.
“Most traditional apple charts show a scale that simply reveals placement on a linear ranking of sweet to tart,” Brand Manager Rochelle Bohm explained. “Typically, Fuji and Gala apples are at the sweet end of the chart, and Granny Smith and Braeburn at the tart end, with the other varieties falling in between. Although this traditional way of looking at apples has served our industry well for many years, we believe this is an oversimplified and outdated way of looking at apples. There is so much more to an apple-eating experience than just how sweet or tart it tastes. Sometimes the magic happens in the in-between. Flavogram has been designed to convey the unique eating attributes of each apple with consumers so that they can explore new varieties and expand preferences.”
The highly adaptable Flavogram launched in various retail locations last month and has been designed to enhance the shopping experience. Retailers can work with CMI Orchards to customize tools and materials that will work best for their store layout or online shopping platforms.
“Using the wine industry as a model, CMI designed a tool that better describes the flavor dimensions of each unique apple, bringing apple-eating into the 21st century. Flavor descriptions are vital and help customers make selections that appeal to their taste preferences,” explained Bohm. “Because each apple delivers a unique eating experience, combining sugars, acids, lightness, density, aromas, and flavors such as honey, Flavogram helps consumers identify the unique flavor experience of each apple and make selections based on their preferences.”
Together with this new innovation, CMI Orchards and retailers can inform shoppers, guide their purchasing decisions, drive trial and trade-ups, and ultimately expand sales opportunities.
“This will reduce price-based decisions, help showcase the retailer’s vast selection of apples, and drive desire and curiosity for new and exciting apple flavors,” explained Bohm.
In addition to helping consumers explore the various flavor notes of each apple, the Flavogram is a great marketing tool that retailers can use in lieu of in-store samples where a deeper understanding can sway consumers to make the purchase decision.
“CMI’s Flavogram is perfect for conveying the way an apple tastes where in-store demos aren’t available. Shoppers can see the color-coded Flavogram band and compare new apples to their lifelong favorites,” Marketing Specialist Danelle Huber elaborated. “Driving trial digitally can sometimes prove challenging. Flavogram helps drive trial both online and in-store which, in turn, trades customers up to a higher ring, improving category sales in both sectors.”
In addition, CMI Orchards has one of the widest selections of branded apples in the United States. Depending on the month, the company boasts five to seven of the top 10 branded apples in the U.S.
For a deeper dive into the Flavogram, check out our Snack interview with Rochelle Bohm.
ANUK will continue to bring the latest innovations in the market straight to you, so keep an eye out for our updates.
