YAKIMA, WA - Produce partnerships are what (p)dreams are made of—because there’s nothing more perfect than two fresh produce purveyors pooling together to help the industry. Because, with the wealth of combined knowledge, many are then able to create new produce powerhouses. Recently, Sage Fruit and Apeel were two industry frontrunners that did exactly that in order to transform the apple category into an organic stronghold.

I caught up with Chuck Sinks, President of Sales and Marketing for Sage Fruit, to find out more about this prestigious partnership.

“Initially, we began looking into the idea of partnering with Apeel as a way to benefit our growers by extending the lifespan of their organic fruit,” Chuck begins to tell me. “For the past year, though, we have been testing Apeel’s plant-based coating in numerous varieties as a way to also extend the shelf life at retail, and we’ve seen extremely positive results. Utilizing the Apeel technology, we create a barrier on the fruit that helps prevent moisture loss and keeps product fresher, longer.”

Specifically, Sage Fruit found that organic apples treated with Apeel retain more moisture on the supermarket shelf than non-Apeel treated organic apples. As a result, more water weight stays in the treated apples, which helps the shelf-life reach up to 40 days. For retailers, this means bigger rings at the register and repeat sales thanks to the longer-lasting and higher-quality eating experience consumers get to enjoy with these apples.

“What started as something we were looking into to benefit our growers has now extended to our retail partners and consumers. Right now, we are treating numerous mainstream organic apple varieties, including Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady,” Chuck continues. “We’re the first and currently the only apple shipper to offer Apeel treated products. As a result, we are delivering the best quality fruit to consumers, and although there is an additional coating applied to the fruit, by using Apeel, organic apples remain organic.”

Thus far, the partnership is literally bearing fruit by introducing new, innovative options to Sage Fruit's retail partners. Chuck explains that this ties into the grower's goal of providing customers and consumers with increased availability of premium organic apples.

“Through our partnership with Apeel, we feel that we are able to accomplish that goal, while also providing a more crisp and flavorful experience to the person eating the apple,” Chuck explains. “We are currently testing these Apeel Organic Apples in several retailers across the country. To date, the tests have been very positive.

If you are an organic apple provider and would like to have the ability to provide Apeel Sage Organic Apples to your customers, please feel free to reach out to your Sage Sales or Sage Marketing Manager to get this process started.”

As more produce providers improve the game of fresh fruit and veg, keep reading AndNowUKnow for the latest.

Sage Fruit