In the Trenches: The amazing world of apple varieties
In the Trenches: The amazing world of apple varieties
Back in the day, Red and Golden Delicious apples were the apple of choice. Jonathan, Cortland, MacIntosh, Empire and Rome varieties have had their day in the sun. Then there were Braeburn, Gala, Fuji, Cameo, Opal. Newer varieties like Honeycrisp, Envy, Jazz, Pink Lady and Cosmic Crisp are hot — and the beat goes on.
Now we have Modi. The Modi apple was developed in Italy in the late 1990s by crossing the Gala and Liberty varieties. It is a crisp, sweet and crunchy apple with dark red skin and a creamy interior flesh. The Modi apple was named after Amedeo Modigliani, an Italian artist. He was known as Modi by all his friends.
Modi apples are grown in the Northern California Delta, including on the Grand Island ranch of JJB Farms. They like warm days and cool summer nights, similar to the Po Valley in Italy.
We should always try to offer a mixed number of produce choices to shoppers, but as newer produce varieties of peppers, melons, peaches and other items are developed, retailers are being challenged with a space allocation syndrome. The department space is beginning to bulge at the seams.
So, how are all the new apple varieties going to fit into the merchandising display areas?
I spoke with three produce industry experts, Derrell Kelso, manager of JJB Farms; Vince Mastromauro, produce director for Sunset Foods; and Jeff Tomassetti, produce/floral director for Buehler’s, who explained their views about all the new apple varieties.
”I first request a sample to find out how the flavor profile is and if I feel my customers would enjoy the new variety,” said Mastromauro. “I then review the category analysis from the previous year’s season to check the apple movement. After studying the list, I eliminate the slowest movers in sales to make room for newer varieties.”
Sunset Foods manages between eight and 10 varieties seasonally.
“We are getting bombarded with new items,” said Tomassetti. “The world is changing along with consumer buying. If we don’t change, we will lose market share. As we bring in new items to test and if they perform positively, we have to decide what items are trending down and cut that space to make room for those items that trend more favorable.”
So, with all the newly developed apples being created, are they competing with one another within the category? Is there a battle to edge out one apple for another?
“I’m a wine grape grower. Wine varieties don’t compete with each other, nor do potato chip or pretzel varieties,” said Kelso. “The apple industry is not competing against itself, it’s competing with the snack space. Walk the grocery store aisles and observe all the different category assortments. Check out the snacking sections. Just like different wine, bread, salad mixes and the like, there is a diverse selection. Consumers want a diverse section of snacks, they love apples and Modi is the earliest to join the apple club on the market. It is a sweet-tart refreshing flavor accompanied by a beautiful and unique color. This red apple gives consumers everything they want in an outstanding quality snacking apple complementing every produce department display.”
New items do increase growth and offer customers more choice, but there are also growing pains. The difficulty lies in “shelf strain” — Lots of neat varieties piled on top of already neat varieties.
The produce shelves are becoming quite cramped with produce averaging approximately 1,000 items give or take.
There will always be newly developed produce varieties in the works. We just have to continue using analytics to manage the categories and work them into the system.
Ron Pelger is a produce industry adviser and industry writer. He can be contacted at 775-843-2394 or by e-mail at [email protected].
