“The best way to drive sales and build profits is to deliver the best-tasting and best-quality products to retail stores and convincing the shopper that these are the apples they should take home,” said Forrence, the packinghouse manager for the Peru, NY-based operation. “For us, it is also convincing retailers that buying from a New York-based apple grower makes a lot more sense that getting their apple supply from a grower on the complete other side of the country."
“The bottom line is that we are a lot closer to the eastern seaboard, and the millions and millions of consumers living here, than apples coming out of Michigan or Washington state,” Forrence continued. “That creates a competitive advantage for us and it is something we need to emphasize more and more and something that we must make East Coast retailers more aware of.”
Forrence is not stopping there. While many apple growers, including Forrence Orchards, are always excited about introducing new varieties to the apple world, he says that more attention needs to be paid to what varieties are selling best and, conversely, what varieties should be de-emphasized or, in the worst-case scenario, eliminated.
“There has to be a refining of the offering,” said Forrence, who has been with the company for about eight years. “The industry needs to place more focus on the successful apples and not the ones that are not selling well. Frankly, I think we have confused the consumer with too many varieties of apples and that has got to stop.”
Part of the problem is the fact that there is an overabundance of supply on the market, which is presenting many growers with challenges and less profit for them, while retailers still maintain high price points.
“Unfortunately, right now we are fighting downward pricing pressure across the board due to the big harvests,” Forrence said. “That is not a good thing and it is causing some havoc in the industry. We find that promoting our heritage varieties, like MacIntosh and Cortland, as well as Honeycrisp apples is helping us stay ahead of the curve. We also see success with SnapDragons, Ruby Frost, EverCrisp and Ambrosia apples.”
The onus is on the grower, too. As the apple season expands deeper into the summer, Forrence said it is vital that his team stays on top of trends and determining what the right mix of apples for that specific time of year and when each variety is in most demand.
“Frankly, it is all about economics and it is always up in the air as to what the right mix is for a particular season, or even month,” he said. “There is still demand for every apple you might grow and pack, but it is about having the right number of the apples in demand in the warehouse so that you can be consistent.”
Forrence is hopeful that things are on the upswing. He recognizes that growers throughout various regions of the country are united in developing great consumer demand for apples and employing various marketing tools to build that awareness.
“That is a great step forward, but we still need help from our retail partners as well,” he said. “At the end of the day, it is always a price-based decision at the grocery store for consumers, and apples are an expensive commodity. In order to get sales up, we need retailers to lower cost and get consumers more interested.
“One excellent factor is that we are again expecting a good crop, though there is a lot of time between now and then,” Forrence continued. “knock on wood, if everything goes the right way, we are really excited about this crop and how it looks.”
