“We continue to be focused on flavor and we have been adjusting our varieties to fit the markets needs that is driven by consumer demand,” said Hacker, who has been with the company for seven seasons. “We are putting in more orchards, adding about 160 acres to accommodate some of these newer varieties. That means more space for Honeycrisp, Sweet Tango, Pink Lady and Sweet Maia.”
At the same time, Fowler Farms officials closely look at sales data and use consumer feedback to determine what varieties to downgrade. “We have de-emphasized some early varieties because of a lack of flavor or storeability,” he said. “It all comes down to the customer experience and offering a great one is extremely important to us. The focus is always on better quality and taste to increase consumption.”
Sustainability continues to play a big role at Fowler Farms. For example, Hacker explained that the company harvests black locust trees, native to upstate New York, every five years and uses the by-product for other parts of its operation. “We want to be at the forefront of the sustainability issue,” he said. “When we harvest the black locust trees, we use the woodchips and barks in our nursery as much as possible.”
Hacker is excited for the upcoming season and the year in general. Noting that it appears that Washington state is producing a smaller crop than usual, he said that retailers are looking to other farms for supplies.
“Yes, we see more demand for our apples,” Hacker added. “A lot of that has to do with the fact that retailers want local fruit and looking to local farms. Plus, there seems to be a greater focus on Eastern varieties of apples in other parts of the country. I think that has a lot to do with people from the northeast moving south and they still want their favorite eastern varieties.”
That is why great flavors play such an important role in apple sales. “We have always known that delivering excellent quality that consumers enjoy drives sales,” Hacker said. “Shoppers are focused on flavor which drives the re-purchases and has helped create such strong demand this season. I have to add that new storage practices have allowed us to deliver better quality fruit deeper into the season too.”
What else is Fowler Farms doing to stay ahead of the curve? Hacker said that the Honeycrisp, Sweet Tango, SnapDragon and Evercrisp, among some others, will drive future growth.
“The big thing is having something better than everything else on the shelf,” he said. “If the flavor is not as good, we are not going to bring it to market. It has to be really something above and beyond. We will continue to do trade shows and right now we are getting primed for the Southeast Produce Council in March. We will be there with apples and ciders on display for sampling and show our customers that we intend to stay in front of them all year.”