Honeybear expands Midwest footprint with Elite Apple partnership
Elite Apple Co. will be joining forces with Honeybear Brands to market its apple varieties with the retailer in mind. The Elite Apple Co. is a privately held, grower-owned production facility located in Sparta, MI, the heart of Michigan’s apple country. For more than 40 years, growers that make up The Elite Apple Co. team have been growing premium apples.
“We have chosen to partner with Honeybear Brands because of their success with marketing high-quality, premium apples from the best growing regions in the U.S.,” said the Elite Apple team. “We look forward to working with Honeybear Brands to create hand-crafted, custom marketing programs, which help drive sales and develop the buyer/supplier relationship.”
“Honeybear Brands and The Elite Apple Company fit seamlessly together, as they both believe in progress and furthering the produce industry,” said Don Roper, vice president of Honeybear Brands. “On the horticultural front, The Elite Apple Co. is investing in their orchard practices to produce fruit from the most impressive orchards in the Midwest today. From a facility standpoint, they are heavily invested in modern technology to simultaneously provide high quality and large volumes of premium packed fruit, with the ability to scale. Their team is a natural match for our expanding Midwest and national distribution programs.
"Catering to retailers with marketing and in-store activations are an important part of building a successful brand in today's competitive retail landscape. By leveraging these strategies to build brand awareness, enhance the customer experience, and drive sales, brands can create strong relationships with retailers and position themselves for long-term success,” said Roper.
The partnership comes at a great time for Honeybear retail customers. Elite Apple increases the Honeybear Brands current supply of Midwestern regional varieties, which provide retailers a differentiated advantage of locally grown Midwest apples. Honeybear Brands’ Washington production also complements this offering with Washington-grown organic and conventional supply of national apple varieties as well as the market-leading, grower-direct import apple program from the Southern Hemisphere. The combination provides retailers with supply assurance from the world’s premium apple growing regions capped with the Honeybear Brands gold standard of product quality and customer service.
