Kissabel pink- and red-flesh apples arrive in North America
Kissabel, an innovative range of apples with pink to intense red flesh, has arrived in North America. These apples with an amazing appearance and wonderful flavor are grown by Stemilt Growers, the United States partner of the IFORED program for production of the Kissabel range.
Harvesting in Washington state began from the second half of September with the Jaune variety, characterized by its yellow skin, pink flesh and a delicious, well-balanced flavor. In the following weeks it was the turn of Kissabel Rouge, with red flesh and skin: a variety intense in both color and flavor, with surprising berry-like notes.
“We began sales last year with small volumes of the Jaune variety,” said Brianna Shales, marketing director of Stemilt Growers. “This season we’ll have an increased supply and we’ll be offering the market Kissabel Rouge for the first time. The campaign will start in October and we’re expecting stocks to run out fast: the fruits’ quality is high and this product has attracted a great deal of curiosity.”
The sales season will be the opportunity to introduce the brand to United States consumers, with marketing initiatives scheduled in partnership with retailers.
The Kissabel harvest has also begun in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, with a 40 percent increase in British and European production. The Kissabel partners harvesting the crop are WorldwideFruit, Mesfruits, Gerfruits and Blue Whale (France), Melinda, Rivoira and VIP (Italy), the Red Apple Germany consortium and Fenaco (Switzerland).
Fruit juices made entirely or partly from Kissabel apples are already available in Italy, Germany and France. Each authorized partner offers the market a different blend of colored-flesh and traditional varieties, to provide a diversified product tailored to the various countries’ tastes. The project will enable use of fruit not suitable for sale as table apples and thus help to reduce food waste.
The expansion in crop size is accompanied by a stronger presence at Fruit Attraction, an international fruit and vegetable show to be held from Oct. 3-5 in Madrid (Hall 8, stand E13A).
“Kissabel is growing thanks to the partners’ planning and their commitment to producing the best possible apples,” said Emmanuel de Lapparent, manager of the IFORED programme. “Kissabel is an extremely innovative range and has succeeded in surprising consumers with its appearance and flavor. The juice we are presenting in Madrid this year will enable us to grow the red-flesh apple segment and the Kissabel® brand further, with new opportunities for consumption even when the apples themselves are not available.”
