Starr Ranch Growers, known for its top-performing JUICI apples, is proud of the human element behind the scenes of its forward-facing fruit portfolio. “We’re excited about these developments,” Krista Beckstead, brand manager at Starr, said regarding its work to become Fair Trade Certified on 3,300 acres of its Wenatchee and Quincy custom apple packing facilities. “It’s a big accomplishment, taking a little over a year, start to finish, to become certified.”

Starr Ranch Growers is a family-owned business in Wenatchee, WA, that manages more than 13,000 acres of tree fruit orchards and packs in multiple locations across Washington and Oregon.

Working to garner the designation from Fair Trade USA was a collective effort by the team at Starr Ranch and a focused outgrowth from company core values. “The goal of becoming Fair Trade Certified has been a top priority of ours as we’ve built upon our sustainability program,” said Brett Reasor, CEO of Starr Ranch Growers. “We’ve placed a significant emphasis on generating sustainable solutions. The core pillar of our sustainability initiatives begins with the people — which is why we value farm worker welfare and community development while nurturing the land in which we grow.”  Starr makes its case by empowering the workforce through equitable practice and responsible land stewardship, which benefits communities at large.

The impact is real, as 80 percent of premiums are paid back directly to the farm worker, which in turn supports local communities at large. For the company, the end result is additional support and compensation for employees and personnel working directly in the orchards. “Our farm workers and labor personnel are the backbone and core of our business — this is our commitment to providing further incentives, support and opportunities for all,” said Reasor.

“It is our social responsibility to ensure every Starr Ranch Growers employee has a seat at the table — whether they’re in an orchard, warehouse or office,” said Jim Thomas, owner and president of Starr Ranch Growers. “It started out as certifying allocated sites within our operations, but we quickly knew we couldn’t stop there, and have since expanded certification to all Starr Ranch orchards and custom packing warehouses, benefitting nearly 1,800 farm workers. I couldn’t be prouder of our team on this milestone achievement.”

The company is excited to promote its partnership with Fair Trade USA and proud to display the trademarked logo on its consumer cartons and apple bags while working together toward ensuring additional commodities are certified in the coming year.

Speaking of its top commodity, JUICI apples, Beckstead said, “It’s getting a lot of recognition this season, and lots of repeat purchases. I’d described JUICI as a wonderful balance of sweet and tart flavors, plus an amazing crunch.”  The cultivar is unique to the central Washington-based company. “It’s our proprietary apple with us being the only ones who developed it and now grow it.”

Building upon characteristics of a Braeburn and Honeycrisp, JUICI is known for its unique physical characteristics — its vibrant red hue, thin skin and dimple-texturing. JUICI is an excellent product that Starr is proud to promote. “It’s truly the apple for everyone, everywhere, for every lifestyle,” said Beckstead.

“JUICI is performing exceptionally well with it blowing away one of our top retailers who featured it in our 100 percent recyclable corrugated packaging,” said Beckstead, adding that customers really value the emphasis on sustainability. The volume of positive feedback confirms what the company expected, sustainability and environmental stewardship are resonant issues that buyers and retailers both connect with and reward. Over the last few years, Starr has released two new sustainable packaging options — a recyclable plastic pouch bag and a recyclable corrugated consumer box.

The new corrugated boxes eliminate the old plastic clamshell and are designed to provide high visibility to the fruit, without compromising on durability. “The cardboard boxes make recycling easy, they break down really nicely, making storage relatively simple.” Beckstead said. “On the bag side of things, we’re transitioning packs to our new HiC2 film.” This new recyclable HiC2 pouch bag is made of high-density polyethylene. This plastic can be recycled for reuse in a vast array of everyday products and at much lower energy cost when compared to what is required for producing new plastics. “Recyclability is a key component of our sustainability efforts,” said Beckstead. “By end of season we’ll be fully transitioned to that truly recyclable bag film.”