Stemilt investing in quality, sustainability
Moving into the first quarter, Stemilt Growers, a family-owned-and-operated company, looks to delight consumers with Cosmic Crisp, an apple with out of this world flavor and plenty of crunch. “It’s a cross between Honeycrisp and Enterprise apples, which gives it a balanced flavor and texture, and natural resistance to browning when sliced,” said Brianna Shales, marketing director for Stemilt.
Growing conditions in 2024 were exceptional for making Cosmic Crisp full of color, rich in flavor and crunchy in texture, ensuring it is a great promotional item this season. “Pink Lady is another variety that’s in a great position for promoting after a fantastic growing season and some of the best color and flavor qualities coming out of this year’s harvest,” said Shales who further stated that with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Pink Lady’s pink, heart-shaped branding is perfect for building large attractive displays fit for the occasion.
Unfortunately, 2024 was a challenging year for Honeycrisp. “The November storage report showed Honeycrisp is down 32 percent year-over-year nationally,” said Shales, who also noted that with a shorter supply of Honeycrisp apples this season, retailers should switch their promotion focus to other varieties such as Cosmic Crisp, SugarBee and Envy. This reduces the pressure on Honeycrisp and shifts attention to the Cosmic Crisp, which according to Shales is up 57 percent year-over-year. This apple is so delicious and successful that Stemilt has named 2025 as the ‘year of the Cosmic Crisp.’
Shales pointed to Stemilt’s passion for the people it works with. Notably, the company is fully certified by the Equitable Food Initiative which develops cross-functional leadership teams that foster continuous improvement throughout its operations. “Our team members are the driving force behind our journey to World Famous Fruit, so we made the choice to meet over 300 rigorous standards that a farm must meet to achieve EFI certification for labor practices, food safety and pest management,” said Shales.
On the sustainability front, Stemilt has multiple practices in place to nurture the land it grows fruit on. “In 2024, we were the first U.S. farming company to achieve the Integrated Pest Management addendum of conformity from Safe Quality Foods,” said Shales. “This certification reflects rigorous practices in the orchards that support a healthier growing environment.”
Quality-wise, the company has made it its goal to handle apples with care from tree-to-warehouse and to shipping to retail. To ensure quality flavor and freshness, the apples are hand-picked and allowed to ripen to perfection. After harvest the fruit is carefully placed into bins for shipping. At the warehouse they’re bathed in cold water and thoroughly brushed.
“We hand-sort apples, ensuring to remove any with damage before they go through an automated optical sizer machine,” said Shales. “The sizer allows us to see the entire circumference of the apple as well as its internals to check for things like water core or internal browning. The automated sizer machine allows for a second round of quality control before the apples are packed.” Once the apples are sorted and packed, they are either shipped to retail or placed into an automated storage retrieval system. The ASRS allows for careful control of the environment, maintaining the freshness of each apple. “When they’re pulled out for shipping, they are as delicious as they were on the day they were picked,” she said.
Stemilt always has a variety of bulk and bag options for a wide range of apples to fit specific retailer needs. “Stemilt is always willing to work with retailers on their strategy and provide promotional materials like in store displays and signage,” said Shales. “If we can help retailers win at the point of sale, then it’s a win for everyone.”
