Though it’s been a “tough time getting to market,” New Zealand pears and apples are now being marketed by The Oppenheimer Group throughout North America.

According to Vancouver-based David Nelley, executive category director for Oppy’s apples and pears, New Zealand pipfruit growers were beset by hail in October 2014, which brought about a later growing season. Nelley said in early May, however, that Taylor’s Gold pears were arriving at Los Angeles and Philadelphia as well as smaller ports, and he said the pears are in good supply for the New Zealand pear season that runs into July.

Envy apples from New Zealand are now being marketed across North America by The Oppenheimer Group. Category Manager David Nelley said this year’s Envy crop is ‘just fantastic’ in size, taste, color and volume. (Photo courtesy of Oppy)“We are also bringing in Comice and Bosc as well as the Velveteen and the HoneyBelle,” Nelley said. He noted that 2015 is the third year for commercial distribution of the HoneyBelle, which is a petite, juicy and crisp piece of fruit perfect for out-of-hand snacking.

“All of our New Zealand varieties offer an alternative to the Anjous and Packham’s from South America,” Nelley said.

In the apple category, Jazz and Envy remain the cornerstone of Oppy’s New Zealand program that runs into September.

“The overall industry really bounced back from the hail in October, and growers produced a fairly large crop. It would have been very large if we hadn’t had the hail, but it bounced back well.”

Super-crunchy Jazz and the increasingly popular Envy begin arriving in North American ports in early June, he said, and Nelley added, “The Envy is just fantastic this year. I accompanied a retail tour to New Zealand, and the buyers were able to sample apples right off the trees. The color is beautiful, and there is so much flavor. And the fruit is very juicy — it was very well received.”

Newer varieties to the category are the Eve, which is a very red, sweet and tart apple,” Nelley said. The Tentation is another newer apple to the lineup, and Nelley described it as a “nice yellow fruit that looks like an Opal.”

The Smitten is a sweet and tart apple that Nelley said is “flavor-forward like a Braeburn and Royal Gala,” and the Divine is sweet and crisp and naturally disease-resistant, he said.

In its campaign for apples, Oppy has elevated the fruit’s profile using a number of marketing tools, including social media. Jazz and Envy are currently in the top-10 lists of apple sales dollars at North American retail, and Envy’s Facebook page grew by 800 likes to a total of more than 15,000 during the 2014 Washington season. Envy also has its own website, envyapples.com.