“We are focused on developing the best flavor in the marketplace,” said Michael Hacker, vice president of sales and marketing. “In an extremely competitive atmosphere, it is really the only way to increase apple consumption and stand out in a crowded marketplace. The bottom line is that we must offer the consumer something fantastic and get them to try it and keep asking for it. We think this strategy works extremely well.”

The key is to also offer a number of popular varieties to differentiate Fowler from the competition. Hacker quickly noted, to make sure that those products are simply the best in the industry. “We have got to offer great-eating apples in order to drive business,” he said. “The market is divided between low-cost buyers and people looking for quality We focus on the customers looking for quality and flavor over low cost.”

Going into the New York Produce Show, Hacker said the strategy is simply to make sure existing customers know that Fowler Farms is extremely aware of their needs and understands their individual situations. It is also to get new customers to simply walk into the company’s booth, try some great-tasting apples and apple cider and see the difference in what the company offers. 

“The New York Produce Show is always a good one for us and we are excited to get to the event to show our products and talk business,” he added. “First, we always want to talk to our existing customers to get an updated read on what is happening in their marketplace and what we need to do to build more business for them. Second, there are plenty of potential new customers that we want to talk to and get to try our product. With what we offer that should be enough to win them over, develop stronger relationships and grow together.”

He said the booth will be full of samples of HoneyCrisp, SweeTango and SnapDragon apples and company officials are ready to talk about how these items, and others, can increase consumption and lift sales. 

“Another great reason to visit our booth is to sample our varieties of cider,” Hacker said. “There will be plenty of our premium ciders available, including our 100 percent HoneyCrisp cider and 100 percent SweeTango cider. These are great items to co-merchandise with the fruit to increase the average ticket at retail rings.”

Hacker said his team will also be talking about ludacrisp apples, a new-to-market variety that features a citrus-flavor taste. “We are very excited to get it out to the market,” he said. 

Fowler Farms will come to the show after a steady season that saw fruit size down because of dry conditions but color and flavor strong. “We are happy with the way things are going,” Hacker noted. “And, we are doing a lot of marketing, including displays to support our customers to keep things moving in the right direction. Now, we work on keeping things moving in the right direction and that includes developing stronger relationships with our customers and being consistent with them. That is accomplished by asking them what they need and what their customers want in terms of new varieties and sizes and with marketing. At the end of the day, our customers know their customers best.”