Stemilt has taken its three-pound pouch bag program for kid-sized apples and pears, Lil Snappers, straight to the consumer. In August and September, Lil Snappers earned nearly 22 million media impressions following television appearances, media events and partnerships with top-tier food and parent bloggers that are spreading the love for Lil Snappers across digital platforms, including AOL and popular social media sites.

“The back-to-school season is a key time for Lil Snappers, as it not only helps retailers elevate a great kids program in their stores, but also aligns with the harvest of a new crop of apples and pears at Stemilt,” Roger Pepperl, Stemilt's marketing director, said in a press release. “School lunches and healthy snacks are on every parent’s mind, so we’ve been focused on building strong consumer awareness of Lil Snappers by taking the brand straight to the channels that parents are on most, and providing them with ideas for using Lil Snappers in creative new ways.”

In early September, Stemilt launched a free, downloadable recipe eBook called "Lunchtime Love" that is filled with creative recipes and ideas for incorporating Lil Snappers into lunches and snacks for kids. Stemilt’s Kitchen Council, which is made up of three popular food and dietician bloggers, has been sharing its Lil Snappers-inspired tips and snacks on the company’s blog, The Stem, while Mindy Lockard of The Gracious Girl, recently took Lil Snappers on camera to show viewers of KING 5 TV’s New Day Northwest how to make a Lil Snappers ladybug to serve in a bento box for a child’s lunch.

Coryanne Ettiene, Kitchen Council member and food-lifestyle blogger, also featured Lil Snappers apples in her latest video for AOL.com by showing viewers how to make easy apple turnovers to serve as an afterschool snack.

“Engaging with influencers helps put the Lil Snappers brand in parents’ minds and on their grocery shopping lists. Parents are looking for healthy and convenient snacks to feed their children now more than ever, and Lil Snappers is a brand that delivers on all of that, while providing kids with a great eating experience to build lifelong fruit enthusiasts,” Pepperl said in the release.

The success story of Lil Snappers began in produce departments following its launch in 2011. Since then, Lil Snappers has evolved into the top-selling pouch bag brand for both apples and pears. Pepperl attributes the three-pound size of the bag and playful characters that appeal to a variety of age groups as the reason why Lil Snappers have been such a hit.

“Each Lil Snappers bag contains enough apples or pears to serve two children a piece of fruit in their lunch for a week. Lil Snappers help retailers sell intended use to parents, while still appealing to small household shoppers that want a smaller piece of premium fruit. It’s the right package size for families and any consumer given the once-a-week shopping habits many people have today,” said Pepperl.

Retail scan data from last season highlights Lil Snappers as the leading pouch bag for both apples and pears.

“Lil Snappers are proven to move volume and deliver dollars to the category,” said Pepperl. “An analysis of Nielsen scan data found Lil Snappers three-pound pears to return 25 percent more dollars than other pouch bag pears on the market.”

Stemilt packs several varieties of apples and pears in Lil Snappers bags, including consumer favorites like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Pinata and Bartlett pears. The brand works well as an everyday bag item or for in-and-out promotions, Pepperl noted.

“The consumer reception of Lil Snappers has been tremendous since launching the brand. The recent media coverage and digital presence of Lil Snappers reinforces the brand to consumers so that they are sure to be looking for this popular three-pound pouch bag at stores this fall and winter,” said Pepperl.