GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – Reports are in, and what we’ve suspected all along is now proven: Michigan has harvested a super-large apple crop. In fact, the report of 2013 holdings from the Michigan Apple Committee indicates storage holdings roughly twice the 4-year average.
CA holdings are strong in every category, which means Riveridge will be capable of supplying high-quality apples through early August. Riveridge has dozens of CA rooms, many state-certified, and uses all the latest storage technology.
What the USDA report doesn’t speak to is quality – which is excellent, by the way.
Honeycrisp.
Sorry! We’re sold out. Despite a larger volume of Honeycrisps than ever, Riveridge sold these beauties as fast as we could pack them. The consumer love affair with Michigan Honeycrisp continues! Mark your calendar for August 1, 2014, to place your order for next season’s Honeycrisp.
Next Up: Jonagold!
Michigan Apple Committee (MAC) taste tests over the last five years indicate consumers repeatedly rank Michigan-grown Jonagolds #2 (behind Michigan-grown Honeycrisp). The results were not the same with Jonagolds or Honeycrisps grown in other locations.
Jonagold has a unique honey-tart flavor and crisp, juicy flesh. It’s an aromatic, good storing apple that is rated excellent for every use in the kitchen. Riveridge sells Jonagold in a distinctive carton (euro or master) that works well in center-aisle or for end-cap displays.
Jonagold promotion: MAC’s Jonagold display contest runs January 1 through February 28, 2014. Full contest rules are at http://www.michiganapples.com/assets/files/pdfs/2013_Display_Contest/MAC_DisplayContest_Jonagold_0913.pdf
Merchandising tip: New Year = New Leaf.
Your shoppers will be putting holiday largesse behind them in mere weeks. Are you ready to promote apples as a diet snack solution? They’re a healthier option than diet cookies or sodas, so entice shoppers to choose fresh apples with creative displays.
Build simple displays with oversize exercise balls and jump ropes, and place healthy recipe cards at the edges. Develop coupons or in-store special flyers and take them to the local health club. Drop a sack at your favorite morning radio show.
Drawing for free treadmills. Again this year, MAC has organized a Healthy Living sweepstakes to give away treadmills to consumers who enter a special on-line drawing. Details can be found at http://www.michiganapples.com/assets/files/pdfs/2013-sell-sheets/MAC_SellSheet_HealthyLiving_0913a.pdf
Want to partner on Healthy Living? Riveridge still has some specially-marked sweepstakes bags available. Contact us today. Product will ship in late December and early January on varieties of your choice (special offer is on bag closure device).
Be sure to visit the Riveridge Produce channel on You Tube. We have a new video on the new vacuum harvest aid we tested this fall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xri88P1t040, and a fun how-to-make-an-apple pie video with Chef Tommy FitzGerald http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RF8V5m_FI0.
All of us at Riveridge Produce wish you Happy Holidays!
Dawn Geers Rog Geers Brian Johnson
Melissa Dubridge Russell Comport Don Armock