Pink Lady® sees gains in value-added products
“It should come as no surprise this apple is catching on in other product areas,” says Dr. John Reeves, Pink Lady America LLC in Yakima, Washington.
“We’ve been touting the overall quality of Pink Lady from the beginning as it has gained a reputation in the fresh market. It’s many of these same attributes which are translating into it now being coveted in the processing industry.”
The attributes to which Dr. Reeves is referring include the texture of the fruit. When it comes to slicing, the Pink Lady® brand apple has often been called by those in the industry the best apple to slice.
“The apple has very dense flesh,” Dr. Reeves points out. “This means it cuts very cleanly resulting in less tearing, which in turn helps maintain its integrity.”
Yet another important part of the character is its slowness to turn brown after those cuts are made. That is, the flesh takes longer to oxidize than most other apples which is a real benefit for the sliced fruit.
Although packaging hasn’t specifically indentified Pink Lady®, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been used. Pink Lady® apples are becoming a mainstay apple in the slice market and, in some cases, have been a focus for several seasons.
“Because it’s such a good slicer, Pink Lady has been used in that market but having the variety being identified on the package is just now taking hold,” Dr. Reeves says. “Until recently, the slicing business has usually not been variety specific, instead choosing to label products as ‘sweet’ or ‘tart.’”
“Our research was showing consumers wanted to have varietal information on the package of slices and were willing to pay more if they could see it on Pink Lady® slices, so it’s great to see the trend toward that identification.”
When it comes to Pink Lady® value added products at retail, Haggen Stores has been carrying a 64 ounce Pink Lady® brand Juice in its Washington and Oregon stores for four years. Earlier this year, Everfresh® Premier Varietals of Warren, Michigan added Pink Lady® to its line of all natural apple juices.
In February of 2013, Country Fresh Inc. of Houston Texas started marketing the first branded Pink Lady® slices with this organic product in a special and unique re-sealable package.
Additional juice and slice marketing opportunities are expected to be announced before the end of the year.
For more information:
Alan Taylor
pinkladyrep@embarqmail.com