Petra Wautraets during Fruit Logistica 2016.
Snack
Petra says that Rockit is being presented as a concept. "Rockit is the answer in the search for a healthy snack. It also isn't a competitor to other apples, but to all sugary snacks. Due to the tube and the small size you can take Rockit anywhere and eat it. There are different sizes of tubes, but in general the greatest demand is for tubes of five or three. It's a hip and fun concept that mainly interests youngsters."
High demand
"Rockit has a lot of advantages. The core is small, so the apples can be almost completely eaten. They also have a long shelf life, a minimum of a month in the tube without cooling. The apples are crunchy and sweet and remain this way all season." There isn't that much Belgian harvest yet and the demand is high. Within two years a harvest of 500 to 600 tonnes is expected in Belgium. Petra emphasises that they want to serve the Belgian market first. "It's important to introduce Rockit per market and only to work new markets when there is sufficient volume. We are waiting for the responses from the various countries and will base the production on this."
Rockit apples are originally from the east coast of New Zealand and have been available to buy there since 2010. The miniature apples is the innovative product that was introduced by Havelock North Fruit Company and is grown and supplied in various countries. In France Rockit is marketed by Blue Whale, In Germany by Elbe Obst and the Italian distributor is Melavi. LTV was the first European company to receive a licence for Rockit.
For more information:
Petra Wautraets
Limburgse Tuinbouw Veiling
Industrieweg 1035
3540 Herk-De-Stad - Belgium
Tel.: +(32) 13 55 01 10
Fax: +(32) 13 55 46 45
www.ltv.be
www.rockitapple.com