New Zealand apple exporter Snazzy Fruit Company is building its season around differentiation, with its Fizz™ apples becoming integrated into its export-focused strategy and becoming the latest addition to its growing variety basket.
Josh Parlane says the season has opened on a solid footing, even if timing has been compressed. "Quality-wise, everything's good, overall fruit maturity has been racing a wee bit, so the season has become quite condensed," he says. "Shipping's been slightly better than usual, and market-wise it's off to a decent start, but there's still a lot of product that needs to arrive and go through the chain."
© Snazzy Fruit Company
Export is the backbone of the business. "We're 99% export," Parlane says, pointing to Asia as the core destination.
Within that program, Fizz apples — a Prevar-developed variety licensed exclusively to Snazzy for New Zealand — are emerging as an exciting new variety. "We've got the exclusive marketing rights for domestic and export sales," Parlane says. "It's a new variety, so volumes are still limited, but this is the first year we'll do some commercial packing under the brand itself."
© Snazzy Fruit Company
Initial volumes remain limited, reflecting the early stage of planting. "We'll have around 21 tonnes from the North Island and 21 tonnes from the South Island," he says. "There are lots of young trees that need to come into production, so it's very small at this stage."
© Snazzy Fruit Company
Despite that, the early market response has been strong. "We've done market trials the last couple of years, and it's been very well received, particularly by retail and online channels," Parlane says. "The key part is the point of difference — it's got three key selling points that make it unique and attractive for markets. Interest from the domestic market has also been phenomenal, and we are enthused by this — we do want to assure the local market is well served."
That differentiation is both visual and sensory. "It's very unique," he says. "It's like a berry sorbet — it's got some tang, high Brix, high sugar levels — it's always got flavour."
© Snazzy Fruit Company
Parlane says that distinctiveness is critical in crowded export markets. "There are lots of varieties that come out every year, but sometimes the difference isn't quite enough to really stand out," he says. "Particularly when you've got more established varieties doing well, you need something that's genuinely different."
Beyond Fizz, the company is developing a broader pipeline of proprietary varieties aimed at creating defined supply windows. "Any of our protected varieties we want to space out so they can have their own supply windows and points of difference in the market," Parlane says. "We've been really pleased to see grower interest in them — there's a genuine demand."
One example is Roxy®, an early-season apple now moving into meaningful volume. "It's been commercialised for four years, and volume is starting to kick in," he says. "There's new planting going in every year, and it's available around Royal Gala timing."
In addition to these newer varieties gaining traction within existing markets, newer geographies are also paramount. Parlane says, "It's about building volume and presence with the varieties we've been trialling."
While global cost pressures remain a factor, they are not defining the strategy. "We do have rising costs up the chain — from trucking right through to the vessel — going up every couple of weeks," he says. "It's a strong negative trend, but it affects the whole world. We're just trying to live with it."
For more information:
Josh Parlane
Snazzy Fruit Company
Tel: +64 21 887 339
[email protected]
https://snazzyfruit.nz/
