Stemilt’s signature apple variety, Piñata®, is back in season and once again, making waves in produce departments across the U.S. and in Canada. While there is always excitement for the apple with a tropical twist, SHAPE magazine’s callout of Piñata® in its November print issue is creating added consumer buzz.
Piñata® was featured as one of three new apple varieties worth snacking on in SHAPE’s “Eat Right” column. The magazine touted its tropical flavor, and notes of pineapple and vanilla, as the reason to seek Piñata® apples out this season. SHAPE is circulated to more than 2.5 million consumers.
“Piñata® continues to win people over with its unique flavor profile and incredible eating qualities,” said Brianna Shales, Stemilt communications manager. “The feature in SHAPE is exciting, as is the growing distribution of this hit apple. Piñata® apples were displayed in over 7,000 supermarkets in the U.S. last season, and we expect this year to be even bigger for this leading new variety.”
Piñata® apples are a cross between Golden Delicious and two heirloom varieties from Europe; Cox’s Orange Pippin and Duchess of Oldenburg. The apple trio combined to give Piñata® a crisp and juicy bite, with classic apple flavors and a unique tropical twist. Piñata® is a high-sugar and high-acid apple, which makes it one of the best snacking apples around in the winter months. It also has a thin skin and flesh that can withstand cooking temperatures, making it a great baking and cooking apple.
Stemilt’s 2016 harvest of Piñata® apples wrapped up in October and growing conditions led to an incredibly high quality crop, Shales said. “It’s the best looking and best tasting crop of Piñata® apples that we’ve ever had. Exceptional fruit quality, finish and sizing has set the stage for great retail promotions this winter, and the opportunity for the apple to continue to win consumers over.”
Stemilt’s new digital resource for consumers, 'There’s An Apple For That', was featured on MarthaStewart.com in October. The article “This Site Can Help you Pick the Best Apple Varieties for Fall Baking” tells readers how to use the website as a resource for finding the best apple variety for any given recipe, including pie and cider. MarthaStewart.com attracts 11.4 million unique monthly visits. The article on There’s An Apple For That was shared 676 times across social media channels.
After introducing the digital component of There’s An Apple For That earlier this year, Stemilt wrapped its apple merchandising program around this campaign in order to give retailers a fresh look when promoting an apple of the month, or multiple varieties as part of a big apple promotion. Stemilt has POS signage, display bins, and an apple concierge sampling program, all wrapped around There’s An Apple For That, and the idea of educating consumers on the flavors and uses of popular apple varieties.
“There’s An Apple For That is all about reinventing traditional apple of the month promotions with fun signage focused on calling out the unique qualities of a particular apple variety,” Shales said. “Consumers will be excited to give Fuji a try because it’s the apple for your sweet tooth, or will know to use Granny Smith when baking because of its mouth-watering tartness. The digital component of There’s an Apple For That and the media coverage it’s generating in top publications, like MarthaStewart.com, add an unmatched level of support to retailers who merchandise apples through There’s An Apple For That.”
Contacts:
Brianna Shales
Stemilt Growers
Tel: (509) 662-9667 x1221