Is 2017 the year of the Kanzi® apple?
According to Nielsen FreshFacts syndicated scan data for the Total U.S., for the 2016/17 apple season to date, Kanzi has the highest growth rate in dollars and volume of any apple in the top 25 varieties.
Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing for CMI Orchards, says that national Kanzi sales started the season at a blistering pace that has not slowed.
“The growth rate of Kanzi this season is unmatched by any other apple,” said Lutz. “So far this year Kanzi has been tremendously successful for our retail partners.”
“Kanzi performance this season is really unprecedented,” said Robb Myers, Vice President of Sales for CMI Orchards. “The success retailers are having with Kanzi when our industry launched the honey crisp,” said Myers.
“It’s remarkable to think that of the 8,000 supermarkets selling Kanzi this season, more than 6,000 stores weren’t selling Kanzi at this point last year, an increase of over 300%.” Myers expects Kanzi sales to remain strong for the duration of the 2017 season because U.S. growers harvested their first significant Kanzi crop this past fall in Washington State and Michigan.
Lutz says one of the keys to Kanzi's success has been more aggressive store-level promotions. “Retailers have really been working with us this year on Kanzi promotions and promotional pricing. The scan data nationally shows a significant increase in Kanzi promotions priced at $1.99 a pound or less.
Last year the average Kanzi promotion was about $2.19 a pound. Not surprisingly, promotional volume doubled with the more attractive pricing this season. Interestingly, the increase in Kanzi’s non-promoted volume is even higher this season over last, indicating consumers try Kanzi on sale and come back to buy again at full price.”
“We are beginning to see the same success with Kanzi here in the States that was seen in Europe—where the apple is a fan favorite,” said Myers.
“What’s amazing is that the strong sales this season are limited to only the 8,000 stores that carried Kanzi,” said Lutz. “That means that more than two thirds of the retailers in the country, and their customers, have missed the hottest apple in the market so far this season."
"We’re going to work on that this spring so our customers can take advantage of the strong sales momentum as there is plenty of time left this season for retailers to cash in on Kanzi’s success.”
For more information:
Katharine Grove
CMI Orchards
Tel: +1 509 888 3427
[email protected]
www.cmiorchards.com
