Organic apples, pears gain market share
According to Nielsen Fresh, for the first time, organic apples drove more than 10% of total category dollars. Organic pears seem to be following suit.
Besides branded apples, organics are really driving category growth, said Steve Lutz, senior strategist for CMI Orchards, Wenatchee, Wash., which offers organic apples, pears and cherries.
“At CMI, we recognized early on the massive potential for organic foods and began transitioning a large percentage of our orchards to organics,” Lutz said. “In 2017, over 21% of our production will be organic apples and pears. By 2020, we expect that over 25% of our total production will have transitioned into organics.”
CMI Orchards plans to push its exclusive organic apples this season with big increases in production of both Ambrosia and Kanzi apples.
“Our Daisy Girl organic Ambrosia will be up nearly 80% this year, with our organic Kanzi up 222%,” Lutz said. “So, we’re setting the stage for huge growth. We will be working with our key accounts to set up freestanding displays with our shippers, as well as running sales contests with key accounts.”
Brianna Shales, communications manager for Stemilt Growers LLC, Wenatchee, Wash., said the company will have organic apples and pears in the fall. Organic apples account for 30% of apple production at Stemilt, Shales said.
“Our growth in organic apples has been aggressive in the popular, high-flavor profile apples — fuji, Piñata, Pink Lady, gala and Honeycrisp,” she said.
Shales said organic Honeycrisp demand has skyrocketed 230% year-over-year since July last year, and will be available from September into the spring months.
This season, Stemilt apples will trend smaller, compared to last year when there was larger-size fruit, she said. That should work out as Shales said shoppers are looking more for convenient packages with smaller apples like the company’s Lil’ Snackers, which is available in a 3-pound pouch bag with organic apples or pears.
Organic pears account for 20% of the company’s pear offerings in bartletts, anjous, reds and concords. Tosca is a Stemilt-only organic pear that’s available in August and September.
Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Oppenheimer Group is beginning its North American-sourced organic apple season with its Envy, Jazz and Pacific Rose varieties. New packaging for these apples will be available this season in a 2-pound, high-graphic pouch bag, said Chris Ford, organic category manager.
Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers, Wenatchee, Wash., offers organic apples and pears as well as peaches, nectarines and apricots all grown in the Pacific Northwest.
“The organic category continues to grow,” said Scott Marboe, marketing director. “We are getting demand every year for increased volumes of organic apples, especially popular varietal ones like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and so forth. Our growers are doing an excellent job of planting for the future.”
Marboe said Oenonta Starr Ranch will have its organic pears ready for retailers this September for the first time after completing the three-year organic transition process. Bartletts, reds and green anjous will be available nationally in euro cartons and 2-pound bags.
Sage Fruit Co., Yakima, Wash., offers organic apples, pears and apricots. Apples available organically are gala, fuji, golden delicious, granny smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady and red delicious.
“We see the organic apple category continuing to grow at a rapid pace — it hasn’t reached a saturation point yet,” said Chuck Sinks, president of sales and marketing. “So, in response, over the past several years, Sage Fruit has aggressively transitioned a large number of acres of our family-owned orchards to meet our customers’ demands.”
Cherie France, marketing manager for Homegrown Organic Farms, Porterville, Calif., said the company plans to offer more varieties of organic Asian pears this season, which will extend the company’s typical season.
“In the past, we’ve focused our offering on brown Asian pears; this year we’re offering yellows too,” she said.
