Kissabel, an apple brand that includes varieties bred for a distinctive-colored flesh — ranging from pink to intense red — is kicking off its first North America season.
Grown by Wenatchee, Wash.-based Stemilt Growers, the U.S. partner of the IFORED program, the Kissabel line of apples is ready to hit U.S. markets this fall, according to a news release.
Harvesting in Washington state began with the Jaune variety, characterized by its yellow skin, in the second half of September. Jaune is market with pink flesh and a well-balanced flavor, according to Kissabel.
The next Kissabel brand apple, Kissabel Rouge, is anticipated for harvest in the early weeks of October. The Kissabel Rouge sports both a red flesh and skin, intense in both color and flavor, with berry-like notes, the release said.
“We began sales last year with small volumes of the Jaune variety,” Brianna Shales, marketing director of Stemilt Growers, said in the release. “This season we’ll have an increased supply and we’ll be offering the market Kissabel Rouge for the first time. The campaign will start in October and we’re expecting stocks to run out fast: the fruits’ quality is high, and this product has attracted a great deal of curiosity.”
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The Kissabel harvest has also begun in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, with a 40% increase in British and European production, the release said.
According to the release, other global Kissabel partners harvesting the crop this season include:
U.K. — WorldwideFruit.
France — Mesfruits, Gerfruits and Blue Whale.
Italy — Melinda, Rivoira and VIP.
Switzerland — The Red Apple Germany consortium and Fenaco.
“Kissabel is growing thanks to the partners’ planning and their commitment to producing the best possible apples,” Emmanuel de Lapparent, manager of the IFORED program, said in the release. “Kissabel is an extremely innovative range and has succeeded in surprising consumers with its appearance and flavor. The juice we are presenting in Madrid this year will enable us to grow the red-flesh apple segment and the Kissabel brand further, with new opportunities for consumption even when the apples themselves are not available.”
