CMI unveils Flavogram guide
Wenatchee, Wash.-based CMI Orchards has released an innovative new program, Flavogram®, to help consumers compare apples to apples.
Flavogram® is a tasting guide that describes the flavor journey of each apple from the first bite to the lasting impression on your taste buds. A specially designed color-coded system provides visual clues that help describe the flavor experience for each apple variety in an easy-to-navigate chart.
“While taste testing new and undiscovered varieties from around the globe as part of our ongoing research to bring new and innovative varieties to market, consumers confirmed our belief that the complexity of apple flavors extends much deeper than just how sweet or tart an apple tastes,” CMI President Bob Mast explained. “In a conversation with Mike Wade, one of CMI’s owners and an accomplished winemaker, he explained the wine industry’s approach to describing flavors. The CMI team was inspired to further develop the way consumers look at the complexity of apple flavors and thus the Flavogram® program came to life.”
“Most traditional apple charts show a scale that simply reveals placement on a linear ranking of sweet to tart,” CMI Orchards Brand Manager Rochelle Bohm explained. “Typically, Fuji and Gala apples are at the sweet end of the chart, and Granny Smith and Braeburn at the tart end, with the other varieties falling in between. Although this traditional way of looking at apples has served our industry well for many years, we believe this is an oversimplified and outdated way of looking at apples. There is so much more to an apple eating experience than just how sweet or tart it tastes. Sometimes the magic happens in the in-between. Flavogram® has been designed to convey the unique eating attributes of each apple with consumers so that they can explore new varieties and expand preferences.”
“Using the wine industry as a model, CMI designed a tool that better describes the flavor dimensions of each unique apple, bringing apple eating into the 21st century. Flavor descriptions are vital and help customers make selections that appeal to their taste preferences,” explained Bohm. “Because each apple delivers a unique eating experience, combining sugars, acids, lightness, density, aromas, and flavors such as honey, Flavogram® helps consumers identify the unique flavor experience of each apple and make selections based on their preferences.”
The highly adaptable Flavogram® launched in various retail locations last month and has been designed to enhance the shopping experience. Retailers can work with CMI Orchards to customize tools and materials that will work best for their store layout or online shopping platforms. Together, CMI Orchards and retailers inform shoppers, guide their purchasing decisions, drive trial and trade-ups, and ultimately expand sales opportunities. “This will reduce price-based decisions, help showcase the retailer’s vast selection of apples, and drive desire and curiosity for new and exciting apple flavors,” explained Bohm.
CMI Orchards Marketing Specialist Danelle Huber elaborated on the benefits for retailers: “CMI’s Flavogram® is perfect for conveying the way an apple tastes where in-store demos aren’t available. Shoppers can see the color-coded Flavogram® band and compare new apples to their lifelong favorites.
Driving trial digitally can sometimes prove challenging. Flavogram® helps drive trial both online and in-store which, in turn, trades customers up to a higher ring, improving category sales in both sectors.”
CMI Orchards has the widest selection of branded apples of any shipper in the United States. Depending on the month, the company boasts five to seven of the top 10 branded apples in the U.S. Retailers are encouraged to visit www.flavogram.com for more information on this dynamic new program.
