Southern Hemisphere Kanzi nears peak
Imported Kanzi apple volume from New Zealand and Chile is expected to peak in July and continue strong into August.
“Sales have doubled so far this season with Kanzi and we fully expect the strong sales of Kanzi to continue through August with our Southern Hemisphere imports,” Robb Myers, vice president of sales at CMI Orchards, Wenatchee, Wash., said in a news release.
Kanzi can create excitement in the apple category during the summer months, he said in the release.
“We know apples like red delicious, gala, Honeycrisp and Pink Lady create a foundation for the category,” he said. “But we’re seeing retailers drive transaction size and incremental dollars by invigorating consumer interest in the category at a time when apple sales normally decline.”
Nielsen sales data shows that over the past 52 weeks through June 1, according to the release, Kanzi sales were up by 103%.
Kanzi, according to the release, was one of only two apple varieties ranked in the top 20 for sales in U.S. supermarkets with a dollar gain exceeding 100%. During July 2017, nearly 1,500 supermarkets added Kanzi to their category mix, according to the release.
Myers said the 2017 imported Kanzi are among the best-eating apples from New Zealand and Chile that CMI has received in the five years the company has been importing the variety. “As the trees mature they become less vigorous and vegetative giving us Kanzi with incredible acid and sugar balance,” Myers said in the release.
CMI Orchards is the exclusive marketer of Southern Hemisphere Kanzi, according to the release. CMI grows the variety in Washington state and has formed an alliance with Applewood Orchards in Michigan to provide retailers with a regional program for Kanzi brand apples grown in Michigan, according to the release.
