Sage Fruit Co. expands its reach with the addition of Chelan Fruit

The fruit sales and marketing firm Sage Fruit Co. is growing this season with the addition of grower-shipper Chelan Fruit, says Chuck Sinks, president of sales and marketing.

Located in Yakima, Sage Fruit is the sales and marketing firm for five grower-packer-shippers in the Pacific Northwest, Sinks said.

Sage Fruit’s warehouses include Legacy Fruit, Valicoff Fruit, Olympic Fruit, Congdon Orchards and, most recently, Chelan Fruit, of Chelan, Wash. The warehouses own Sage Fruit, Sinks said.

Chelan Fruit joined the Sage Fruit family of growers, packers and shippers at the beginning of the 2022 cherry season, Sinks said. 

“Through this partnership, Chelan Fruit will contribute considerable volume this upcoming season,” he said. “They have an outstanding growing and packing operation that allows us the ability to supply our customers with the best-tasting, highest-quality tree fruit, year-round.”

Together, Sinks said, Sage Fruit growers farm several-thousand acres of orchards throughout various regions that include the Columbia Basin, Yakima Valley, Wenatchee, Chelan and Okanogan. 

Beyond core varieties, Sage Fruit has several unique varieties, including Smitten, Sunrise Magic and SugarBee, which was added through Sage Fruit’s newly formed partnership with Chelan Fruit. 

“We will have both conventional and organic SugarBee,” Sinks said. “We are excited for this opportunity, as it is a very good apple.”

SugarBee will begin harvest in early October, with several packaging options available, Sinks said. 

“By having both conventional and organic SugarBee apples this crop season, we will be able to keep our retail customers and consumers happy with our ability to supply both product lines,” Sinks said.

Organic up

Sinks said the demand for organic produce fruit has remained strong. 

“Our organic program is continuing to grow,” Sinks said. “Not only are we planting new acreage of organic orchards, but we are actively transitioning many of our conventional orchards.”

This season, Sage Fruit will see an increase in overall organic volume over last season, he said, noting large increases in the marketer’s organic gala and Honeycrisp availability.

Sage Fruit also offers organic Cosmic Crisp, in addition to organic SugarBee apples.

As of earlier this month, Sinks said harvest had been much slower to start and was running almost two weeks behind compared to recent years. Honeycrisp, early goldens and gala harvest was in full swing, with early fujis following close behind.

While the 2022 total Northwest apple crop is expected to see a reduction in volume between 10% and 15% compared with last season, Sage Fruit will see an increase in volume in both conventional and organic apples with the addition of Chelan Fruit for this crop season, Sinks said. 

While the industry’s estimate calls for a Washington fresh crop close to 108 million cartons, some growers feel the crop could be closer to 100 million cartons.

A challenge for the industry is to extend the season year-round while also keeping retail pricing in line, so as to not lose the everyday apple consumer. 

“Our customers and consumers have come to expect year-round availability, so we’re going to have to find a way to make that happen,” Sinks said. 

Overall, fruit sizing should be good throughout the season, Sinks said. 

“For 2022-2023, we will have a smaller-sized crop with exceptional quality,” Sinks said. “There will be promotional opportunities for both bulk and bagged product.”

Marketing now

In October, Sinks said Sage Fruit will team up with the National Breast Cancer Foundation in a marketing effort. 

“We have designed a 5-pound Breast Cancer Awareness poly bag that will be available for our retail partners,” Sinks said. Shipping late September through late October, one dollar of every case purchased will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation on behalf of the purchasing party, he said.

In terms of packaging, Sinks said Sage Fruit offers unique and flexible packaging options

“As we look to the future, it is our goal to remain ahead of the curve in offering more sustainable packages to our customers,” Sinks said. “We will be trialing a few options throughout this upcoming season."