CMI expands Daisy Girl apple line

Wenatchee, Wash.-based Columbia Marketing International is expanding its organic Daisy Girl apple line this season, said Steve Lutz, vice president of marketing.

Daisy Girl, which Lutz said is the No. 1-selling branded organic apple line in the U.S., is doing “extremely well” at retail and will expand beyond its core items that include red delicious, gala, golden delicious and fuji apples.

“We’ve added a super-premium line to Daisy Girl that will carry some of our proprietary branded items,” he said, like Daisy Girl organic Ambrosia, Kiku, Kanzi and rosalynn varieties.

Supplies will be tight this year because of bad weather, but packaging has been developed and limited volume is being sold, he said.

For example, the company expects to have about five loads of organic Kanzi for sale this season starting in mid-February.

“We expect that number to increase dramatically with the coming crop,” Lutz said.

The apples will be available in tray packs and 2-pound pouch bags that stand out in the produce department and enhance merchandising, he said.

The traditional conventional poly bags are 3 pounds, Lutz said.

“If the average organic price is $2.50 per pound, by the time you put 3 pounds in (the bag), it’s hard to have a retail price below about $6.99,” he said.

But the company has found that retailers can sell the 2-pound pouch bag for $4.99 or even $3.99 on special, “and it matches up really well with the alternative 3-pound conventional product,” Lutz said. “The sticker shock is not quite as significant as you can get with a 3-pound bag.”