WENATCHEE, WA - Jumping on the success of its Lil Snappers® 3lb. pouch bags, Stemilt is taking its kid-sized apples and pears straight to the consumer.

“The back-to-school season is a key time for Lil Snappers, as it not only helps retailers elevate a great kids program in their stores, but also aligns with the harvest of a new crop of apples and pears at Stemilt,” said Stemilt's Marketing Director, Roger Pepperl, in a press release. “School lunches and healthy snacks are on every parent’s mind, so we’ve been focused on building strong consumer awareness of Lil Snappers by taking the brand straight to the channels that parents are on most, and providing them with ideas for using Lil Snappers in creative new ways.”

In August and September, Lil Snappers earned nearly 22 million media impressions following television appearances, media events, and partnerships with top-tier food and parent bloggers. Now, Stemilt has launched a free, downloadable recipe eBook called Lunchtime Love, filled with creative recipes and ideas for incorporating Lil Snappers into lunches and snacks for kids. You can download Lunchtime Love here. Along with these recipes’ Stemilt’s Kitchen Council, made up of three popular food and dietician bloggers, have been sharing their Lil Snappers inspired tips and snacks on the company’s blog, The Stem. 

Pushing Lil Snappers even further in the media, Mindy Lockard of The Gracious Girl recently took them on camera to show viewers of KING 5 TV’s New Day Northwest how to make a Lil Snappers ladybug to serve in a bento box for a child’s lunch. Kitchen Council member and food-lifestyle blogger, Coryanne Ettiene, also featured Lil Snappers apples in her latest video for AOL.com by showing viewers how to make easy apple turnovers to serve as an after school snack. You can watch Coryanne's AOL video here.

“Engaging with influencers helps put the Lil Snappers brand in parents’ minds and on their grocery shopping lists,” Pepperl continued. “Parents are looking for healthy and convenient snacks to feed their children now more than ever, and Lil Snappers is a brand that delivers on all of that, while providing kids with a great eating experience to build lifelong fruit enthusiasts.” 

Since its launch in 2011, Lil Snappers has evolved into one of the top-selling pouch bag brand for both apples and pears. The reason they’ve been such a big hit? Pepperl attributes the success to the 3-pound size of the bag, and playful characters that appeal to a variety of age groups.

“Each Lil Snappers bag contains enough apples or pears to serve two children a piece of fruit in their lunch for a week,” he says. “Lil Snappers help retailers sell intended use to parents, while still appealing to small household shoppers that want a smaller piece of premium fruit. It’s the right package size for families and any consumer given the once-a-week shopping habits many people have today.”  

According to Stemilt's press release, retail scan data from last season highlights Lil Snappers as one of the leading pouch bag for both apples and pears.

“Lil Snappers are proven to move volume and deliver dollars to the category,” said Pepperl. “An analysis of Nielsen scan data found Lil Snappers 3lb. pears to return 25% more dollars than other pouch bag pears on the market.” 

Stemilt packs several varieties of apples and pears in Lil Snappers bags, including consumer favorites like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady®, Pinata®, and Bartlett pears. "The brand works well as an everyday bag item or for in-and-out promotions, Pepperl noted.

With media coverage and digital presence of Lil Snappers stronger than ever, Pepperl says consumers will be sure to look for this popular 3lb. pouch bag at stores this fall and winter.

Stemilt