ELGIN, MN - Honeybear Brands, a leading grower, marketer, and developer of premium conventional and organic apples, pears, and cherries, and its exclusive brand Pazazz® apple, have delivered more than 3,600 pounds of apples to Second Harvest Heartland since December 1, [2024,] the start of the professional women’s hockey season. Pazazz teamed up with hockey star Taylor Heise to Assist Second Harvest Heartland this winter to help put hunger on ice.

Honeybear Brands donates 600 pounds of apples each time Heise feeds a teammate an assist—otherwise known as an “apple” in hockey—during her hockey games in the 2024-2025 season, which runs through May. According to a press release, last season she had nine assists and is looking for that stat to grow significantly. Heise has already notched six assists one month into the season.

“Apples are one of the core varieties of produce that Second Harvest Heartland always keeps on hand for our food shelf partners,” said Lindsey Ochmanek, Director of Sourcing and Demand Planning, Second Harvest Heartland. “On average, we distribute 260,000 pounds of apples each month through our hunger-relief network and our fellow Feeding America food banks in Minnesota, so keep those assists coming, Taylor!”

Heise is helping promote the campaign to her avid followers on social media, and Honeybear is amplifying the campaign on its Instagram and Facebook platforms in markets where Pazazz can be found on shelves. In addition to fighting hunger, the campaign promotes the importance of fueling the body with fiber for overall good health.

“Women’s sports are experiencing tremendous growth in popularity and Taylor is a fabulous ambassador for Pazazz,” said Kristi Harris, Brand Manager, Honeybear Brands. “She’s an avid apple consumer and genuinely interested in giving back to the community.”

As the release went on to note, Pazazz is like a Honeycrisp with giddy-up! Perfectly sweet and tangy with an explosive, refreshing crunch, it is a late-season apple that provides a fabulous eating experience long after the other premium apple flavors have started to fade.

This year’s crop is especially flavorful and plentiful. As the price of Honeycrisp continues to rise due to limited production, Pazazz provides an excellent alternative.

“Pazazz apples are available year-round with orchards in Washington state, the Midwest, New York, Nova Scotia, and Chile allowing us to deliver fresher apples to retail quicker and more efficiently. We’re seeing this pay off with consumers who seek out Pazazz,” said Don Roper, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Honeybear Brands. “In fact, a blind taste test found that 57 percent of participants preferred the taste of Pazazz over eight other varieties sampled. 91 percent chose Pazazz over Honeycrisp.”

Pazazz Anti-Cancer Campaign Promotes Apples’ Health Benefits

In addition to the Assist Second Harvest Heartland campaign that promotes fiber-rich apples’ impact on gut health, Pazazz apple is partnering for the fourth year with the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) to share apples’ anti-cancer properties.

Apples provide dietary fiber along with polyphenol compounds that boost cancer-fighting defenses in the body. A diet rich in fiber helps lower the risk of some cancers while having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Pazazz will encourage consumers to check out AICR’s online tool, the cancer health check. The Cancer Health Check gives instant feedback about how people match up with AICR’s evidence-based recommendations to lower the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases.

The campaign has reached more than 20 million Americans through social media, earned and paid media. Grocery retailers also help spread the word through the use of QR codes in the product aisle that share educational and promotional materials.

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