NEW YORK - The fall season has arrived, and delicious, New York-grown apples are heavy on our minds. To find out how you can maximize sales all season long, we recently touched base with the experts at Yes! Apples.

“Our goal at Yes! Apples is to get healthy, delicious, seasonal New York-grown apples into the hands of as many people as possible through both traditional and less-traditional marketing initiatives,” shares Tenley Fitzgerald, Vice President of Marketing. “Partnering with retailers and distributors to get Yes! Apples into more grocery stores across the country is always our top priority, and we’re excited to support these efforts this year with a robust, holistic marketing program that includes pop-ups and collaborations with brand-aligned small businesses to reach new customers and spread the word about Yes! Apples.”

Yes! Apples has increased its brand visibility efforts this year, harnessing next month’s New York City Marathon to tap into the fitness and running communities and spread the word about the nutritional benefits of its portfolio.

In November, the brand is launching its first-ever collaboration with fellow New York-based beverage brand AVEC to launch an apple sparkling beverage made with 100 percent Yes! Apples New York-grown Fuji apple juice.

“During the fall, our apples are fresh off the trees and in peak season: fully ripe, crunchy, juicy, and sweet,” Tenley adds. “Plus, apples are a recognized harbinger of cozy weather and colder temperatures, so it’s the perfect time to tap into the season and promote the ultimate fall fruit across various platforms.”

Yes! Apples is a network of over 50 family-run farms across New York. With its roots dating back to 1919, the company has an in-depth understanding of the industry and prides itself on selling top-quality, New York-grown apples.

“We are one of the few apple players in the space with a consumer-facing brand that enables us to connect and engage with our customers. The apple category is a crowded space, so developing a brand allows us a means to connect with consumers, test varieties with our loyal customers, socialize, gather, and spread the news on the best-tasting apples around,” notes Tenley. “It also allows us to participate in shopper marketing programs at retail so that consumers become familiar with our varieties and growers.”

As for pushing the growth of the apple category, Yes! Apples has a few integral strategies in play.

“The best way to sell more apples year-round is to educate consumers, which is part of our core mission. From our point of view, retailers have an opportunity to expand on that education by giving consumers more information on where their apples come from and the variety itself,” Tenley explains. “Now more than ever, consumers are increasingly paying attention to how and where their food is grown, but that’s not always obvious in the produce section of a big retailer. Consumers want to know how and where retailers are sourcing produce—empowering them to know which companies are providing their fresh food products is important. In our experience, offering transparency with a consumer-friendly brand name and recognizable branding adds an important layer of trust that consumers recognize and appreciate. Consumers are also looking for companies that align with their values, which is why Yes! Apples is proud to highlight that we are woman-owned and operated, work predominantly with multi-generational family farms, and are a 1% for the Planet member. We strive to be a better-for-you, better-for-the-planet company and communicate these integral elements of our brand and business to our consumers. It’s crucial to us that consumers, familiar and unfamiliar with Yes! Apples alike, feel the heartbeat of our brand and mission, and we are working hard to continuously improve our means and impact every day.”

For more apple category insights, stick with us here at ANUK.

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