CHELAN, WA - Chelan Fresh is looking forward to increased momentum this year, anticipating to have the first loads of New Zealand Rockit apples in stores by late May.

“Reception has been extremely positive,” Mac Riggan, Director of Marketing for Chelan Fresh, said in a press release. “People just love them. They're small apples, 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter, and they fit just perfectly in a child's hand. They have a rosy red, thin skin and white, crisp flesh, and they're sweet and crunchy. Another unique characteristic is the apple's delicate core. Really, aside from the stem and a few seeds, the apple is completely edible.”

The small, snack-sized apples are packed in 3-, 4- and 5-count tubes and are a non-GMO fruit. Rockits originate from a crossing cultivar of rose series of apples  and a crabapple.

“One grower saw the potential, and now it's taking off,” Riggan said in the release, explaining that Rockits were not initially thought to be a good market by most growers. “I've been in meetings where a bowl of Rockits is on the table, and people eat two or three. They're small, and they're very good.”

According to Riggan, the company growers in Washington have Rockit trees in the ground and are expected to begin yielding fruit in 2017 or 2018. Chelan Fresh has also partnered with Borton Fruit in Yakima and will grow Rockits there as well.

While the company expects to have Rockit apples in stores by late May, continued availability is expected through late August.

Chelan Fruit