YAKIMA, WA - The number of fall recipes I have saved on my computer should tell you everything you need to know about me: I love cozy weather and I love the cozy flavors that suit it. Apples are an obvious addition to any autumn repertoire, and buyers looking at their fall programs know exactly where to turn: to Superfresh Growers® of course.

As it prepares for the upcoming Southern Innovations, I spoke with Paul Newstead, Director of Business Development, to find out more about the company’s fall showcase.

"In only its third year of commercialization, Cosmic Crisp® has maintained placement in the top 10 in the apple category,” Paul shared with me, highlighting the importance of the apple in the Superfresh Growers lineup. “Growth will continue, as this was the first year it was a year-round offering. We are seeing successful Cosmic Crisp campaigns when retailed under Honeycrisp. Data is also showing that Cosmic Crisp consumers are Honeycrisp consumers. Another success we are seeing is alternating between Cosmic Crisp ads and Honeycrisp ads. This will be a big talking point for us at Southern Innovations.”

Alongside Autumn Glory® and organic pears and red pears, Superfresh Growers is keen to share with customers the benefits of these items.

“Autumn Glory is a unique tasting apple unlike any other variety with cinnamon and caramel flavor notes. It has held strong as a nationwide apple, continuing to grow 50 percent in dollars and volume year-over-year,” Paul explained. “Our organic pear crop is looking to be up in volume from last year with plenty of pears to promote. Multi-colored pear promotions help with category movement and inspire customers to try new varieties.”

Red pears in particular, as Paul noted, are the fourth most preferred pear variety, and heavy-users are very loyal to red pears.

“They are more likely to be used as an ingredient than just a snacking pear and perform well with home cooks who have a three-plus person household. The majority of non-red pear shoppers are open to purchasing red pears, but price and availability are the biggest barriers,” he remarked.

For attendees of the show, Paul emphasized the importance of bag promotions.

“This will be a year where bag promotions will be important as sizing will be down two sizes for pears and about one size down on apples,” he said. “We are especially focusing our efforts to poly bags in place of pouch bags. This is part of our sustainability efforts on reducing overall plastic usage, reducing our carbon footprint, and increasing our labor efficiency. The poly bag increases our labor efficiency by about 20 percent and uses half the plastic. Poly bags are locally sourced; most are printed within 100 miles of our orchards. They can be recyclable and accepted at in-store drop-off recycling programs and recycled into hard goods like deck boards and outdoor furniture.”

This sustainability focus can be seen in the company’s future plans as well.

“We continue to be mindful of our ecological sustainability—protecting natural pollinator habitats and maintaining biodiverse ecosystems. We are also investing in autonomous electric vehicles and in our orchards and production lines, reducing our carbon footprint and easing the pain of labor shortages. Our kilowatt hour reductions (Kwh) has been reduced by 7 million this year. That is equal to 4,932 metric tons of CO₂,” Paul noted with pride.

A bounty of news for those who stop by booth #614. You won’t want to miss it!

Superfresh Growers®