Oppy heads south for fresh apple and pear offerings
Southern Hemisphere renders smooth transition to import season for pipfruit
Spring has sprung and with it has arrived a diverse set of apples and pears to transition the domestic to the imported crop. Rolling in with some of the best quality to date, Oppy looks to delight retailers and consumers with a freshly harvested mix from the Southern Hemisphere available coast to coast.
All offerings arriving from either New Zealand, Chile or Argentina, favorites like Royal Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Ambrosia, Smitten™ and Pink Lady® along with exciting club varieties like Envy™, JAZZ™ and Pacific Rose™ round out Oppy’s apple basket. Its familiar pear assortment of Bosc, Bartlett, D’Anjou and Abate Fetel varieties also includes a strong organic program specifically from Argentina and Chile. Seeing increased demand for bagged pears, Oppy imports in bulk and bags at the source.
Despite a growing season challenged by weather and labor shortages, Oppy’s Director of Apples and Pears Roger Aguirre anticipates placing the right fruit at the right port at the right time for a flawless follow up to the domestic season. “Even the best growers in the world can be affected by Mother Nature just like anyone else. Customers can be reassured that we don’t make exceptions to our standards and we look forward to delivering some of the best eating fruit in a seamless transition.”
Envy™ and JAZZ™ apples hold top-10 category positioning and offer memorable flavor and crunch with prime retail sizing to suit all shopper demographics. “Oppy has shopper-targeted and volume-driving promotions in the coming months,” Aguirre said.
Offering a dynamic Mother’s Day push, Envy™ promotional activities will center around kid-friendly recipes from chef partner Joel Gamoran while multi-buy promotions will further motivate shoppers to incorporate the apple into eating celebrations with targeted POS. JAZZ™ is the exclusive apple partner for the movie “Spirit Untamed,” a family-friendly favorite scheduled for release by DreamWorks June 4. Co-branded packaging and POS, digital and social activities will aim to further position JAZZ™ as the snacking apple for all, especially the little ones.
And, with the heightened demand for organic apples evident in their double-digit year-on-year growth to a 16% share of total category sales and 12% share of pounds, organic Envy™ and JAZZ™ volume is set to increase in the years ahead, said Aguirre. Packaged apple sales also skyrocketed in 2020, now representing 45% of category pounds. JAZZ and Envy are available in a range of pouch bags, poly bags, clamshells and totes along with innovative packs delivering convenience and sustainability.
Delivering fruit nationwide, ports ranging from Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle and beyond will receive good supply. Oppy is poised to anticipate and respond to shopper and retailer demands, going into the import season and year-round with complete flexibility and cost-effective offerings.
