Coast to Coast Growers Cooperative today announced that container shipments of KORU® apples, grown in New Zealand, have begun arriving at U.S. ports. The KORU® variety is also now produced in the States, but the bulk of the current available crop is harvested annually in New Zealand, where the apple was discovered and brought to market initially.
85% of this year’s New Zealand KORU® crop is being shipped to the U.S. for distribution and sales through three suppliers that represent the Coast to Coast Growers Cooperative: Borton Fruit and Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers of Washington State; and New York Apple Sales of New York State. These three organizations are three of the biggest companies in the industry.
While the first May arrivals of KORU® have been sold, more containers will be arriving later in May and over the next few months, so it is still possible to order these New Zealand KORU® apples in 12 kg. Euro and 18 kg. traypack cartons as well as pouch bags. Fruit quality is exceptional, according to Tim Byrne, Manager of Coast to Coast Growers Cooperative. “80% of these apples are in the three prime sizes, really perfect-size fruit,” said Byrne. “This is the third New Zealand crop, slated for export to North America. These apples are ideal in many ways – sweet flavor, crisp flesh, great color, and good size.”
A cross between Fuji and Braeburn varieties, the KORU® brand is positioned as a premium apple, much like Honeycrisp. “KORU® brings together the subtle sweetness of the Fuji with the Braeburn’s slight tang,” noted Byrne. “It’s really an inspired combination, perfect for eating, baking, and cooking.”
Only commercially harvested in New Zealand since 2013, KORU® has already achieved a reputation as a superior apple for production, storage, and consistent quality. Consumers appreciate how it retains crispness and a rich, aromatic flavor with a honey finish.
To view a video on the growing and harvesting and grading of KORU® apples in New Zealand, click here.
To order KORU® apples from New Zealand, purchasers may contact –
- New York Apple Sales, New York. Kaari Stannard, kaari@newyorkapplesales.com , John Cushing, john@newyorkapplesales.com , or Michael Harwood, harwood@newyorkapplesales.com – 518.477.7200.
- Borton Fruit , Washington. Sky Johnson – 509.823.2745, sky@bortonfruit.com
- Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers, Washington. Bruce Turner, brucet@starranch.com or Shane Cass, shanec@starranch.com – 509.663.2191
KORU® apples are being supported with point-of-sale and marketing materials including display bins, high graphic merchandising cartons and pouch bags. The brand is positioned to consumers with the tagline: “Escape Ordinary,” and the descriptor “crisp, sweet, and naturally delicious.” These promotional materials can be obtained at no cost through the Coast to Coast Growers Cooperative supplier from which you order.
More and more orchards are being planted with KORU®, with 15 growers in New York and another six in Washington.
The origin of KORU® and background on the variety and brand
While most apples are “discovered” through years of scientific breeding and testing, the story of KORU® is much more organic and serendipitous. The Plumac cultivar, which produces KORU® brand apples, was discovered as a chance seedling by Geoff Plunkett in his garden in Upper Moutere, Nelson, New Zealand in 1998. Plunkett, and his wife Marilyn, determined that the plant grew from unusable apples that were tossed into their garden by his mother-in-law. Plunkett’s curiosity gave the tree a chance to grow, then produce fruit – and being an experienced commercial grower himself – he was impressed with the quality of the apples it produced.
Plunkett knew that the discarded apples were Fujis, so the female parent was Fuji. DNA testing found the pollinating parent to be Braeburn. This result is also substantiated by the block layout from where the discarded apples were picked.
After several years of testing Plumac trees on blocks throughout New Zealand, the apple which Plunkett originally called Kotabaru – meaning “new beginnings” in aboriginal language – evolved to the name KORU®. Now registered as a brand name and receiving international acclaim and ever-growing worldwide sales, Koru is a Maori (pre-European settlers of New Zealand) word for the new unfurling fern frond as it unfolds to create a new leaf. The KORU® logotype design is an important symbol in both Maori and New Zealand cultures, symbolizing new life, regeneration, growth, strength, hope, and peace.
Source: Coast to Coast Growers Cooperative