Elgin, Minn. – Honeybear Brands, the varietal development leader, will bring new premium variety First Kiss to market this week. It is the first time, the all-new variety will be sold commercially in the Midwest with a limited supply debuting exclusively at Twin Cities Lunds & Byerley’s stores starting Labor Day weekend.
“For consumers, we think this new variety may even be as memorable as their first kiss,” says Don Roper, vice president sales and marketing, Honeybear Brands. “We’re looking forward to seeing their reactions. We are also excited to do what we do best – take a fledgling new variety with massive potential and, over time, turn it into a star brand and top performer for our retail partners. We’ve been doing that since the introduction of Honeycrisp and more recently our own, in-house developed variety, Pazazz, which this year grew 300 percent at retail.”
First Kiss is a striking, scarlet-colored apple, descended from the Honeycrisp but with a lively, tart flavor profile that delivers incredible taste and is harvested early in the season, ahead of Labor Day. Developed by the University of Minnesota, First Kiss will be grown by Honeybear Brands growers throughout Minnesota, a network of second and third generation family farms. It also marks the continuation of a long tradition of Honeybear bringing to market premium new varieties for Midwest apple lovers.
Although the initial public availability of First Kiss apples will be limited this year, Honeybear Brands will bring its full product development capabilities to bear in order to grow the variety into another retail success. Strict growing protocols across Honeybear’s network of family farms help guarantee premium quality, taste and texture for all fruit, as well as focus on issues like sustainable growing and localized production for retailers wherever possible.
“We’re in the business of bringing our retailers one critical thing,” adds Roper. “That’s innovative, exciting apple varieties that will engage customers in their stores and build deep loyalty in a very competitive apple field. We know First Kiss is going to be a major player in this regard going forward.”
First Kiss will be available in very limited supply starting Labor Day weekend. For more information on Honeybear Brands or retail opportunities visit www.honeybearbrands.com.
About Honeybear Brands (www.honeybearbrands.com) 952-746-1315
Honeybear is a leading grower and developer of premium apple varieties. The company started as Wescott Agri Products, a family run apple orchard in the early 1970s. From that early start several generations ago, Honeybear still employs the same hands-on, personal attention to apple varieties produced through the Honeybear Apple Varietal Development Program. Honeybear is the leading grower of Honeycrisp in the Northwest and offers complete domestic and global apply supply integration from varietal development to growing, packing, shipping and retailer support.
Source: Honeybear Brands