Elgin, Minn. – More of the nation’s leading retailers experienced record, repeat sales with Honeybear Brands’ premium apple variety, Pazazz, this season than ever before. Honeybear wrapped up the 2018 crop year with a more than 300 percent sales volume increase and the company added hundreds of new stores in major metropolitan markets across the nation.
“We’re just tallying the final sales numbers for the season, but already we can tell one thing: it was a game changing year for Pazazz’ introduction and adoption with our retail partners and their customers,” says Don Roper, vice president sales and marketing, Honeybear Brands. “The flavor, quality and consistency of the fruit coming out of every one of our orchards now is second to none, and that’s really showing at retail, where Pazazz has very quickly become a differentiating brand for retailers by helping drive new sales and delivering on category growth. It is quickly becoming a must-have repeat purchase for customers wherever they buy.”
In the 2018 season Pazazz retailers included Albertson’s, Aldi, AWG, Central Markets, Coborns, Cub, Fred Meyer, Fresh Thyme, HyVee, Kroger, Loblaws in Canada, Lunds and Byerlys, Meijer, Publix, Roundy’s, Sam’s Club, Shaws, SuperValu, Safeway, United Supermarkets and Wegmans. Early data analysis shows increases across North America, with new and developing market territories including southern and northern California as well as the Washington DC metropolitan area performing extremely well. In all Pazazz sold in more than 40 states as well as Canada in over 4000 stores.
“Bringing Pazazz into Albertsons stores was an easy – and winning – decision for us and our customers for several important reasons,” says Joseph Bunting, Produce Business Director, United Supermarkets. “Customers have a lot of choices in the produce aisle today but very few of the new varieties, if any, have really done what Pazazz has achieved in a few short years. Pazazz delivers consistent, unmatched flavor, incredible texture and a Honeycrisp like crunch – which is what consumers crave – and it has fast become a stand out, go-to brand that customers recognize and gravitate to time and again with confidence. That’s very rare.”
Roper also reports that production of Pazazz is increasing exponentially as the crop reaches full maturation and planted acreage in orchards throughout, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, New York and Nova Scotia deliver larger and larger volumes. Honeybear is also working on production of Pazazz in southern hemisphere orchards, in anticipation of year round demand for Pazazz in the future.
“Pazazz is a fast growing brand and it’s anticipated by customers who await its arrival each season,” adds Roper. “That’s incredibly gratifying to us knowing that our work in the orchards and growing our network of retail partners is really paying off with continued sales for our partners and most importantly – a memorable, healthy apple eating experience for customers who can really tell when they’re eating a Pazazz not just another apple.”
For more information about Pazazz or Honeybear Brands and for a full list of retailers stocking Pazazz, visit www.PazazzApple.com or www.honeybearbrands.com.
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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