Mar 27, 2015

Pazazz apple ready for launch in 2016

Pazazz, the newest apple variety to come from Honeybear Marketing, will roll out in 2016.

“It can take a decade to develop, grow and market a major new variety like Pazazz,” said Don Roper, vice president, sales and marketing, Honeybear Marketing. “So when we introduce a new apple, we really want to make sure the apple performs in three key areas. It must provide a fantastic eating experience; be very appealing to the eye; and have a great name that really describes what you are eating. Pazazz has this winning combination, which is why we saw such an exceptional consumer response firsthand with our retail partners.”

Honeybear conducted Pazazz sampling in more than 125 U.S. and Canadian retail stores in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Ontario, Canada. Deliberately planned across a diverse geographical test market to develop a detailed picture of the new variety, the demos generated rave reviews from consumers and enthusiastic retailer support, according to Honeybear.

Pazazz is harvested in late fall with a careful balance of sugars and starches. Pazazz flavor is ideal any time from late December onward as the starches convert to sugars, giving the apple a fabulous blend of high brix with a perfect complement of sweet and tart flavors, exceptional crispness and great texture, according to Honeybear.

HyVee, a leading grocery retailer based in Iowa with 235 stores throughout the upper Midwest, has participated in Honeybear’s varietal development program for the past three years. Bill Kelley, director of produce purchasing, indicated that introducing new varieties is fundamental to HyVee’s mission of bringing unique and healthy food items to their customers.

“We want the produce department to be a primary destination for our customers to look for what is healthy, new and exciting. Pazazz fits the bill perfectly – it has great color, firm texture and a burst of flavor that quickly brings customers back into the store for repeat purchases.

“Pazazz definitely created excitement in our stores,” Kelley said. “We look forward to adding new stores to the Pazazz program next season.”

Pazazz was originally developed by Doug Shefelbine from Holman, Wisconsin, and is grown in Minnesota and Washington. Additional orchards in New York, Washington, Wisconsin and Nova Scotia, Canada, will generate more volume to expand the scope of the Pazazz program in 2016.